Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Sleeping with the heating on?

153 replies

GoAgainstNicki · 10/12/2022 23:33

Sorry just posting here for traffic really.

A couple of hours before DD (19m) goes to bed, I’ll put the heating on in the room just to warm it up for her. As it’s been getting colder. I’ve been leaving the heating on until I go to sleep with DS (7m) around 11pm. It’s currently -3 outside and really cold. Is it okay to leave the heating on overnight or should I not do that?

I’m pretty sure the last time I slept with the heating on, I woke up with a headache and dry throat so I obviously don’t want anything like that to happen to the kids. Thanks

OP posts:
been and done it. · 11/12/2022 01:06

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 11/12/2022 00:50

I don't - I have two duvets on my bed so I'm sleeping under 27 togs, with a hot water bottle. It's 8 - 10 degrees in my bedroom overnight so the effect is one of a lovely warm cocoon; if I overheat I can move a foot to the icy wastes of the edge of the bed to cool down Grin. Getting up in the morning is Not Fun.

Same here

QS90 · 11/12/2022 01:25

I learnt recently that breathing in cold air is bad for your lungs, and makes you more susceptible to coughs / chest infections. This is irrespective of how warm you feel / what your core body temperature is. I'd had a rotten cough I just couldn't shake for weeks, and toddler had it too but not as bad. Both cleared up within a few days of keeping the bedrooms 18 at night. One night the oil storeage heater hadn't been set right and it went down to 15. I didn't realise this until the morning, but had been up in the night coughing and sniffling. Again, it cleared up once the room was back up to 18. I am 38 weeks pregnant though, so lower immunity anyway atm.

thegreylady · 11/12/2022 01:33

My husband aged 86 feels the cold badly. He usually has duvet and hot water bottle but at the moment I am putting the heating on when it is below freezing outside.

Magenta65 · 11/12/2022 01:42

I don’t normally but it’s snowing heavily and -3 so it’s on 17 for tonight, just to stop frozen pipes etc

oakleaffy · 11/12/2022 02:03

LeavesOnTrees · 10/12/2022 23:45

It might be cheaper to buy a really good feather down duvet ( if you don't have one already)

Down is incredibly light and warm..I bought my DS one and he says it's infinitely better than his synthetic one.
Also, sleeping with a woollen blanket under your bottom sheet helps keep you cosier.
I have a woollen blanket over the top of my down duvet and a Whippet on top of that..so thankfully don't need heating on at night at moment.

As kids, we never had heating in any of the bedrooms unless someone was actually ill, but breath~ pluming cold isn't fun!

Notaninterestingfact · 11/12/2022 02:21

Notaninterestingfact · 10/12/2022 23:41

I accidentally left the heating on in my bedroom last night. I had the best night's sleep ever! I never usually turn it on in my bedroom and I'm getting about 4 hours sleep per night. Now I know why!

Just to mention that my duvet is 13.5 tog and I wear snuggly pyjamas. I have never been cold in bed. I just seem to sleep better when it's warm. I've only ever noticed it in hotel rooms where it's 40 degrees as a rule. I never made the connection between the heat and sleep until this morning to be honest.

Callieviolet · 11/12/2022 02:47

At the moment (last week or so) my heating has been on 24/7. But most of the winter, I don’t have it on overnight. Turn it off at 10pm ish and back on at 6am.

mathanxiety · 11/12/2022 02:54

It's illegal for landlords to let an apartment go below 18 degrees here at night (snowy winters, US).

Cold air isn't good for anyone, especially people with asthma.

Also, it takes your heating system a long time to warm up a home from a cold start in the morning.

Ginmonkeyagain · 11/12/2022 03:27

A lot of these posts tell me how badly we need better insultated housing. Currently we have had tbe heating on in the evening, set at 19/20 degrees. It goes off at 10pm. Recently with the cold weather the thermostat has measured 16 degrees in the morning, perfectly ok if you are healthy and have decent warm bedding. Why is everyone losing so much heat over night?

We never have the heating on overnight, unless it is very very cold and then it will be on frost setting to avoid any pipe freezing issues.

But to answer the question, no having the heating on over night won't cause problems (except maybe to your wallet).

ExcuseeeeMe · 11/12/2022 03:31

Ginmonkeyagain · 11/12/2022 03:27

A lot of these posts tell me how badly we need better insultated housing. Currently we have had tbe heating on in the evening, set at 19/20 degrees. It goes off at 10pm. Recently with the cold weather the thermostat has measured 16 degrees in the morning, perfectly ok if you are healthy and have decent warm bedding. Why is everyone losing so much heat over night?

We never have the heating on overnight, unless it is very very cold and then it will be on frost setting to avoid any pipe freezing issues.

But to answer the question, no having the heating on over night won't cause problems (except maybe to your wallet).

