Is There Such a Thing As a Healthy Room Temperature for Sleeping?
In all the discussion about tips and tricks for getting good sleep, one of the areas overlooked is how having a healthy room temperature for sleeping may play a role in sleep quality. There is a lot of info regarding diet, caffeinated drinks, exercise, etc. as it relates to sleep quality, but not so much on room conditions. However, this may affect us more than we realize.
Determining a recommended healthy nightime temperature for sleeping is a little problematic. This is especially true if you live in a house with other people. What one person finds comfortable someone else will find too cold or too hot. It can seem a little subjective.
However, there seems to be some indications that setting the temperature to a certain range and then individually adjusting your personal temp by how many blankets, etc. you do or do not use results in better sleep. It may be that having the house temperature too cold or too hot actually makes it more difficult for us to regulate our comfort level than if we managed it by sleepwear and blankets.
It could be that because our core body temp drops when we sleep that we are sensitive to external temperatures. Having a room too hot or too cold as well as having the temperature fluctuate too much can cause a person to wake up frequently or sleep lightly as their body attempts to deal with the environmental situation. Having a healthy room temperature for sleeping can be a key factor in how well we sleep.
So what is the recommended healthy nightime temperatures for sleeping? Medical professionals and sleep experts have some variation in what they propose, but in general it seems to fall in the 60 – 70F degree range. However, the majority say that the cooler you can keep it (between 60 and 65) the better sleep tends to be. If you find that you are too cold and cannot sleep comfortably at this temperature range even after attempting to wear more clothes or have more blankets at night, then you may want to consult a doctor. It may be a sign of a blood circulation problem, an inability of your body to regulate temperature correctly, or some other issue that should be addressed.
Finding a healthy room temperature for sleeping may not be easy, but it is important. Body temp is one of the key factors that impact our sleep quality. The internal body clock is regulated by the same part of the brain that manages body temp, etc. The two are tied together. If you are not feeling rested or that you’ve had your body clock “reset” and ready for a new day, then you may want to look at your sleep environment including temperature. Some small changes here can make the difference for some in their pursuit of a good night’s sleep.
