You know that feeling when you wake up in the morning and feel you haven’t slept a wink? It’s because of your lack of exposure to natural light. Exposure to sunlight has been shown to help regulate our sleep cycle, so without it, we can have trouble getting enough shuteye.
But what if you are forced to sleep in a room without windows? You won’t have access to sunlight, which means it’ll be hard for your body to understand when it’s time to wake up, or to sleep. Natural light is a blessing for our body. Artificial light is disruptive.
Luckily for us, there are ways around this. In today’s post, I’ll be sharing some tips on how to get quality sleep in a room without windows for those times when we just need that little extra boost.
Editor’s note: It’s technically illegal to have a bedroom without windows. But reality is more complex than the law. Some people work night shifts, thus needing a room that will be pitch-black during the day. Some houses were built before the law came into effect. And realistically, who should decide where you sleep? The government? Please.
Why Sleeping in a Room without Windows Is Bad
Sleeping in a room without windows comes with 2 main issues:
- Lack of sunlight exposure
- Lack of fresh air
Both issues affect our sleep quality. Poor sleep quality means feeling tired the next day. Sleep also influences our mood and immune system. Long-term sleep deprivation can cause many terrible health problems, such as obesity and dementia.
It is imperative to ensure great sleep quality if you want to live a good life. With all the stress we are subjected to in the modern world, it’s normal to feel anxious. Anxiety makes sleeping harder, which makes our sleep worse.
Let’s see how these actually affect our sleep.
Problems with a Lack of Sunlight Exposure
The body is confused and doesn’t know how to react to lack of daylight, which can lead to poor sleep quality and mood. Lack of sun also causes our skin and eyesight to not be as healthy as it should be, which can affect health in the long term.
Lack of sunlight exposure triggers hormones that tell us when we need to wake up or go to bed. Light tells our brain that it’s time in REM sleep (deep sleep) and alert phase (light sleep). Studies show that the light affects how we feel. If we want to feel good, we will need to let in some natural light.
A windowless bedroom doesn’t let any sunlight in. If you’re spending a lot of time inside your room, then you’re likely to experience poor sleep and worse health. Plus, sun is necessary for our body to absorb vitamin D, which gives us plenty of benefits.
Editor’s note: Try to spend more time outside if you’re stuck sleeping in a windowless room.
Problems with a Lack of Fresh Air
Lack of fresh air means lack of oxygen. As we know, the body needs to breathe in order to function at its best. It’s been shown that our sleep is deeper and longer when there is a good amount of air available to us.
Fresh air helps with our breathing, stress, and overall health. Breathing in fresh air helps us relieve stress and tension, which is crucial for getting a good night’s rest. Oxygen enters our lungs when we breathe in clean air, bringing along the nutrients that are essential for all the cells of the body. Oxygen is delivered through red blood cells to other parts of the body.
Breathing in fresh air also reduces stress hormones, such as cortisol. When stress hormones are released into the bloodstream, they can tell our bodies that it should be alert. This can keep us from entering deep sleep, which makes us tired during the day.
Fresh air is important because it helps to get rid of carbon dioxide through our lungs, which is a natural waste product. Carbon dioxide will cause us to feel tired and dizzy if we have too much of it in the bloodstream.
If you must sleep in a windowless room, then make sure it is properly ventilated. Keep its door open and improve your house’s air circulation with smart fans’ placement.
How to Sleep in a Room without Windows
The most obvious solution to the issue is adding a window to your room. But that’s not always workable. It’s also a process that requires you to change your home, and it can be quite expensive.
That’s why we created this list. Implementing the tips on this list will vastly improve your environment’s quality.
Here are some ways to ensure you get enough sleep when there’s no access to sunlight or fresh air.
Ventilate Your Room before Bed
This is by far the most important thing.
You can ventilate your room even if it has no windows. Just make sure you open your door and any other windows that are available.
The easiest way is by opening your room’s door and all of your home’s windows. You can place fans strategically to facilitate the stale air from leaving your room, and then getting fresh air inside it.
Start by opening the door for 15 minutes before going to bed, then close it once you are going to bed. This process will allow toxins (like carbon dioxide) to escape from the room as fresh air enters.
Place Fans Strategically
This is the best way to ensure you get enough fresh air and remain cool throughout your sleep. A fan will help circulate the air in the room, keeping it clean and allowing toxins such as carbon dioxide to be cleared from our lungs. For maximum health benefits of sleeping with a fan, make sure not to place it too close to you or pointed it directly at your face.
Install an A/C Unit
If you want to ensure your room is as cool as possible, an A/C unit will do the trick. Just make sure that it doesn’t blow directly on yourself or disrupt any airflow in the room by placing a fan next to it.
Windowless rooms are impossible to cool down without external help, since you can’t open your windows to let the heat out. That’s why an A/C unit is a substantial investment.
A good A/C unit will help you control the exact temperature of a room. They are more energy efficient than they used to be, so investing in one is a great idea for anyone who has trouble sleeping without fresh air or proper cooling.
