why exactly is it dangerous to sleep with an electric blanket turned on?

Question

Do you bake? Fry? Boil?

Answer 1

Hello,

Human beings didnt evolve over thousands of years in order to sleep under electric blankets, its NOT normal for the human body.

Electric blankets are potentially risky because its possible for the human body to overheat, & even more dangerou if you are asleep at the time. My guess is that human survival instinct would kick in and wake the person up before anything else happened.

**Overheating of the human body takes place at 42/43 degree's after which the internal organs will actually start to cook, death would be certain if the body wasnt cooled down rapidly. This is why desert travel can be so dangerous i.e. the risk of over heating.

**Finally, with electric blankets there's also another risk, a risk from body swet and electrics which could result in short circuit. And again electrical current & human bodies are not a good combination.

IR

Answer 2

An electric blanket could overheat during the night and catch fire. If you were in a deep sleep, you would bake fry and boil. If you had a smoke alarm, you would probably be dead before smoke reached it and set it off. I knew someone who had a lucky escape. Her blanket caught fire. Luckily she was still awake.

Answer 3

All electrical wires when they have current flowing through them, give off EM radiation, the theory is if you sleep under a electric blanket, your getting a high dose of EM radiation. Which is not a good thing.
you'll have to decide if that's what you want. you could always turn it on, then turn it off after your bed gets warm.

Answer 4

My sister-in-law was sleeping, when hers began to smoulder at the foot of the bed where the blanket is plugged in. She luckily woke up because of the smoke. She was alone. My brother was out of town. There was smoke damage throughout the house. Cost of clean up in 1990 was 3,500 dollars.

My friends caught on fire (flaming), but luckily they were warming the bed and had not gone to bed yet. The Fire Dept. spryed the bedroom and mattress. They had smoke damage and rebuilt the bedroom and bought new bedroom furnitue. Costly.

I warm mine up, but I shut it off when I get in bed. Gotta be careful.

Answer 5

The answer to this is turn on to warm bed turn off before you get in then your body heat will keep the bed warm through out the night I use mine to ease my back pain for about 1/2 hour then I make sure it is turned of at power outlet

Answer 6

I have heard to break a wire mean electric shock, and that the heat from the blanket is not good for you.

Answer 7

might not be dangerous now because a lot have cut outs but when i was a kid i slept with electric blanket left on. woke up to me mum banging on bedroom door and room full of smoke. pulled back sheets and right next to me the bed was black and smoldering how i never rolled on to it god knows. ruined bed sheets and room smelt of smoke for ages

Answer 8

risk of electrocution if you pee the bed.

Incidentally there is also a school of thought that says you shouldn't leave it on because the electric current's ionisation effect has an unhealthy effect on the body.

Answer 9

I turn it on high before bed time then low & before going to sleep turn it off, so far I have alway been comfortable that way.

Answer 10

Thanks for posting this! I'm going out of town today and forgot to turn my blanket off...until now.

You have to sleep with it on or else it defeats the purpose.