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With the weather turning cooler, you might be thinking about reaching for that thermostat but not so fast!

Did you know that there are reasons to keep your home cold (by not turning up the thermostat)?

I think we are all aware that using the heater less means more money saved and I’ve shared how to keep warm without cranking up that thermostat but there are actually a few other reasons to keep your home thermostat set just a bit lower this season!

Reasons to Keep Your Home Cold

Reasons to Keep Your Home Cold

Saves Money

Okay, like I said saving money because you are using the heater less is a bit of a no brainer. That said, as a frugal person, I am a bit in love with the idea.

You can save 3% off your heating bill for each degree you lower your thermostat! Drop your thermostat just 3 degrees and you can knock off about 10% off your bill!

Save the Earth

This is also likely to not come as a surprise. Turning your thermostat down 2 degrees can save 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Not too shabby!

Better Sleep

Find yourself in need of better sleep? Sleep in a slightly cooler room. As it turns out, your body likes to be a bit cooler when it sleeps. A cooler room means you’ll fall asleep quicker and you will sleep more deeply!

What’s a good temperature to keep your bedroom at? Anything in the 60-67 degree range is great; outside of those degrees your body will spend extra energy trying to get comfortable and you’ll spend the night tossing and turning.

Burn More Calories

If you are looking to shed some pounds, then dropping the temperature is an easy way to loose some weight. Obviously, a cooler house isn’t going to have you shedding pounds like crazy but it can add up!

Your body has to use more energy when it’s just a bit chilly in your home; all that energy used means calories burned. Some say you’ll burn up to 100 extra calories each day if that thermostat is turned down.

Now I will add that you won’t burn calories if you bundle up. Bundling up and staying warm defeats the purpose so it’s up to you if you really want to loose those pounds with the help of a cold house.

Less Bugs

Did you know that bugs prefer warmer temps to breed and live? This is especially true of disease carrying bugs but it applies to most if not all bugs that I can think of.

Lower your thermostat and it will keep the bugs and rodents away. Both bugs and rodents seek out warm places. Keeping your home on the cooler side, deters these unwelcome guests. It’s a simple thing but I for one am always happy to deal with less pests.

Less Germs

Now you don’t want to keep your home too cold or you will likely get sick for other reasons but by keeping your home a few degrees cooler, you can make it harder for germs to breed…. maybe.

As I dig deeper, I find evidence to the contrary or rather that you’d have to keep the house super cold in order to deter germs. So perhaps a cooler home does nothing to germs, but maybe it does; I’d like to think it does but that’s probably just wishful thinking.

Reduces Inflammation

Much like putting an ice pack on an injury, cooler temps in your home can reduce inflammation. Since the cooler temperature effects your whole body, it can help reduce overall inflammation.

You won’t see much help for a sprained ankle by living in a cool house (you’d still want an ice pack for that) but it should still help if you deal with inflammation on a more broad level.

Better Workspace

Whether you are working from home or your children are doing schoolwork, keeping the workspace at cooler temps means more productivity. Keeping that thermostat lower means you won’t get too cozy.

Of course, don’t set it too cold or you will be too busy shivering to be productive. Interestingly, some studies say that you want that classic temp of 68 degrees but this study done in the 70’s shows that kids did better when in temps around 62 degrees.

Of course, I’d be curious if there were other factors such as what the kids were wearing, what they eat, etc that might factor in because so much has changed in the last few decades. Still dropping your temperature on the thermostat for more productivity is worth a try!

Of course, what temperature you set your thermostat at will vary depending on your household and their needs.

Obviously, homes with infants should keep things a bit warmer because babies haven’t built up the tolerance and strength yet. Although… there are countries that believe otherwise and actually have their babies take naps outside in the snow!

I’ll let you decide on just how cold you need to keep your home. My thermostat is set at 64 day and night. Personally, I’d like to drop it down a bit further at night but my husband likes things warmer.

How low do you keep your thermostat?