Experts Settle The Debate On Sleeping With The Door Open — And The Verdict Is Clear

Should you sleep with your bedroom door open or closed? Everyone has their own preference, but experts actually advise you to keep it closed. Speaking to Homes & Gardens, Valley Sleep Center founder Lauri Leadley says that sleeping with the door closed can make you feel safer and reduce interruptions throughout the night. "Closing your bedroom door at night offers some privacy and creates a peaceful sleeping environment," she explains. "It can help to reduce noise and block out distractions from other areas of the house, such as the kitchen or living room." Additionally, getting your bedroom to the perfect temperature for sleep can be tricky, but keeping your door closed at night makes it much easier.

The Fire Safety Research Institute's Close Before You Doze program offers another, more pressing reason to keep the door shut. If a fire begins elsewhere in the house, having your bedroom door closed can buy you some time until help arrives. A barrier placed between you and the fire slows its spread, helps your bedroom maintain a less dangerous temperature and level of oxygen, and limits the amount of carbon dioxide that can enter your room. The FSRI found that keeping your bedroom door closed in a fire can keep your room 900 degrees cooler and limit carbon monoxide levels to 1,000 ppm — as opposed to 10,000 ppm in a room with an open door. In an age in which house fires burn faster than ever, a door placed between you and a fire can mean the difference between life and death.

There are a number of reasons why parents might leave their child's bedroom door open, including fear of the dark, separation anxiety, or the need to provide assistance during the night. However, Kim, a pediatric sleep consultant at Sleep Training Solutions, recommends keeping a child's door closed. The dampening of sounds can help kids sleep more soundly, and a closed door will prevent pets from disrupting them. Closing the door can also make it easier to set up a positive sleeping environment for your children by keeping the room dark and the temperature stable. Most importantly, keeping the door closed at night can protect your kids in the event of a fire.

While keeping the bedroom door closed is ideal, it isn't always possible. If your child is still potty training and doesn't have their own bathroom, leaving the door open will help prevent accidents. If your child has severe anxiety, you may need to slowly work up to closing the door completely. In these cases, make sure your fire alarms are in working order so that you can react quickly during an emergency. Depending on your child's age, you might also consider going over some simple, age-appropriate fire safety tips with them.