Side effects of sleeping with a fan on you, is it bad ?

Sleep is an important part of our life. It helps us recover from the past day’s activities while preparing us for the coming day. But what if sleeping isn’t comfortable and becomes disruptive because your room isn’t cool or breathable enough? Turning the fan on can be a good option, especially during hot days (also check the top rated cooling mattresses for hot sleepers). But is it a healthy option to turn your fan on at night while sleeping?

Does it have any drawbacks that may be life-threatening too?

Let’s find out.

Can Sleeping With A Fan Make You Sick?

You should clean your fan frequently, at least once a week. A clean bed will promote a cool and comfortable sleep (also check 10 great cooling mattress toppers), but if the fan isn’t clean, it can cause health problems. The fans can dry the air already present in your room. Eventually, it can dry your throat and nose and can become the reason for many other discomforts.

Furthermore, a running fan can trigger asthma or worsen any allergies that you are suffering (also check top rated mattresses for allergies). This can lead to waking up with a running nose, coughing, or itchy eyes when the fan isn’t clean and has dust mites. Therefore, be careful when you are using a fan and stop using it in case you feel any bad symptoms throughout the day.

Can Sleeping With A Fan on Paralyze You?

There hasn’t been any full-body paralyzing incident reported because of running a fan on you at night. However, many studies have shown that running a fan at night cuts off the oxygen supply in your room. Especially when the door is closed, and you are not sleeping with a proper airflow through open room doors or windows.

This lack of oxygen supply can cause life-threatening situations like seizures and coma. In addition, if there is no oxygen supply to the brain for 10 minutes, it can cause brain death.

However, there hasn’t been any such severe incident ever occurred or reported. But it is a serious threat, and you must consider that before you use a fan on you while sleeping at night.

Is Sleeping With A Fan on Bad For You?

While sleeping with a fan on at night has its benefits. A fan helps to circulate the air in your room and makes you feel cool and comfortable. However, it can be bad for the health at the same time. Especially when you come from outside drenched in heavy body sweat, a running fan can soothe the sweating feeling. Nevertheless, it can only be good for you if your fan is clean and has no dirt or dust mites present on its wings.

When the temperature inside the room is already hot, the fan will circulate the same hot air, which will negatively impact your body temperature and can make you faint or sick simultaneously.

Advantages of Sleeping With a Fan

While there is some disadvantage to sleeping with a fan on you at night, here are a few advantages as well. They can promote your sleep in some ways. Check out some of these advantages below:

Creates Comfort

Fans contribute to undisruptive sleep for many people. They do it by circulating cool breezy air in the room to promote a blissful sleep. Many people keep tossing at night from one side to another or are hot-sleepers.

Sleeping with a fan on at night provides a cool and breathable environment. It makes them feel like sleeping at the beach. Therefore, turning a fan on at night eliminates the chances of restless sleep while easing their bodies.

Keeps the Body Cool

The most common and apparent benefit of turning a fan above you at night is that it creates a cool and cozy air atmosphere. But you must keep the room windows open or any other natural airflow. It will promote healthy air circulation, with the fan doing its fine job keeping the room cool and breathable.

Some people tend to sleep hot at night, and being too hot without a fan can cause congestion and suffocation. A fan helps to keep the room cool in a cheaper way compared to an air conditioner.

White Noise

A fan running above you at night can work as a Low-budgeted DIY white noise machine. Because the sound of a fan is somewhat like white noise, and some people like to have that hum before falling asleep.

We believe this would be something new and quite surprising to hear for some of the readers that many people find it difficult to sleep at night without white noise. Since they have spent most of their lifetime in noisy environments and when they shift to a silent place of living, they find it difficult to sleep, especially in the beginning.

Therefore, for such people, turning a fan on at night above them can prove to be a fruitful way of going to sleep. This method is even helpful if the room isn’t quite enough to put you to sleep comfortably. You may start a fan that can work as a white noise machine and do the job for you.

Promotes Air Circulation

Every living and breathable place has air and needs a little whirl to circulate. A fan helps in promoting air circulation by creating enough wind that promotes better air circulation.

This process forms enough cool and breezy air in the room that most people need to sleep comfortably at night. Therefore, a fan helps to freshen up the environment and creates enough atmosphere whirling to make it less suffocating and stuffy to rest within.

