No, a cold house doesn't directly cause colds or the flu (those are viruses), but being too cold can weaken a baby's immune system, making them more susceptible to infections, and cold, dry air can irritate their respiratory passages, leading to coughing and congestion. Babies regulate temperature poorly, so they can get too cold quickly, increasing their risk for illness and conditions like hypothermia if extremely cold, so it's crucial to keep their environment warm and dress them in layers.
Cold temperatures can also impact your baby's immune system. This can increase their chances of getting a respiratory infection, like a cold or the flu. Infections like pneumonia can be life-threatening.
When the room is too hot, research has shown that it can increase your baby's risk of SIDS; when it's too cold, baby can easily become uncomfortably chilly and wake up unnecessarily.
Regularly monitor your baby for signs like cool skin, shivering, fussiness, or pale skin, which can indicate that they're too cold. Maintain an ideal sleep environment. Keep your baby's room temperature between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity around 40 to 60 percent and layer appropriately.
4Low indoor temperatures and insulation. Cold air inflames lungs and inhibits circulation, increasing the risk of respiratory conditions, such as asthma attacks or symptoms, worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and infection.
Repeated or prolonged exposure to high levels of some VOCs can cause blurred vision, headaches, nausea, dizziness, coughing, burning eyes, respiratory irritation, skin rashes, respiratory illness, concentration difficulties, and other symptoms.
There are several ways the cold puts your home at risk. It causes the contraction of materials, weakening them over time. It also increases the chance of water leaks, leading to internal damage. It can even cause burst pipes, especially if your house is poorly insulated.
Signs your baby is cold at night include being cold to the touch, having pale or blotchy skin, shivering, and sleeping in a tucked-in position. They may also wake up often or have difficulty falling asleep; be restless, fussy, or clingy; or experience shallow breathing.
The 5-3-3 rule is a loose guideline for structuring a baby's sleep schedule: 5 hours of wake time before the first nap, 3 hours of wake time before the second nap, and 3 hours before bedtime.
If your baby is too cold at night, they will likely be uncomfortable. Some signs that your baby might be too cold are: shivering, pale complexion, skin is cold to the touch, unsettled and waking frequently, fussiness.
Best Room Temperature for Babies
According to Cleveland Clinic2, babies should sleep in rooms between 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which is equivalent to 18-21 degrees Celsius.
The 7 key danger signs for newborns, often highlighted by organizations like the WHO, are not feeding well, convulsions, fast breathing, severe chest indrawing, lethargy/unconsciousness (movement only when stimulated), high or low temperature, and jaundice (yellow skin/soles) or signs of local infection like an infected umbilical stump, requiring immediate medical attention.
Cold homes are also associated with negative health outcomes more widely, including heightened risk of heart attacks, impairment in children's lung and brain development and respiratory problems, which can be exacerbated by damp and mould.
People who become infected with RSV show symptoms within four to six days after the virus enter the body. Initial signs of RSV are similar to mild cold symptoms, including sneezing, runny nose, fever, cough and decrease in appetite. Very young infants may be irritable, fatigued and have breathing difficulties.
Your baby can't put into words how they feel, so it's up to you as a parent to find the right room temperature for them. You don't want your baby's room to be either too hot or too cold. It's recommended that the best temperature for babies is between 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 to 22 degrees Celsius.
SIDS is less common after 8 months of age, but parents and caregivers should continue to follow safe sleep practices to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death until baby's first birthday. More than 90% of all SIDS deaths occur before 6 months of age.
Babies start in 'active sleep' (with faster, uneven breathing) and move into a deeper sleep after about 20 minutes. That's a good time to transfer them into their sleeping place. Many babies don't like being put down into a cot.
The 40-day rule after birth, often called confinement or "The Golden Month," is a widespread cultural tradition emphasizing a mother's deep rest, healing, and bonding with her newborn, with family often handling chores and visitors, promoting physical recovery (like stopping bleeding) and mental well-being, rooted in ancient practices from Asia, Latin America, and religious traditions like Judaism and Christianity. Key aspects involve nourishing the mother, sheltering her from stress, and focusing solely on resting and bonding, a stark contrast to Western pressures to "bounce back" quickly.
Baby should also, always be placed on his or her back. Other things that a parent can do to prevent SIDS is keeping the room temperature between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit, and running a ceiling fan that keeps air flowing.
At night. It can be tempting to wrap your baby up to keep them warm. However, we know that overheating a baby increases the chances of SIDS (also known as cot death). Research shows babies are better to be cooler than too hot.
The recommended room temperature for babies is 16 – 20°C. It's important to make sure that your baby is a comfortable temperature – not too hot or too cold. The risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is higher in babies who get too hot.
How to tell if your house is poorly insulated
Cold Walls, Floors, and Corners
If you keep asking yourself why is my house so cold even though the heat is on, the answer might be hiding in your walls, floors, or attic—not your furnace. When walls or ceilings feel cold to the touch, it's a classic sign of conductive heat loss.
Circulatory problems, diabetes, arthritis and mental health issues can be made worse by living in a cold home. And people with respiratory conditions like asthma are also at risk, particularly if their home is damp and mouldy, which is often the case in under-heated, poorly ventilated homes.