Why don’t Europeans believe in sleeping with the AC on?
July 20, 2024
I’ve had some disagreements over the AC while traveling in the past and never understood the opposition to sleeping with it on.
27 comments
Most of us don’t have AC.
Its hard to sleep with it on when it doesn’t exist in my flat
I don’t have AC in my house. In hotels, etc. I would only sleep with AC on if it isn’t noisy. I can’t deal with the humming sound most of those things make.
It is a massive waste of resources and generally not needed in our climate (and I’m from Madrid). Opening windows to ventilate and using fans is usually enough.
Also, and it could be me only, I don’t feel well after sleeping with AC. I have gotten colds many times.
Most of us are not used to it and often get sick it. Everytime I have been sitting/sleeping in too much AC, I get a runny nose 🤧
Depends where you stayed and where your friends are from, not all of Europe agrees on AC usage. For my case, it’s useless having AC for two to three days per year anyways because it cools down nicely in the evening where I live in the Netherlands.
In the Mediterranean, it never cools down until November. AC is a must and therefore I sleep with it when I visit my parents back in Malta.
In the north of Europe most dont have AC, summer is 3-4 months and if we are lucky 1 is hot enough to be a bother. So why waste money on something that wont be used most part of the year?
I think you’re confused.
1. AC isn’t common in European houses
2. that’s a Korean superstition, and it involves fans, not AC.
AC are not really needed in Iceland. You just open a window and let in a draft since the air is usually cold, even in midsummer.
Mediterranean european here: I simply don’t have AC. And growing up, adults use to tell me that sleeping with the AC on makes you sick. We find other ways to keep the house cool: open all windows at night/early in the morning, close everything including the blinds when the heat and sun start hitting (old stone houses are amazing for that, usually mediterranean architecture is designed to keep the heat out well), and lots of fans.
I dont have AC. I did in my previous house in Madrid and I’d put it on a bit before sleeping, I don’t need it to run the whole night, electricity is expensive, the sounds piss me off to sleep.
Persianas to keep the house cool during the day and opening the windows for ventilation will lower the temperature enough most of the time.
I might be in the minority here, but since mid June I leave on the AC on, especially with the dehumidifier mode active with a timer.
Many people where I live, and it’s the north of Italy, have their ACs on during the day and the night, that’s why blackouts are increasing, and the south fares no better.
I sleep with the AC on on all nights that don’t get cooler than ~20 degrees. Which is around 3/4 of the nights from May to October.
In Croatia everyone has an air conditioner, and when it’s still 30 degrees at night we still don’t sleep with the AC on. We blast it before sleep and have windows and blinds closed and ensure it’s a cool temperature, then go sleep.
You get sick and bothered by ac being on all night, it dries the air, your throat skin and eyes get damaged. It’s just disgusting and unnatural.
Why would I cool my entire apartment when I’m lying in bed? A fan is sufficient (and keeps mosquitoes away too)
During the day I use it at 27°C because it’s 35°C outside and it stays on as long as I am in the house. If your a/c is newish and the house is insulated then it doesn’t use that much energy as people think, it runs on maintaining the temperature most of the time. During the night for the time being I am lucky and temps drop to 26°C outside so it is not needed.
What is weird with Americans and you even said it in a comment is how low you, is how low you set up your a/c. You did 20-21°C which seems crazy to me, lower than 25 I would start feeling cold.
I do it in my hometown (central Spain) because it is too hot to sleep and I cannot open the windows because I live in a noisy area with nightlife. However, the air in my area is very dry and the AC makes it drier, so I usually wake up in discomfort. Still, this is better than the heat.
Even with normal tamemperature of 30-34 °C in the summer, I avoid AC like the plague because:
– dry air makes my throat and nose sore
– will wake up with a cold
– high electricity bill
– to stay used to the hot temperature outside. AC will make the hot weather feel hotter.
Ceiling/desktop fans and opening windows to create a draft always do a pretty decent job.
I get sick every time I sleep with the AC on. It’s no fun to spend the first two days sick on a one week vacation. So I switch them off if I can. And also they are usually too loud for me to sleep comfortably.
You need to have an AC to have an opinion on it.
But anyway if I go to a hot place where AC does exist, I let it blast all night long baby.
My body absolutely hates dry air. And 90% of AC both cools and dries the environment. I do sleep with a fan on my nightstand tho.
