What is the Ideal Humidity Level for Bedroom? Never Exceed 60%

What is a good humidity level for a bedroom to help you sleep soundly and long?

That is what we are going to find out in this post!

Sound sleep every night is the key to high productivity at work or at school. However, too low or too high humidity often affects our sleep quality. That is why, in this post, we will find out the best humidity level for the bedroom.

So, what is the perfect humidity for a bedroom? Some say 30 to 50% humidity is recommended for the entire house. Other sources say you should keep it between 40 and 60%. However, at 60%, mold will start forming since the humidity level is high.

The most ideal humidity for the bedroom

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You realize that maintaining the right humidity level alone is not enough to enhance sleep. You should prepare the bedroom amply, get the correct lighting, reduce noise, and keep the air clean.

Of all the factors that determine the quality of your sleep, temperature and humidity are the biggest. The good thing is that controlling one can help control the other.

Since your body’s temperature dips a bit at night, it is best to keep the temperature in the bedroom at about 67°F.

How does humidity affect your sleep?

Humidity affects your health. In another article, we saw how high humidity affects your health.

Even when you are asleep, humidity can still affect your health. Here are a few ways in which humidity affects your sleep:

Allergens can thrive in low humidity

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Some allergens, such as pollen, fur, and dust mites float in the air when the humidity is low. Thus, you can easily inhale them, and that will cause inflammation of the airways. It can also lead to an asthmatic attack.

That is not all! Some indoor allergens thrive in high humidity. When your indoor humidity level is higher than 55%, mold colonies can start growing.

When mold matures, it starts to release mold spores that float in the air. They eventually settle in other parts of the house. If they get enough nutrients, they will form new mold colonies.

If you do not clean your humidifier with white vinegar, mold can start inside the water tank. The mister can also pump out the mold with the mist. This can cause humidifier sickness symptoms.

To take care of your bedroom humidity level, get a hygrometer. Set the humidity range between 30 and 55%.

Dry air can cause respiratory issues

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We have already said that allergens can cause serious respiratory issues. And so can dry air!

Continuously inhaling dry air will cause the nasopharynx and nasal mucosa to dry up. This can lead to inflammation of the airways. If you are asthmatic, you can get more attacks easily.

If you have a cold, your nasal membranes will be more sensitive, so they are more likely to be inflamed. Dry air does not help with congestion.

Increasing the humidity to the required level can help to dislodge the mucus that has dried and stuck on the nasal passages.

Too much humidity can also cause respiratory issues. Even if you do not suffer from respiratory issues, you do not want to inhale too much damp air.

Both dry and damp air can trigger asthmatic attacks. When the air is too humid, it is harder to inhale. Therefore, you feel the urge to breathe faster, and this can cause asthmatic attacks.

Is asthma worse in dry air? Perhaps! The dry air will also dry out the mucus that lines the airways.

Humidity affects different sleep stages

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When your head hits the pillow, different things happen. Rather, you go through different stages of sleep.

There are the NREM and REM stages, which are the slow-wave stages of sleep. When there is high humidity in the bedroom, it will keep you awake longer in these stages. Therefore, there is a delay in getting to the deep sleep stages.

The key thing is to slip into the first stages of sleep at the right time. If this does not happen, you will not enjoy sound sleep. You will feel the impact of this the following day at work or at school. It will affect your productivity.

When there is high humidity, it tricks the body into thinking that it is extra warm. Thus, you sweat excessively as the body tries to cool down. When your pores are all opened up and sweat is pouring out, you cannot sleep.

So yes, both low and high humidity (but more for the latter) do affect the quality of your sleep. You can use a Vicks humidifier with VapoPads for scent to maintain the right humidity level when sleeping.

The best humidity level for the bedroom in winter and summer

Because of the temperature differences, the best humidity level for the bedroom in winter is not the same as that of summer.

Some sources will advise you to keep the humidity in the winter between 25 and 40 percent. That might not be correct.

In your indoor air, there should not be that much of a difference between humidity levels for summer and winter.

