The AEMET announced that we are in the fourth heat wave of the summer, with maximums of 42 ºC in some regions. This episode of extreme temperatures will last, at least, until next Sunday, August 2, and will bring the so feared tropical nights. To deal with them, many choose to leave the air conditioning or fan on, while others simply leave the windows open. A practice that could not be entirely advisable in certain cases.
Keep proper ventilation in rooms, especially in bedrooms, is one of the practices most recommended by experts to guarantee proper rest. According to research published in “Science Direct”, sleeping with the window open not only reduces carbon dioxide concentration levelsvolatile organic compounds and suspended particles, but also improves sleep quality.
On the contrary, in those rooms in which the door was kept open, the same benefits were not recorded, even though the level of carbon dioxide was reduced. Something similar to what another study showed, available in the United States National Library of Medicine. In this, the results revealed that “participants had significantly less deep sleep, more light sleep and more awakenings in the conditions of lower ventilation rate“.
Allergy people should not keep windows open at night
However, this practice is not always beneficial. First of all, the Ministry of Health recommends People with allergies should avoid opening windows at night. This is due to the high levels of pollen concentration that usually occur early in the morning and that can end up entering through the window, causing episodes of sneezing, coughing, itching, or even causing respiratory problems in the most serious cases.
Therefore, before opening the windows at night, it is important check pollen counts in the air of the area, which can usually be found on the web pages of the corresponding town hall. In addition, allergy sufferers should also pay special attention and care to the maintenance of air conditioning system filterssince they can accumulate particles and end up entering the home despite keeping the windows closed.
The most advisable thing to be able to have a restful night without having to open the windows is take advantage of the late afternoon hours, between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., to ventilate only for 10 or 15 minutes. During the day, it is important keep the blinds down to reduce the impact of solar rays on the windows, which can increase the heat inside the home.
It is also inadvisable in noisy urban environments.
Likewise, it is not advisable to open the windows if the home is located in a urban and noisy environment. Beyond the pollution levels, constant exposure to noise at night can end up causing harmful effects on the bodyaccording to a study carried out by the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz.
Among the effects recorded during the investigation, the increased cortisol levels. This hormone is essential for regulating metabolism, blood pressure and sleep cycles, however, it is also known as the stress hormone. Having high cortisol can cause, among other adverse factors, insomnia and anxietythat is, it will negatively affect the quality of sleep. Furthermore, in the long run, it causes the immune system is weakenedwhich makes you more prone to illness.
Therefore, although generally keeping the windows open at night is an advisable practice to improve sleep quality during summermay not be the best option for some people. The most advisable thing in these cases would be to try keep home coolwith awnings and blinds lowered and rapid ventilation, whenever the weather permits. In addition, household appliances such as standing or ceiling fanswhose energy consumption is usually low and does not represent a large increase in the electricity bill.