Even if it’s just during summer, an A/C unit will provide some much-needed relief from heat and humidity that might plague your room.
Also Read: The Best Humidity for Sleeping Like a Rock (Different in Summer And Winter)
Invest in Comfortable Bed and Mattress
If you’re a restless sleeper, invest in a comfortable bed and mattress for your health benefits as well as comfort. It is important to feel relaxed when we sleep so that our muscles can fully rejuvenate themselves from the day’s activities. Relaxing will also release tension that keeps us up at night!
A good pillow will also help you relax and get a good night’s sleep. Invest in a pillow that is easy on your neck, as this will reduce tension throughout the body and make it easier for us to fall asleep without discomfort or pain from muscles being too tight.
What makes a mattress good? There are many things that go into asking of what makes a mattress good.
If you’re looking for a comfortable mattress, get one made from materials that have been tested and have been on irritating. The material should also not keep too much heat, so it’s not keeping your body warm during the night. It’s also important to consider the weight of a mattress.
A heavier or denser foam is going to be less supportive of your back and more likely to cause pain in certain areas of your back. This is one way that what makes a mattress good is different for everyone—find out what is best for you.
Get an Air Purifier
If possible, invest in a good air purifier for your bedroom so that it stays nice and clean with fresh air coming through regularly. There are many types of filters available, depending on the size of your room and needs. What makes a purifier good is how effective it is at eliminating pollutants in the air. This will allow you to get a good night’s sleep with no distractions or disruptions throughout the night.
A good air purifier will have a HEPA or MERV filter. These filters are made from synthetic fibers that trap up to 99% of pollutants from the air. They remove at least 99.97% of particulate matter, both larger and smaller than 0.3 micrometers in size. Some good purifiers also have activated carbon filters that help absorb odors and gases that can disrupt sleep.
The best way to determine what makes a purifier good is by looking into how many pollutants it removes, how easy it is to use, and its features such as odor absorption for improved quality of sleep.
Use essential oils for better sleep
There are many health benefits of essential oils when used properly and sparingly. Oils like lavender have helped people with their sleep and relaxation. If you’re looking for a good way to get rid of insomnia, try using lavender before bedtime or in your home diffuser.
Warning: essential oils should be used cautiously because they can also cause allergies when not properly diluted.
Windowless Rooms Are Dangerous for Our Health
Aside from the poor-quality sleep that we already talked about, there are bigger issues with sleeping in a room without windows: carbon dioxide (CO2) and mold.
Carbon Dioxide
Sleeping for 8 hours in a windowless room produces a lot of CO2. This is because our bodies are constantly breathing in oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. When we sleep, this process slows down so that the body can fully recharge its batteries.
There is too much CO for us to breathe when sleeping in a room with no windows. This will cause major health issues, including respiratory problems. It also makes it harder for our bodies to rejuvenate throughout the night because of the lack of oxygen.
That’s why it’s vital to ensure your room has at least a good ventilation system.
The carbon dioxide levels in a windowless room can build up so much that it enters our bloodstream through capillaries found on our tongue and mouth lining. This will cause serious damage, leading to cardiovascular issues down the line, including high blood pressure and heart disease.
Sleeping in a room with no windows is not only uncomfortable, but it’s also harmful to your health. You don’t want to ignore the fact that you’re inhaling too much carbon dioxide because of this. Make sure you do something about it before sleeping becomes a problem for you and causes damage down the line.
Mold
Without proper airflow, mold is going to grow in your room. Mold causes distinct problems, including skin irritation and respiratory distress. It’s not worth the risk of sleeping in a humid environment with mold growing on your walls or carpets.
Mold is dangerous for our health. If the humidity levels in your room get too high, mold will grow on surfaces, which can be a major health hazard.
When you have a windowless room, that means there is no airflow at all. Mold will not go away by itself because it thrives off of moisture and heat. It’s important for this issue to be resolved immediately so that your health isn’t put at risk.
The best way to resolve this problem in a windowless room is by using a dehumidifier and proper ventilation system for airflow. If you don’t already have one, invest in an air purifier with strong filters to get rid of mold spores from the room before they spread their damage everywhere.
That will allow you to breathe easier and have a more comfortable sleep throughout the night. Don’t neglect your health for mold in a windowless room.
Alternatively, you can use a mold killer spray.
Conclusions
Sleeping in a room without windows is potentially dangerous. But it’s also a brilliant solution for some people. Not everyone has the luxury to sleep during the night. Windowless rooms are a way to avoid the sunlight during our rest.
Make sure you are ventilating your room, and that you are getting enough sunlight during the rest of the day. Our body desperately need fresh air and sunlight to function. Also, make sure the room you are sleeping in is comfortable. Windowless rooms are usually hotter, and air inside can feel stale.
As long as you take precautions to make sure you’re staying healthy while sleeping in a windowless room, you’ll be fine.