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Whether it is winter or summer, when the humidity level falls below 30 percent, the air is too dry. Again, irrespective of the season, when your indoor humidity level rises above 50 percent, it will feel too damp.

You could do 55 percent, which is okay and feels comfortable for some people. However, 60 percent can encourage the formation of mold colonies in your home.

If you have a modern humidifier such as the Pure Enrichment, keep the humidity setting between 30 and 50 percent.

That way, the humidifier can switch itself on and off automatically when humidity rises or falls below the required level.

During the summer, the temperature will be high. Warm air retains or gives the illusion of having more moisture.

Set the humidity level to 50 percent for your indoor space. If your place gets rainy in the summer, you may have to set the humidity slightly lower when it is raining.

Good humidity level for the bedroom FAQ

There is more to maintaining the right level of humidity in your home than meets the eye. If you have still not figured out why humidity is vital for sleep, this section on frequently asked questions and answers is for you:

What is the normal humidity in a bedroom?

This is not any different from the humidity that you would maintain for the rest of the rooms. Keep it between 30 and 50 percent.

Perhaps you can set the lowest to 35% and the highest to 55%. If any higher, it will cause mold to grow in the bedroom.

Is 70 room humidity high?

70 percent humidity indoors is very high. It will cause you to break out in sweltering sweat, and it will cause serious mold growth in some spaces. Such RH levels can also cause breathing complications in children and people with asthma.

How should you sleep in high humidity?

The key thing is to keep the humidity level at or below 50 percent. You can run a dehumidifier to lower the amount of moisture in the air. You can also keep indoor plants that have lower humidity. An exhaust fan also removes humid air and blows drier air back in.

Is it better to sleep in humid or dry?

It is best to sleep at a relative humidity level of 30 to 55%. Both dry and damp air is going to affect the quality of your sleep.

If the humidity level goes below 30%, the air could aggravate asthmatic attacks, and cause dry throat and coughing.

If the humidity goes above 55%, the damp air will be hard to inhale. To compensate for that, you will have to breathe in harder and faster, and this too could cause sleep disruption.

What happens when a room is too humid?

When a room is humid, and you turn on the heat, condensation starts forming as soon as the vapor comes into contact with cold surfaces. Musty smell in the house also indicates high humidity, as it could be coming from the mildew on the clothes in the closet. Another thing that happens in a humid room is rot in the wood, damage to paints, ceiling, walls, books, and mold.

Why does humidity go up at night?

At night, the air is colder, so it has a lower saturation limit. The saturation limit is the point where one item cannot hold any more of another item (in this case, air cannot hold any more water). This is how dew forms on the ground and other surfaces at night.

What is the ideal sleeping temperature?

Temperature can determine the level of humidity. Ideally, you should keep your bedroom temperature at a maximum of 67°F. It should not drop below 60°F. In this range, the heat is not stressful on your body. At this temperature, the humidity level should be between 30 and 40%, so check your thermostat or hygrometer.

For your baby’s room, set the temperature at 68 to 72°F. However, keep the humidity level in their room at 30 to 50 percent.

Why is my bedroom so dry at night?

Cold air holds less moisture, so you are likely to experience lower humidity at night. Also, if you live in a generally dry place such as Nevada, you will experience dry air all the time. However, the air will be drier during the night, and humidity can even dip below 30%.

Does humidity make you sleepy?

Maintaining the right level of relative humidity, which is 30 to 50%, can help with sleep. However, high humidity can lead to excessive sweating. The reason for this is that the body “thinks” there is excess heat, and so it compensates by sweating to cool down. This can also lead to dehydration.

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Wrapping it up

We can say so much about the ideal humidity level for the bedroom.

If the air is too dry, you can experience itchiness in the skin, irritation around the eyes, a sore throat, and even nosebleeds!

If the humidity is too high in your bedroom, it can cause serious breathing complications. The airways cannot handle damp air very well.

As you seek to set the humidity for your sleep, you might also want to set the correct temperature. Keep it at 67°F.