I don’t know the science behind it, but almost every time I’ve slept with an AC on holiday I’ve gotten a sore throat and runny nose. So if it wasn’t the AC that made me sick, what was it?
AC isn’t a religion, you can’t “believe” in it.
Most time of the year, we just don’t need one. Most people don’t have one.
There are also health issues that can arise when using the AC to much.
And that is only one link of many that warns about health issues.
There is also the risk of bacteria, which grow in the AC when it’s not used, When you switch it on after 10 month not used, you get blasted with them.
The temperature outside at night is usually lower than what I’d set my AC on. It’s free to leave the windows open, running the AC costs money.
I don’t usually sleep with aircon on because I live I in the Uk and we very rarely have temperatures to justify it, however if I ever got to Mediterranean countries then it’s all con all the way.
I’ve never heard anyone say that you wouldn’t have AC on at night, is that a thing?
Putting Europeans altogether in the same statement doesn’t mean much imo. I’m from the south of Italy, currently living in Rome and I’d kill to have AC in the apartment I rent instead of being drenched in sweat day and night. So yes I would gladly sleep and live with AC on
Air conditioning dries the air, which dries the nasal mucosal membranes, which increases the risk of catching a respiratory infection. Also, going from hot to cold to hot to cold increases the risk of respiratory infection.
“there was a positive association of nasal symptoms (odds ratio, OR = 1.59, 95% confidence interval, CI = 1.11-2.28), naso-ocular symptoms (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.05-2.38), persistent cough (OR = 3.04, 95% CI = 2.00-4.63) sinusitis symptoms (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.27-2.71) and building-related worsening of the symptoms (OR = 4.92, 95% CI = 2.93-8.27) with working in air-conditioned buildings. In conclusion, our study suggests that artificial air-conditioning is a matter of concern for respiratory symptoms in cities with hot and humid climate.”
Now, since we’re burning the planet For The Greater Glory of Shareholder Value soon air conditioning will be an absolute necessity, but it should be used sparingly (there are few things I hate so much as catching a tram in a 35 Celcius heatwave and discovering inside that it’s freezing because AC is on full blast).
27 comments
Most of us don’t have AC.
Its hard to sleep with it on when it doesn’t exist in my flat
I don’t have AC in my house. In hotels, etc. I would only sleep with AC on if it isn’t noisy. I can’t deal with the humming sound most of those things make.
It is a massive waste of resources and generally not needed in our climate (and I’m from Madrid). Opening windows to ventilate and using fans is usually enough.
Also, and it could be me only, I don’t feel well after sleeping with AC. I have gotten colds many times.
Most of us are not used to it and often get sick it. Everytime I have been sitting/sleeping in too much AC, I get a runny nose 🤧
Depends where you stayed and where your friends are from, not all of Europe agrees on AC usage. For my case, it’s useless having AC for two to three days per year anyways because it cools down nicely in the evening where I live in the Netherlands.
In the Mediterranean, it never cools down until November. AC is a must and therefore I sleep with it when I visit my parents back in Malta.
In the north of Europe most dont have AC, summer is 3-4 months and if we are lucky 1 is hot enough to be a bother. So why waste money on something that wont be used most part of the year?
I think you’re confused.
1. AC isn’t common in European houses
2. that’s a Korean superstition, and it involves fans, not AC.
AC are not really needed in Iceland. You just open a window and let in a draft since the air is usually cold, even in midsummer.
Mediterranean european here: I simply don’t have AC. And growing up, adults use to tell me that sleeping with the AC on makes you sick. We find other ways to keep the house cool: open all windows at night/early in the morning, close everything including the blinds when the heat and sun start hitting (old stone houses are amazing for that, usually mediterranean architecture is designed to keep the heat out well), and lots of fans.
I dont have AC. I did in my previous house in Madrid and I’d put it on a bit before sleeping, I don’t need it to run the whole night, electricity is expensive, the sounds piss me off to sleep.
Persianas to keep the house cool during the day and opening the windows for ventilation will lower the temperature enough most of the time.
I might be in the minority here, but since mid June I leave on the AC on, especially with the dehumidifier mode active with a timer.
Many people where I live, and it’s the north of Italy, have their ACs on during the day and the night, that’s why blackouts are increasing, and the south fares no better.
I sleep with the AC on on all nights that don’t get cooler than ~20 degrees. Which is around 3/4 of the nights from May to October.
