# Sleeping with head under covers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933 "2007-03-14T20:00:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![totoismomo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/59ef9b/32.png) [@totoismomo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/totoismomo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/1 "2007-03-14T20:00:31Z")
Is sleeping with my head under the covers bad for me? I’ve noticed it helps me fall asleep sometimes, especially in the winters. But intuitively it seems that continually breathing in mostly respired air throughout the night might somehow be harmful, insofar as I might not be getting enough oxygen. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/2 "2007-03-14T20:28:40Z")
Only if you are prone to farting in your sleep:D ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/3 "2007-03-14T20:33:29Z")
I wouldn’t do that myself. It doesn’t seem unlikely that the covers would fall around the bed and create a suffocation friendly air pocket. Or does air still come through the duvet or something? ---
**Author:** ![iano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@iano](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iano)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/4 "2007-03-14T20:46:00Z")
Suffocation? Come on, I think the people who could be smothered by an inert piece of cloth died out many generations ago. Yes, more than enough air comes in from the not-very-sealed barrier found all along the blanket’s edge. No problems. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/5 "2007-03-14T21:06:03Z")
Well, at least the Monsters won’t get you. Although the patented Larson Anti-Monster Snorkle makes it more comfortable to breathe without exposing vulnerable parts. ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/6 "2007-03-14T21:26:04Z")
You aren’t going to suffocate, but you might be re-breathing a bit much of your own air. I’ve heard one possible end result referred to as a “turtle headache”. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/7 "2007-03-14T21:32:04Z")
This helps me fall asleep faster, too. I think it’s because the “rebreathed” air has less O2, and oxygen saturation in the blood drops when you fall asleep (that’s why people yawn when they’re starting to doze, to bring in more oxygen). There blankets are most certaintly not air tight, and I’m pretty sure you’d wake up if your blood started to become to saturated with carbon dioxide. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/8 "2007-03-14T22:22:06Z")
All of the above assumes you do not sleep under a blanket made up of used plastic bags. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/9 "2007-03-14T22:48:55Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] All of the above assumes you do not sleep under a blanket made up of used plastic bags. [/QUOTE] What if they’re new? ---
**Author:** ![lizardling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@lizardling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lizardling)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/10 "2007-03-15T01:24:08Z")
Hmm. There’s also the anecdotal observation that my rib cage moves _much_ less when I’m asleep. In other words, I’m breathing very shallowly in my sleep. If this is applicable to other people, it could also be a mechanism to reduce the rebreathing thing that’s mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/11 "2007-03-15T01:37:06Z")
Wrap the blanket around your head so your nose and mouth can still breathe cooler air. That’s the way to do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/12 "2007-03-15T01:42:29Z")
The Far Side once demonstrated a “monster snorkel” for this very problem. You could keep your whole body safely under the covers while still breathing safely. I thought it was a gimmick at the time. Come to find out, any old snorkel works and you can find them at toy stores and dive shops in your area. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/13 "2007-03-15T13:42:17Z")
[QUOTE=Billdo] What if they’re new? [/QUOTE] Those are for use in the crib. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/14 "2007-03-15T14:13:26Z")
You don’t have to be all the way under the covers. I sometimes pull the sheet slightly over my nose but sort of make a tent around it so my nose isn’t right on it and fresh air still has a way in. This has the effect of humidifying the air I’m breathing, which helps when my throat is sore or I’m stuffy. But I still wonder if all the extra CO2 I’m breathing in is bad for me. ---
**Author:** ![totoismomo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/59ef9b/32.png) [@totoismomo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/totoismomo)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/15 "2007-03-16T03:07:21Z")
Not so much worried about suffocation, just worried it might be increasing my grogginess factor in the morning by waking me up at night without me knowing or something. Guess I’ll experiment. (Though I might pass on the snorkel–I’m not _that_ committed to sleeping in my “shell”, nor afraid of monsters.) ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/16 "2007-03-16T03:31:38Z")
\*\*Sleeping with head under covers \*\* Heh, that’s how I sleep when I’m aware of (or hear) a pesky mosquito in the room! Not only is this “head under covers” practice not harmful, it saves me from getting bit! In the morning, I go a-hunting for mosquito. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/17 "2007-03-16T04:07:53Z")
[QUOTE=Baffle] Wrap the blanket around your head so your nose and mouth can still breathe cooler air. That’s the way to do it right. [/QUOTE] That’s been my tactic for years. Ever since college, when it was first noticed by others, people have been talking about my “mummified” sleep. I like it, though. I sleep like the dead. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-with-head-under-covers/395933/18 "2007-03-16T04:22:16Z")
[QUOTE=totoismomo] Is sleeping with my head under the covers bad for me? I’ve noticed it helps me fall asleep sometimes, especially in the winters. But intuitively it seems that continually breathing in mostly respired air throughout the night might somehow be harmful, insofar as I might not be getting enough oxygen. [/QUOTE] Not a doctor here. I don’t see suffocation as a problem if you have normal respiratory action, no apnea, asthma, etc. I frequendtly do it. And, is your head still under the covers when you wake up?