What is the Perfect Temperature for Humans to Live In?

What is the ideal room temperature for the human body? The short and fast answer is between 68 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit, or 20 and 26 degrees Celsius.

Many times in this blog, we have looked at the ideal humidity for comfortable living, which we said is between 35 and 55%. Some sources will say to keep the humidity between 30 and 60%. Well, it is still close.

If it goes higher than that, you can start seeing symptoms of mold in the house. It can also start affecting your furniture, carpets, clothes, books, and electronics.

High humidity is also not good for your health. In another article, we looked at the effects of high humidity on the body.

In yet another article, we looked at the effects of low humidity on health.

Today, we ask: What is the ideal room temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit for comfortable living? It varies, and quite a lot, too.

Also read: Temperature and Humidity Relationship Chart 

However, with appliances such as air conditioners, you can regulate the temperature to remain at your “sweet spot” throughout the year.

Why does room temperature matter?

ideal room temperature for human body

There are many reasons why maintaining the right room temperature matters. Here are some of them:

Ideal temperature enhance comfort

In the summer, indoor and outdoor spaces can become too hot and humid for comfort. In such a time, you need to run a dehumidifier and an air conditioner.

It prevents hypothermia

This is especially important for the elderly because they can stay comfortable and warmed up. They are more susceptible to colds than younger people. We shall discuss more about this later.

To enhance comfort for babies

If you have a baby at home, you will think you need to cover them up. However, that is not always the case. If you maintain the recommended room temperature, you do not need to cover your baby up too much.

What is the best room temperature?

When you check the many products that you buy from the store, you will find that most are written to keep at room temperature.

So, what exactly is room temperature? Again, this is not a one-off figure for temperature. Rather, it is given as a range of 68 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit/20 and 24 degrees Celsius.

Also read: Is 70 percent humidity too high outside?

If room temperature is mentioned, it is basically the air temperature in the room. You can use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the room at a given time.

Please note that room temperature does not mean the ideal temperature. This is the temperature in the room in the air at the time that you measure it. It is also called the ambient temperature.

The healthiest or the most ideal room temperature depends on the person. For instance, some people love to stay in warmer environments, but some prefer it cooler. Thus, the ideal room temperature is between 20 and 24 degrees Celsius.

One thing that you will notice about this temperature range is that it is neither too cool nor too warm. It is just the perfect temperature range.

The best room temperature for sleeping

The most important thing is to keep the temperature at comfortable levels. In any case, our bodies behave differently when we are sleeping.

For instance, there are warm and cold sleepers. Warm sleepers might want their sleeping temperature to stay a bit cooler. Cold sleepers might want to keep their nighttime room temperature a bit high.

What a cold or warm sleeper means is that if you are the former, you get too cold at night. Thus, you might want to wear a pair of socks for your feet to generate enough warmth so that you can sleep. You might also need heavier bed linen.

If you are a warm sleeper, you will sweat and toss. You need to keep your bed linen lighter.

The best room temperature for sleeping can also be determined by the humidity level. For instance, there is a relationship between humidity and temperature.

For instance, if there is too much moisture in the air, it retains more warmth. If the air is dryer, it does not get as warm.

Thus, before you tinker with the air conditioner, thinking that your bedroom is too warm, first use a hygrometer to check the humidity level of the room.

When you sleep, the core temperature of the body goes low. To sleep comfortably, it is best to get the temperature of the air in the room to match that of the body as closely as possible.

The recommended average room temperature for sleeping is 65 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 to 22.2 degrees Celsius).

Also read: Pure Enrichment humidifier not working

What is the ideal room temperature for an elderly person?

ideal room temperature for an elderly person

According to experts, the lowest room temperature for the elderly, the sick, and children should never dip below 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit).

There is a good reason for this. You see, the elderly person’s skin is thinner, so it does not handle cooler temperatures very well. It loses heat faster, leaving the elderly at a higher risk of hypothermia than younger people.

Their muscle groups can fail too soon from the cold. This happens faster in elderly people who are thin. They do not have enough fat to create a buffer zone between their muscles and the cold weather outside.

If exposed to chilly weather, the elderly are also at a higher risk of getting frostbite and falling. During the cold season, keep the heat running and ensure that it never drops below 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Overall, it would be better to keep the room temperature for the elderly slightly higher than recommended than to keep it lower. However, for the sake of the electricity bill, keep it between 68 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

According to the National Institute on Aging, even 65 degrees Fahrenheit is too low, and an elderly person should not be exposed to it for long.

The ideal room temperature for babies

Every parent’s instinct is to bundle up their baby with extra shawls and clothing, in the belief that babies need to stay extra warm all the time. However, that is not really correct. It is best to know the ideal room temperature for a baby’s room.

Image of ideal room temperature for sleeping

It can be hard to know when your baby is feeling freezing. You can tell when they are too warm because babies sweat a lot.

Parenting resources tell us to keep the room temperature in a baby’s room between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (20 and 22 degrees Celsius).

If you are not sure about the right temperature for the baby, try to keep it at the same average room temperature that you would maintain for adults. Babies will be comfortable enough in the 20- to 24-degree Celsius range.

Ideal Room Temperature for Human Body FAQ

Most people go through life without caring much about the conditions they subject their bodies to, as long as they are not extreme. However, knowing everything about keeping the ideal room temperature can really help.

Here are some constantly asked questions and their answers regarding room temperature.

What is the best room temperature for the body?

For your comfort and the health of your hair and skin, it is best to keep the temperature between 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. However, for sleeping, you ought to keep it between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Does room temperature affect the body?

If the temperature is too high, the body’s protection mechanism kicks in. You will sweat to cool off, and your pores will open up to lose excess heat.

The veins also come closer to the surface of the skin to lose heat. If the temperature goes down, the body does the opposite to retain heat. So yes, temperature does affect the human body.

Is it healthy to sleep in a cold room?

Since your body’s core temperature drops a little when you sleep, sleeping in a cold room can help you get to sleep faster.

If the temperature is too low, you could lose too much body heat to the surroundings, leading to hypothermia. Maintain the recommended 65 to 72 room temperature for sleeping.

What temperature do you keep in your house in the summer?

The recommended summer indoor temperature is 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). That way, heat from outside is not going to invade your indoor spaces because heat tends to invade the cooler spaces.

Is 72 degrees too hot to sleep?

This is not too high, as it is still within the recommended temperature range for comfortable living, which is 65 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

If it extends slightly to 74 degrees Fahrenheit, it is still okay. Most people prefer to keep their sleeping temperature at 70 degrees.

Do you sleep better in the cold or warm?

You sleep better and more comfortably in the recommended temperature range of 65 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. This is neither too warm nor too cold, but it is just perfect.

When sleeping, keep the thermostat on the low side of the recommended range. Remember, your body’s temperature dips a little when you go to sleep, so a cool environment helps you sleep better.

Image of comfortable room temperature

Wrapping Up

You now know the different temperature ranges that you should maintain during the day and night.

It is important that the range be just right—not too high and not too low. Set the thermostat between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit for the night and 68 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit for the day.

These are just guidelines, though. Do try different ranges, as long as you do not go below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, to find the point where you are most comfortable, since people are different.

For the elderly, the temperature should never go below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Their bodies lose heat to their surroundings faster, so they need the heat to stay constant.