Disadvantages of Sleeping With a Fan Turned on

Sleeping with a fan on has its advantages, no doubt, but you may have to deal with its consequences. Some of these can be severe or life-threatening if not taken care of properly. You may have to think twice before bed about turning a fan on.

May Cause Allergies

It’s still hard for many people to stop using fans despite knowing that they even circulate dust mites, dirt, or pollens. These further become the main cause of allergies or asthma in them (also check the best selling bed sheets for allergies). Turn your head up or look toward your fan, and you will find dust or dirt attached to its wings.

If you don’t clean them frequently, you inhale all this attached to your fan without knowing. Sometimes we even experience a runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes, and sneezing without realizing that your fan might be causing it. Therefore, clean your fan at least once a week for your well-being and safe and healthy undisruptive sleep.

May Produce Congestion

A fan can give you the desired room temperature by creating enough air. But this can even dry different body parts like the mouth, nose, and throat. Your fan may cause drying moisture out of your nose and mouth. As a result, excess body mucus will start to produce in your body due to that dryness.

This condition can even worsen if you start sleeping under the fan regularly. Therefore, despite thinking of these symptoms as a normal part of life, you should reconsider your option of daily sleeping under a fan. You probably won’t even know the roots of all these minor yet dangerous health issues.

Skin Dryness

Another serious disadvantage of using a fan above you is it can dry out your skin. It can further lead to skin irritation before it gets worse. However, you can use skin hydration or moisturizers before bed to fight this condition. They can provide relief by replenishing the skin.

Using a fan to cool your room is not the best choice for everyone. Especially for those who dislike the air blown around them or the sound they make should avoid fans. Those with dry eyes, psoriasis, or eczema must avoid using fans as they can further worsen their skin and other health conditions.

Alternates of Sleeping Under Fans

While sleeping under fans has its benefits, they are only suitable for some to sleep under them. Therefore, those who find it difficult or dangerous to sleep with a fan can opt for other options. Check out some of them below:

Use An Air-Conditioner

Air conditioners can be an excellent choice for fans, especially if you use them to keep cool at night. However, where a fan consumes less electricity and makes up for a lower power electricity bill. On the contrary, Air-conditioner would rather consume a large amount of electricity and is suitable for hotter areas.

Use A Cooling Mattress Instead

If you use a fan at night to keep you cool while sleeping or if you are a hot sleeper who needs a fan when tossing in bed at night. You can use a cooling mattress instead to deal with this issue. There are a lot of mattress options available that can take care of this problem.

Many mattresses have cooling gel sheets or other technologies to keep you cool at night (check the top rated luxury bed sheets). They may be expensive, but they would be a one-time investment. It requires a little effort to search for the right piece in the market or online to buy the best choice, which can last for 10-15 years.

Shower before Bed

Showering before bed can be another good alternative to using a fan. It will not only keep you cold at night but also make you sleep faster. A warm shower can be more useful compared to a cold one. Your body will automatically adjust to normal temperature once you are out of the shower. Wear loose clothes to relax your muscles; you will sleep clean and tidy for a more breathable sleep.

Key Takeaways: Side Effects Of Sleeping With A Fan On You

Health Concerns

Running a fan can cause health issues such as dry throat and nose, and can aggravate asthma or allergies, especially if the fan isn’t clean.

Fan and Oxygen Supply

There’s a notion that fans at night can reduce the oxygen supply in the room, especially when there’s no proper airflow. This might lead to situations like seizures or even coma, though no such incidents have been reported.

Benefits of Using a Fan While Sleeping

Fans can offer a cool and breathable environment, especially for those who tend to sleep hot. It can also provide a consistent white noise for better sleep and promote better air circulation in the room.

Disadvantages of Using a Fan While Sleeping

Fans can circulate allergens like dust mites, leading to potential allergic reactions. They can also cause dryness in various parts of the body and may even result in skin irritation.

Alternatives to Fans

For those seeking other cooling solutions, options include using an air conditioner, investing in a cooling mattress, or taking a shower before bed.

Conclusion

Your sleep has to be peaceful and comfortable, and no matter what it requires, it needs to be fulfilled. But you can still put your life in danger for the few petty benefits it offers. You can look for other alternatives, as mentioned above, if running a fan is becoming dangerous for your health. It wouldn’t be wise to put your eyes, skin, throat, or other body parts or organs in danger to acquire a few benefits.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427038/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2451904922002761