Want to improve your sleep quality? Open your window

Want to improve your sleep quality? Open your window
Do you sleep with your the window closed to make your bedroom more silent? The excess of carbon dioxide levels may be reducing the quality of your rest. According to a new study from the Netherlands, people who sleep with a window or bedroom door opened have better sleep quality.

The research, conducted by Dr. Asit Mishra of Eindhoven University of Technology, reveals the importance of fresh air during sleep. “We spend nearly a third of our life in the bedroom environment, but the air quality in our sleeping environment is often overlooked,” he says.

During the study, volunteers had their sleep monitored in closed bedroom, and then again, with an opened door or window. Their skin temperature, heat flux, bed temperature and skin moisture levels were constantly measured. Data of the bedroom, such as carbon dioxide levels, background noise and humidity, was also monitored.

The study shows that better ventilation levels lower the number of times a person wakes during the night as carbon dioxide levels decrease. “Opening an internal door can be a reasonably good alternative if you don’t want to open windows, either for noise concerns or security concerns,” Mishra says.

Another recent study from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, shows that closed doors and windows results in higher levels of carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. The author, who is part of a European research group that focuses on human exposure to pollutants, emphasises the importance of fresh air for quality sleep – essential for wellbeing and productivity. “We should play it safe in order to breathe better air during sleep.”

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