High temperatures can play havoc with the natural thermoregulation that occurs when we sleep. If your bedroom is too warm, that can increase your body temperature and give you a disturbed night of sleep.
Room temperature for the best natural sleep is between 65 and 66 degrees Fahrenheit. One’s internal body temperature fluctuates whilst falling asleep, also throughout the night and, when you prepare to go to sleep, heat is driven away from the body’s core, causing body temperature to fall. Lower temperature is important, indeed, critical so that sleep can commence and leads to a deeper sleep as the night progresses.
Studies have indicated that increased temperature during the night can result in insufficient sleep. An increase in temperature reduces the natural reduction in temperature, causing you to be awake and reduces the time spent in a very deep sleep.
What Can We Do About it?
All is not lost! There are a number of steps that you can think about in order to ensure that you reduce the temperature in your sleeping space and prevent your body temperature from rsiing. Some are obvious, but worth bearing in mind. Here are a few ideas to help you:
Draw Your Curtains!
By drawing your curtains, or pulling down your shades, you will keep the heat and light out of your room.
Light stops your brain from producing melatonin which is the hormone that instigates sleep. When light is less available, after closing the curtains, shades or blinds, signals are sent to the brain to release melatonin to the blood stream and falling asleep is easier.
Sunlight will also produce heat in a bedroom, so doing anything to limit the amount coming in will stop the room heating up.
Drinking Iced or Cooled Water
Staying hydrated is good for health in general. Drinking cool water or liquids, helps to keep body temperature down, more especially so in hot surroundings. If temperatures rise, you may need to drink more water in order to replenish the water that the body loses by sweating in it’s attempts to regulate body temperature.
Comfortable Clothing or Bedding
If you are sleeping when it’s hot, consider wearing loose, lightweight clothing and using cooler bedding material, you can make a positive difference to sleeping issues in hot weather. Here is a resume of what to do :
- Wear comfortable loose clothes. Avoid layers and remove clothes if necessary.
- Lighter Sleeping Materials. Look at duvets with low TOG ratings. Think about linen or cotton sheets
3. Cooling Pillows and/or mattresses.
- Freezing Sleeping Materials. This is one way of ensuring that your sheets are cold.
Avoid Exercise Before Going to Bed
Exercise generates heat and causes body temperature to increase, which can make it harder to get to sleep or to stay asleep in hot weather.
Food and Alcohol
Eating a large meal up to three hours or so before bed time can make it harder to get to sleep. Spicy foods can increase body temperature affecting the quality of your sleep.
As for alcohol, whilst this, in sufficient quantities may cause you to get to sleep quickly, negative effects kick in causing dehydration and frequent trips to the bathroom to urinate.
Hopefully these tips have helped you to get a better sleep on a hot night.
