Do you want a better night’s sleep? Try to leave your window OPEN
- Fresh air, which ventilates the room better, helps with a good night’s sleep
- Researchers recruited people who were willing to have their sleep tracked for two weeks
Opening a bedroom window at night can lead to better sleep and thinking skills.
Fresh air, which ventilates the room better, helps with a good night’s sleep, suggests a study of 40 people.
This could explain why people who slept with their windows open performed better the next day on a test of their mental abilities.
Researchers recruited people who were willing to have their sleep tracked for two weeks.
In the first week they slept normally, and in the second week they were asked to open the window and bedroom door if they were normally closed, or close them if they were normally open.
Fresh air, which ventilates the room better, helps with a good night’s sleep, suggests a study of 40 people
When people slept with their windows open, they slept significantly longer, according to sleep trackers worn on the wrist.
They made significantly fewer mistakes in a three-minute test of their reasoning ability, which asked about the relationship between different objects.
Dr. Pawel Wargocki, lead author of the study from the Technical University of Denmark, said: ‘The air quality in the bedroom can affect your cognitive skills, such as your ability to concentrate, understand and react.
“Sleeping in a well-ventilated bedroom benefits your cognitive abilities.”
The study, published in the journal Building and Environment, found results from 29 bedrooms where people opened or closed their doors or windows from one week to the next, and indoor air quality changed significantly as a result.
When people slept with their bedroom windows open, they reported feeling less sleepy in the morning and evening.
With the window open, 87 percent of people reported having slept deeply, compared to 70 percent with the window closed.
For those who don’t want a stuffy bedroom but are concerned about safety, noise or chilliness with the window open, Dr Wargocki said: ‘We are looking into whether other technologies such as air purifiers can provide bedroom air as clean as mechanical ventilation or an open window.’
The research, conducted between September and December 2020, suggests that simply opening the bedroom door may not improve air quality enough to encourage sleep.
No effect on sleep duration was seen when people kept their bedroom doors ajar.
A much larger study is needed to confirm the results of the new study, but the results follow on from a previous small study involving members of the same research team that suggested opening a bedroom window reduces snoring.