The short answer is yes: it is healthy to sleep with a humidifier in your room. Sleeping with a humidifier can have several health benefits, even if you don't have asthma.
Overall, humidifiers are safe to keep overnight when you're asleep. It's beneficial and helpful in many ways. It'll help your skin, lowers infection risk, and you'll sleep better at night.
Increased humidity may ease breathing in children and adults who have asthma or allergies, especially during a respiratory infection such as a cold. But mist from a dirty humidifier or increased growth of allergens caused by high humidity can trigger or worsen asthma and allergy symptoms.
Using a humidifier while you sleep has some health benefits that are apparent. For example, you will notice that you struggle less with dry skin, sinus problems, bloody noses, and cracked lips. You may also feel some relief from congestion if you have a cold. There are less obvious benefits as well.
The duration to run a humidifier varies, but typically, it's beneficial to run it for about 12 hours daily, usually overnight. Factors such as room size, current humidity levels, and personal health needs can influence the duration. Ensure the room's humidity stays between 30% and 50% to maintain a healthy environment.
The best place for a humidifier in your bedroom is the center. Preferably, it should be 3 feet away from your bed. You can also use a hygrometer to measure the humidity levels in different spots in your room and then place it where the numbers are quite low.
While using a humidifier can help with dry sinuses, it can also cause harm. Dust mite and mold growth is promoted more in humid environments, so if people are allergic to dust and mold, or if they have asthma, using a humidifier could aggravate these conditions.
Despite all the health benefits, there are also some risks associated with using a humidifier. For example, it is actually possible that a room can have too much moisture. If your humidifier is set too high, it can result in the proliferation of dust mites which can trigger allergy symptoms.
Many people automatically use tap water in a humidifier as it is easy and accessible but this does not come recommended by manufacturers. This is because tap water contains many invisible minerals, including magnesium, which can create buildup in your humidifier, resulting in limescale and mould.
One of the key tips for using a humidifier in your bedroom is placing it at the correct distance from your bed. Specifically, we recommend that you keep your humidifier at a distance of around 3 feet from your bed – although there's no inherent harm in placing it closer, if you're restricted on room.
Your humidifier run time is typically about 10 to 15 minutes, which is the average length of a heating cycle. If you notice condensation on windows or surfaces indoors over the winter, this is an indicator that there is too much humidity and you will want to adjust to prevent excess moisture.
The humidifier can operate for up to 24 hours on the lowest setting, and automatically shuts off when the tank is empty. This Vicks Cool Mist Humidifier utilizes Ultrasonic Technology for whisper-quiet operation that won't disturb sleep and it has an optional color changing nightlight.
Open windows can promote airflow. As outdoor air moves inward, it can help your humidifier increase moisture levels throughout the home. On the other hand, people who live in dry regions should leave their windows closed when running a humidifier.
While a humidifier can add moisture to the air, it is not designed to remove pollutants or allergens. If you want to improve the air quality in your home or office, an air purifier is a better choice.
Using a hygrometer is the easiest way to measure the humidity in your home. The device measures humidity and temperature and is easy to use as a simple thermometer.
So, does a humidifier clean the air? No. Their function neither improves the quality of the air nor reduces the particles in it. Instead, humidifiers are devices that release water vapor or steam into the air to increase humidity levels in a room or throughout the home.
A humidifier is a necessity during the winter because the heated air from a furnace is dry. That dry air has a low humidity level that will absorb moisture from you and everything inside your home.
You have morning or nighttime congestion
And if you're finding yourself waking up with congestion, having a hard time breathing at night or feel congested often throughout the day, then you might benefit from a humidifier.
The higher up off the floor the humidifier is placed the better. It produces a mist that has to get mixed with the air. When the humidifier is placed on the floor, the mist has no chance to get mixed with the air and it causes wet floors. Try to put it on a nightstand or a table.
Also, don't hold your face directly above the appliance. Dr. Hartman suggests placing a humidifier at least 3 feet away. "The humidifier should be aimed to release moisture into the air so that the benefit is felt by the skin all over the body," he says.
If you're monitoring the humidity levels in your home, it's relatively safe to run your humidifier around the clock. You should take special care not to leave anything running while you're out of the house. However, just because it's safe doesn't mean that it's necessary.
If you have an older humidifier that doesn't shut off automatically, it may continue to run without water. In most cases, this simply blows air into the room with no added moisture. A humidifier without auto-shutoff could overheat. If this happens, the circuitry may burn or the motor may become damaged.