-5 outside doesn’t help

Ginmonkeyagain · 11/12/2022 03:35

Well no, indeed colder nights mean a colder house. It is -3 outside here right now. Our heating has been off since 10pm and the thermostat is still reading 18 degrees. I was woken up by Mr Monkey coming in from work and checked as I got up to get a glass of water.

This is why a UK wide programme of insulation is needed, clearly so many properties are bad at heat retention.

Ginmonkeyagain · 11/12/2022 03:39

Just to note we don't have some sort of super insulated modern house, it is a single skin, thick walled thirties place with double glazing.

One of my plans for next year is to get some better internal solid wall insulation.

magicthree · 11/12/2022 03:52

I couldn't stand having a heated bedroom. Not in the UK, but it gets pretty cold here in winter and with a feather/down duvet, warm sheets and pjs and a hot water bottle I couldn't be more toasty. I like the window open as well.

TheRealKatnissEverdeen · 11/12/2022 03:59

I've just woken up as I felt so toasty and realised I'd fallen asleep with the heating on. Dreading the bill! House feels lovely and warm though.

Zebedee55 · 11/12/2022 04:42

We can't sleep with heating on overnight, as the stuffy atmosphere makes us feel ill (we both have breathing problems).

I heat the room before bed, but switch it all off after that. I suppose it depends on what makes you comfortable, and how much you are willing to pay on your fuel bill.

nalabae · 11/12/2022 04:42

My house gets to hot if yours doesn’t then go ahead

BigChesterDraws · 11/12/2022 04:53

determinedtomakethiswork · 10/12/2022 23:46

It's going to cost you an absolute fortune to keep it on all night. There's no need for it. Turn it off now and put it on first thing.

Did she say that the cost was an issue? In her OP she mentioned that she is concerned about a sore throat/headache because of the heating, not the cost.

Wiloswisp · 11/12/2022 04:55

We’ve been messing around with our heating due to the energy crisis, tried turning our heating off when we go to bed and I absolutely hate it, I often wake up and when I move the bed sheets were so cold it took forever to get back to sleep. Utterly miserable, fleecy pj’s socks etc just don’t help the fact that the bed sheets are cold. DH is fine with it off, so I’ve decamped to a little spare room and turned the heating on.

Ireallycantthinkofagoodone · 11/12/2022 05:27

Doingmybest12 · 11/12/2022 00:05

Never, ever put heating on overnight. Warm quilt, another blanket, socks if needed, pyjamas. It seems such a waste of energy.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a choice! My boiler is in the (attached) double garage. If the temperature in the garage drops below about 4, the boiler fires up for a short while to protect the pipes. The radiators are just warm, but the gas bill will be scarily high, I know.

CheapWine · 11/12/2022 05:33

Ours is off from about 8pm. It was 14 in the hall when I got up half an hour ago, but our bed upstairs is really cosy. Huge goose down duvet with a thick Dorma bedspread on top and a couple of cats

Darcy101 · 11/12/2022 06:49

-5 here, last night toyed with leaving heating on low overnight for a change, wish we had, bedroom was 18 at 11pm last night and now 12 ⛄️am warm in bed of course, 13.5 tog and cosy brushed cotton sheet but cold air is 😱 these low temps for all of next week will try leaving heating on at 15 see how it goes, whether cost v comfort is worth it.

Just popping a beanie on to get back to sleep 😴

Original poster
GoAgainstNicki · 11/12/2022 06:50

I’m not worried about the cost of having the heating on in one room here and there, I can afford it.

Thanks for all the comments. Just to clarify, I’m super warm in my bed. I have a duvet, blanket and head wrap to keep my head warm. As well as my hot water bottle. I was more concerned about the kids as DD always takes her covers off during the night so I didn’t want her to be too cold.

DS has a genetic disorder and currently has a chest infection. He’s woken up wheezing so having the heating on definitely wasn’t a good idea for him (even though I turned it off around 1am!)

OP posts:
panko · 11/12/2022 06:56

Do you have a thermometer in the bedroom your child sleeps in?

rwalker · 11/12/2022 07:00

there’s no need apart from the cost it unbelievably wasteful get suitable bedding

SkylightSkylight · 11/12/2022 11:33

CheapWine · 11/12/2022 05:33

Ours is off from about 8pm. It was 14 in the hall when I got up half an hour ago, but our bed upstairs is really cosy. Huge goose down duvet with a thick Dorma bedspread on top and a couple of cats

@CheapWine they're the best hot cuddly things!!

does the lounge stay a comfortable temperature for the rest of the evening or do you go to bed at 9?

mine cools down quite quickly, so I turn it off about an hour before bed. If it went off at 8, I'd be really cold by bed time.

I haven't had the heating on this morning & its 12° in the lounge, 10° in the kitchen. I'm busy so it's ok for now, I feel hot from being busy.

Swipe left for the next trending thread