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I think back to my first solo trip to a hotel. I was in a new city in a new room with new noises—that kind of experience. On the night I got ready for bed, I turned off all of the lights in the room. This was instinctive. Yes, that made sense. What else would I want? However, I did find myself reaching for the light switch during the night, with the nearly irresistible temptation of leaving the light on. Therefore, since that time I have on many occasions found out why, in a hotel, keeping the bathroom light on is sometimes a necessity despite its evident lack of logic.
After years of travel and several more late nights, I have found a reason for this tip as well as now and then some of its disadvantages. I thought I would devote a brief paragraph to the reasons for it in the hotel and to what one should think of before turning the light on.
Advantages of Keeping the Bathroom Light on in the Hotel
Avoiding the Night Shuffle
Have you ever tried to find the way in a room which is pitched black and which is in an unfamiliar place? It is a guessing game and one in which possibly you might try to search around and stumble over pieces of luggage and bump the toe of your foot into a bed frame. By leaving the light on in the bathroom you have a low glow that makes it possible for you to find your way around the room without groping and with freedom from any damage by a slight jump of minor injuries caused by stumbling. You get the effect almost of a small night light that outlines the way, so to speak, and aids a person to find the way when necessary.
This gives some hint of the reason for its value in preventing one’s toe from coming into contact with some foreign piece of furniture or some piece of luggage left open if you do hit the light.
Reducing Stress in New Environments
Even if you are a person who loves new experiences, using a little light can keep things calm. Hotels can sometimes be busy places, filled with sounds from hallways, trolley sounds and maybe even the street below. I like to leave the light on in the bathroom because it gives a little level of comfort. A little glow is a reassuring feeling, mainly if you are alone or a light sleeper and are startled by strange noises. It is a small but quiet way of feeling like you are not so much alone in an unfamiliar room.
Adapting to New Time Zones
One of the things I have found that can be useful, if unexpected, when leaving the light on in the bathroom is that it helps with the Jet lag. When you are jumping across time zones the little light can stay grounding, helping your body mellow down into its new day and night cycle. It is a little nudging of the internal clock, making those first few nights in an unfamiliar place somewhat simpler.
Convenience for Friends or Youngsters
If you are traveling with people, whether friends, family or partner, a little light in the bathroom can help with the night time hops to the bathroom. Children can be a little worried about the dark especially and the bathroom light is a quick road map for these little ones without waking a parent. For other people sharing rooms with you, friends can do likewise instead of fumbling around for the switch, waking everybody up.
An Added Safeguard in the Event of Emergencies
It’s not common, but emergencies occur that necessitate action in hotels. If there is a need for a quick evacuation, or if a fire alarm should go off, this little touch of lighting can be very helpful. In an emergency, when every second is of value, a little visibility may mean a deal of difference, and keeping light on in the bathroom, is almost like a sissy safeguard ready for future contingencies of which you had no thought.
The Bad Points of leaving the Bathroom Light on
May Interfere with Sleep
This is not for everybody, though there are good things connected with it. If you are a sensitive sleeper, the bathroom light, even though it is very dim, will prevent your going to sleep. Experiments have shown that there is an ill effect of light as shown through the medium used, which will create a stopping of the flow of the melatonin, the substance which produces rapid sleep in the absence of light disturbances. If you have difficulty getting back into sleep after being awake, the proving of the bathroom light may be of more hindrance than helpful.
Additions to the Current of Power Used
Most hotels strive at good habits such as using towels repeatedly and minimizing the current used in the place. There is a very good reason for this attempt. The leaving of a light on all night consumes a little current. If you are particular about your conservation of the world’s goods, you will probably suffer somewhat from an uneasy conscience at the thought of having the supply current running through out the night, even though the light consumed is but a small affair as the little bulb in the bathroom.
Can Attract Bugs in Warmer Areas
In some areas of the world, especially warm or tropical climates, lights attract bugs. In some classic hotels, bugs can come in through gaps about the size of a pinhead. While you don’t really see this in hotels with tightly sealed rooms, it’s still something to consider if you’re in a place where bugs might get to a light source.
Make Use Of Bathroom Lights In Hotels
If you’re like I am, and like to keep the bathroom light on but not all the negatives that that hold, here are a few helpful hints.
Bring A Night Light
Rather than depending on the bathroom light, take a small night light with you. They are cheap and take up virtually no room. They also give the perfect degree of brightness and don’t have the vast light of a bathroom light. Plus you can put it where ever you need it.
Controlling Light With The Bathroom Door
The bathroom door can be played with to control the amount of light going into the room. In this way, if the door is left about 2” ajar, the light is a softer more diffused light, which is the intended effect.
Use A Diffuser Or Dim if Possible
If someone feels the bathroom light is too bright, a quick remedy is to take a hand towel and cover it, or even bring a mini dimmer, if you take one with you. It is then possible to lower the brightness so that a pleasant diffused light is available to cast a gentler foot.
For myself, to keep the bathroom light on in a hotel, has become a habit. If you are the light sleeper type, it is a matter of qualifying all factors, like a night light or tilting the bathroom door. So the next time you are settling in the bed in the hotel, give it a try.
