Does Lowering Your AC At Night Help You Sleep?

With the hot summer months almost upon us, in Charlotte, you pretty much have to keep the air conditioner running all day and all night. But have you ever wondered whether it is safe to sleep with your HVAC on during the night? While AC clearly brings many perks, like purifying the air in your home, dehumidifying, spending time in well air-conditioned rooms every day and every night doesn’t seem healthy. Well, is it safe?

No matter what kind of cooling-related doubts you may have, don’t hesitate to rely on the best Charlotte Heating & Air Company repair to give you all the answers and make sure your AC is always in optimum condition for your maximum enjoyment. Keep reading to find out whether you should sleep with your AC on all night!

Is it bad to sleep with the AC running?

We will cut to the chase, scientists and experts seem to agree that leaving your AC on during the night is clearly pretty safe. What’s more, some actually recommend it since the optimal temperature for sleeping soundly seems to be on the cooler end of the spectrum. That being said, there’s a mix of things you should keep in mind if you want to ensure the best night’s sleep with your air conditioning running. In order to sleep well without compromising your health, make sure you do the following:

• Choosing the correct temperature: the best temperature for sleeping according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is between 60 and 67 degrees.
• Direct the airflow away: it’s not a good idea to sleep with cold air blowing directly on you unless you want to risk getting overly cold.
• Keep Filters Clean: to ensure your AC unit doesn’t return dust and particulates into your room, make sure your filters are not dirty.
• Use Programming: before you go to sleep, set your desired temperature and program the AC to switch off during the night since at that point your body will have already cooled down enough for you to sleep well.

Does AC Help Make You Sleepy?

The reason why experts say sleeping in cooler temperatures is that lowering the thermostat setting can make you drowsy and help you sleep more soundly. But why does this occur?

As you’ve probably noticed, falling asleep in high temperatures is nearly impossible. This is because your body temperature needs to drop a couple of degrees In order for you to fall asleep. Going to sleep in a cooler room enables your body to cool down faster and makes it easier for you to drift off.

Should You Leave AC Running All Night?

So we’ve established that falling asleep with the AC running can help you sleep well, leaving it on all night might actually cause a limit to your health and sleeping cycle. Here are some of the reasons why:

• AC too low can cause trouble: though lower temperatures will make it easier to drift off to sleep at first, temps too low for too long can negatively affect your immune system.
• It can inhibit hormone production: sleeping in temperatures that are too low can hinder your body’s ability to produce some important hormones necessary your body needs
• The noise might interrupt sleep: if your AC is old or not properly maintained, it can produce loud sounds while working which might keep you awake or lower the quality of your sleep without you realizing it.
• It can dehydrate you: depending on humidity levels in your home, running AC on for too long can dry out your skin, mouth, throat, and other parts of your body since it not only cools down the air but dehumidifies too.

If you think you may have a problem with your heating and air system, give us a call. We’ll evaluate your system and help make recommendations for optimum value. After all, we want to keep you cool all summer long and warm in the winter. Just schedule a visit with one of our technicians to talk about how we can help with your thermostat settings. Would you like to learn more options our techs can help you with? give us a call 704-684-5339