I personally cannot sleep without a window partly open, even in the winter.
Or else I feel claustophobic. (I think the buildup of CO2 as you breathe in a small room makes me nervous and wakes me up.)
Yeah, even in the winter, I usually have the window cracked (and the bed piled high with blankets). I only use airconditioning maybe 40 days a year (I only use it when it’s over 90+ at night) so I usually have the windows open all summer too. And I don’t have air in my car so those windows are always open too.
(although I will point out the average bedroom usually has more than adequate ventilation and there’s no way it’s really the build-up of CO2 that’s waking you up, it’s probably more the idea that’s disturbing your sleep)
I much prefer fresh air rather than recycled air, although I don’t have my windows open in the winter. I grew up in a household that always had the windows closed, with the AC or heat on, and both parents smoked.
Living in Florida, I get to enjoy beautiful weather year round - I’ll take advantage of that every chance I get!
It must, must be cold in the bedroom. The window is open all winter (about 2 inches) and a fan is going. When the temperature gets a bit warmer outside the fan moves into the window to pull in the cool night air. When the air outside gets too warm to be refreshing, the A/C goes on and stays on until October. And I snuggle under my lovely down comforter. Man, I love my comforter.
And yes, my power bill sucks.
I don’t demand fresh air year-round (it gets too, too cold in the winter here, for that) but I do want the air to be circulating–the heat or air conditioning running periodically is good enough.
It interferes with my sleep, too, if the air isn’t moving at all. I start to feel like I can’t breathe.
Growing up in the “old days” the fires in the stove were always banked at night just enough to keep coals to start in the morning. Living in the Northeast, it got pretty chilly at night, so got used to that.
Time passes, am mushing dog teams in Alaska, sleeping in mummuy-type sleeping bags out in the bush in below zero, with just my nose sticking out. Loved it.
Time passes, in college in Vermont, luckily had a room mate who was the same, so we opened the window at night all during the winter. In the morning the top of my blanket would be all coverd in frost from my breath.
Time passes, got married, wife hates the cold. Got electric blanket with controls for each side. She had hers high enough to make toast, I never turned my side on at all.
Mark Twain once noted that some people like it cold and night while others want it warm. The mystery, he added, was why they marry each other.
Yes.
The spouse and I spent 23 years snugly covered in down in Colorado.
Now we are in northwest Florida. Then and now, I have to have the window open.
BTW
FWIW, I am female.
I much prefer to have fresh air, whenever possible, day or night.
The area I live in, though, really only has tolerable open-window weather 1/4-1/3 of the year. The rest of the time it’s too hot/humid (we reach over 80% humidity for more than half of the summer and fall), or too wet (we don’t want rain coming in at night!), or too cold (we do get significant winter weather between December and March).
I do have seasonal allergies, but I think that having the windows opens helps my immune system adapt more easily, so I only have to take antihistamines in between pollen seasons.
Our indoor cats also like having the windows open as frequently as possible, and I think it helps my kids adjust better to the seasonal changes. Even though both my husband and I have seasonal allergies, neither of our kids seems to have suffered much, and never for more than a couple of weeks. We have made an effort to get them exposed to “real” air since the day they were born, by leaving windows open as well as by taking them for walks outside even when they were infants.
For the record, I am female, and while DH and I sometimes argue about room temperature in the winter (until recently, when my hot flashes have become more pronounced!), we agree completely about opening windows when the weather permits.
FWIW, I don’t believe this exists - the CO2 in a typical small room is just about the same as it is outdoors.
Well, if the house has really good weatherproofing and you don’t have good ventilation, you can get Co[sub]2[/sub] buildup. Cite- Home Comforts, Cheryl Mendelson.
My husband occasionally laments that he married someone who likes snow drifting in while she’s sleeping. I don’t understand how he can sleep if it’s more than 20C inside. I prefer it from 0 to 10 or 15C when sleeping, with wind blowing across my face.
I want to sleep with the window wide open year round because I like sleeping in a cold room under 100 pounds of blankets. The air is nice I guess but the open window is just a means to an end.
I don’t mind recycled air. I sleep with my windows clamped tightly down. When the door’s open, I want it closed.
But I can’t stand having no natural light. Windowless rooms make me feel trapped, panicky, and often just plain depressed.
Yes. The windows and doors stay open all year round.
One of the first things I do in the morning if the weather is nice is open all the windows in the living room.
I smoke and a gentle breeze is helpful in my apartment. Even if it is freezing outside, I will open the window so the room doesn’t get too smokey. As for the warm days, I like “natural heat,” so it will get over 80 degrees in here and I will feel fine.
The electrict bill is a little high, but oh well.
Oh yes.
Unfortunately, I live in an apartment complex, and I like to listen to music and watch movies at a moderately high volume throughout the day, so I am somewhat forced by my courteous nature to keep my windows closed most of the time. (my unit faces inward toward the “courtyard”)
I think the show Mythbusters had a segment where they tried to show you couldn’t kill yourself sleeping in a small room overnight. But their data showed that the CO2 did build up and that at a certain percentage you become headachy, then disoriented, and after a few days you would die. Their ‘room’ was more like a closet, as I recall, about the size of a bed by 8-foot high.
I can’t find the details.