In Croatia everyone has an air conditioner, and when it’s still 30 degrees at night we still don’t sleep with the AC on. We blast it before sleep and have windows and blinds closed and ensure it’s a cool temperature, then go sleep.
You get sick and bothered by ac being on all night, it dries the air, your throat skin and eyes get damaged. It’s just disgusting and unnatural.
Why would I cool my entire apartment when I’m lying in bed? A fan is sufficient (and keeps mosquitoes away too)
During the day I use it at 27°C because it’s 35°C outside and it stays on as long as I am in the house. If your a/c is newish and the house is insulated then it doesn’t use that much energy as people think, it runs on maintaining the temperature most of the time. During the night for the time being I am lucky and temps drop to 26°C outside so it is not needed.
What is weird with Americans and you even said it in a comment is how low you, is how low you set up your a/c. You did 20-21°C which seems crazy to me, lower than 25 I would start feeling cold.
I do it in my hometown (central Spain) because it is too hot to sleep and I cannot open the windows because I live in a noisy area with nightlife. However, the air in my area is very dry and the AC makes it drier, so I usually wake up in discomfort. Still, this is better than the heat.
Even with normal tamemperature of 30-34 °C in the summer, I avoid AC like the plague because:
– dry air makes my throat and nose sore
– will wake up with a cold
– high electricity bill
– to stay used to the hot temperature outside. AC will make the hot weather feel hotter.
Ceiling/desktop fans and opening windows to create a draft always do a pretty decent job.
I get sick every time I sleep with the AC on. It’s no fun to spend the first two days sick on a one week vacation. So I switch them off if I can. And also they are usually too loud for me to sleep comfortably.
You need to have an AC to have an opinion on it.
But anyway if I go to a hot place where AC does exist, I let it blast all night long baby.
My body absolutely hates dry air. And 90% of AC both cools and dries the environment. I do sleep with a fan on my nightstand tho.
I don’t know the science behind it, but almost every time I’ve slept with an AC on holiday I’ve gotten a sore throat and runny nose. So if it wasn’t the AC that made me sick, what was it?
AC isn’t a religion, you can’t “believe” in it.
Most time of the year, we just don’t need one. Most people don’t have one.
There are also health issues that can arise when using the AC to much.
Health issues;; (German)
[https://bessergesundleben.de/klimaanlagen-6-auswirkungen-auf-deine-gesundheit/](https://bessergesundleben.de/klimaanlagen-6-auswirkungen-auf-deine-gesundheit/)
And that is only one link of many that warns about health issues.
There is also the risk of bacteria, which grow in the AC when it’s not used, When you switch it on after 10 month not used, you get blasted with them.
The temperature outside at night is usually lower than what I’d set my AC on. It’s free to leave the windows open, running the AC costs money.
I don’t usually sleep with aircon on because I live I in the Uk and we very rarely have temperatures to justify it, however if I ever got to Mediterranean countries then it’s all con all the way.
I’ve never heard anyone say that you wouldn’t have AC on at night, is that a thing?
Putting Europeans altogether in the same statement doesn’t mean much imo. I’m from the south of Italy, currently living in Rome and I’d kill to have AC in the apartment I rent instead of being drenched in sweat day and night. So yes I would gladly sleep and live with AC on
Air conditioning dries the air, which dries the nasal mucosal membranes, which increases the risk of catching a respiratory infection. Also, going from hot to cold to hot to cold increases the risk of respiratory infection.
“there was a positive association of nasal symptoms (odds ratio, OR = 1.59, 95% confidence interval, CI = 1.11-2.28), naso-ocular symptoms (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.05-2.38), persistent cough (OR = 3.04, 95% CI = 2.00-4.63) sinusitis symptoms (OR = 1.85, 95% CI = 1.27-2.71) and building-related worsening of the symptoms (OR = 4.92, 95% CI = 2.93-8.27) with working in air-conditioned buildings. In conclusion, our study suggests that artificial air-conditioning is a matter of concern for respiratory symptoms in cities with hot and humid climate.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15660569/
Now, since we’re burning the planet For The Greater Glory of Shareholder Value soon air conditioning will be an absolute necessity, but it should be used sparingly (there are few things I hate so much as catching a tram in a 35 Celcius heatwave and discovering inside that it’s freezing because AC is on full blast).
Noise is also an issue at night.