Have you ever wanted to leave your diffuser on all night? I’ve certainly thought about it a few times. As you diffuse your favorite essential oils, knowing the right time to do so and for how long is vital.
It is possible to leave a diffuser on at night but for a particular duration. It would help if you certainly never left it running all night. Diffusers come with a timer that can help you pick the period to leave them running until the time elapses.
Using essential oils is becoming a commonality in many households. But, as you consider using them to relax, it’s vital to know when you can and can’t use a diffuser.
Can You Leave a Diffuser on all Night?
It is unsafe or advisable to leave your diffuser running all night while you catch some much-needed sleep. Diffusing your collection of unique essential oils can benefit you in many ways. In addition, these oils leave your space smelling amazing from the fantastic aromas.
Typically, essential oils benefit your mind and body in many ways. At the end of a long day, you can turn on your diffuser before going to bed. The diffusing oils spread aroma all over the room. This aroma helps you relax, be less anxious, and even fall and stay asleep for longer.
This is a natural way of helping your mind and body without the need to use medication. So it’s not surprising when you think of using the essential oils just a bit longer. Perhaps you even consider leaving your diffuser running all night.
The goal is to prolong the benefits so that you get up in the morning feeling great, right. All this is quite understandable. But the reality is that using the diffuser for more prolonged periods can turn and become harmful to your health.
There’s another side of the story you must keep in mind at all times. As good as they are, essential oils still produce an aroma that can be too much for the mind and body to handle. Like many other things in life, moderation plays a crucial role in using a diffuser.
Research shows that prolonged exposure to essential oils can have harmful effects. What happens is the vapor of the essential oils becomes toxic. In such situations, you start to exhibit certain symptoms. Symptoms associated with essential oil toxicity include:
- Drowsiness
- Labored breathing
- Seizures
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Irritation of skin and eye
- Persistent cough
- Wheezing
- Headaches
- High blood pressure
- Increased heart rate
With that in mind, it’s better to follow the set guidelines for the safe use of essential oils in a diffuser. Avoid at all costs leaving the device running all night.
In addition to your health and well-being, consider the type of diffuser you have. If it’s electric, treat it similarly to any other electric device in your home. What safety precautions do you take to ensure such devices don’t bring you harm while you sleep?
A diffuser comes with timers and an auto-shut-off safety feature. Make sure these two are available before you purchase the device. When the fluid runs out, the device can shut off automatically. Or once the duration runs out on the timer, the diffuser stops working.
How Long Should I Run The Diffuser at Home?
At times it’s possible to doze off before turning off the diffuser. It’s better to set the timer. The timing depends on the size of your room. In a larger room, you can leave the diffuser on for 25 to 30 minutes. But a smaller space should never exceed 15 to 20 minutes.
Time applies in every aspect of life, and this even extends to using an essential oils diffuser. If you overdo do it, you might not like the outcome at all. Essential oils do have benefits, but there are side effects listed above to also keep in mind.
At night, essential oils like lavender can help you fall asleep faster. They have a calming effect that’s quite beneficial after a long day. Not only has that, but essential oils also had so many other benefits.
These benefits include:
Air Refresher
At times you come home, and the place is stuffy. Perhaps you did not turn on the AC when leaving the house. One way to refresh the air is to diffuse essential oils.
Relaxation
Picture this: you had a stressful day at work or school. You get home and feel irritable or even too anxious to relax and fall asleep. In such situations, you need to find a way to calm your mind and body. Switching on your diffuser can bring you relaxation and help you have a peaceful night’s sleep.
Improves Focus
Or maybe you want to do some work at home. It’s the end of the day, but some tasks can’t wait until the next day. Diffusing essential oils helps you achieve focus and clarity. That makes it easier to concentrate.
Better Mood
Did you know you can improve your mood using essential oils? Leaving a diffuser on for some time before going to bed can help lift your spirits.
It’s pretty hard to fall asleep when you aren’t in a good mood, and the result is a restless night tossing and turning.
Ease Pain
The aroma that essential oils release can improve your mood, as mentioned above. Feeling good helps trigger feel-good hormones that flood your body and provide some relief from pain.
Less pain helps ease your anxiety and improve your sleeping patterns.
Improve Breathing
Diffusing essential oils such as eucalyptus comes with a plethora of benefits. The aroma helps clear your airways so that you can breathe better. In this case, you can leave the diffuser on for 20 to 30 minutes after falling asleep, depending on the room size.
Though it’s okay to diffuse essential oils for some time, knowing one fact is critical. Smelling receptors have a time limit. After about 20 to 30 minutes of inhaling the same scent, your smelling receptors become numb.
At such a point, continuous diffusion is pointless. All you’re doing is wasting energy and essential oils. Excessive diffusing is therefore not the best thing to do.
Still, all these benefits can influence you to diffuse some essential oils at night. But what happens when there are extenuating circumstances? What if you’re pregnant? Do the same rules of using essential oils at night apply?
Can You Leave a Diffuser on all Night While Pregnant, Have a Baby or Small kids?
You’ve been using your essential oils in a diffuser for quite some time. You set the timer just before you go to bed, depending on the size of your space. Once the time elapses, the diffuser goes off. But, what happens when you or your partner becomes pregnant?
Pregnancy changes the game in many ways. Suddenly, all the scents you used to loved and enjoy now make you queasy. But, that does not mean you cannot diffuse essential oils at all. You might need to make a few changes.
Start by talking with your doctor before you continue using the essential oils. They can help you keep an eye out for any side effects of long-term use. Next, try out different smells to see which you like. If you don’t like any of them, keep the diffuser away until the gestation period elapses.
It’s more advisable to inhale essential oils if you can stand the smell than apply them to your skin. So, the diffuser wins in this case. When pregnant, moderation is crucial, so you might need to reduce the number of essential oil drops you add to your diffuser.
Apart from pregnancy, also consider the people in the space before diffusing essential oil at night. Do you sleep with your baby, spouse, or kids in the same area? Understand how they respond to the essential oil aroma before you choose to leave the diffuser on for the set duration.
You should never use an essential oil diffuser in the same space as your baby or small children. This applies day and night. The baby and little kids are still developing and don’t have the lung capacity and sinuses to handle the intense aromas.
So, it boils down to more than just knowing the suitable duration to use the essential oil diffuser at night. Consider your present condition and the people around you in the room at night.
In Summary
I enjoy using a diffuser to spread aroma all over my space. At times I get to diffuse during the day. However, in most instances, I find myself using it at night before I go to bed. Using a diffuser at night requires a little bit more care.
At night, your windows are closed, which means less ventilation. It’s therefore crucial to only use the diffuser for a specific duration. Even if you leave it on when going to bed, set the timer. A small space requires only 20 minutes and a larger one 30 minutes or so.
Avoid leaving the diffuser on all night. The aroma does have plenty of benefits, but it can also bring you harm. Moderation is the secret when you want to get the best results when diffusing essential oils at night.
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