{"id":28168,"date":"2021-01-22T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/sin-categorizar\/can-temperature-affect-how-you-sleep-5736"},"modified":"2022-11-18T11:59:12","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T16:59:12","slug":"can-temperature-affect-how-you-sleep-5736","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/es\/better-sleep-es\/can-temperature-affect-how-you-sleep-5736","title":{"rendered":"Can Temperature Affect How You Sleep?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m hot but she\u2019s not \u2013 and neither of us can sleep!<\/h2>\n

\"CanWhat keeps you up at night? Stress? Lumpy mattress? Sick child? You might be surprised to learn that temperature is often the single biggest defining factor between a good night\u2019s sleep and one that leaves you grumpy and tired the next day. Every night across this great nation, the \u201cI\u2019m hot, she\u2019s not\u201d syndrome is robbing Americans of sleep.<\/p>\n

Sleeping too hot leads to sweaty sheets. Sleeping too cold leaves you shivering. Neither is a pretty \u2013 or comfortable \u2013 way to spend the night.<\/p>\n

Experts agree the temperature of your sleeping area (micro-climate) and how comfortable you feel in it affect both the quality and the quantity of your sleep. Why? \u201cWhen you go to sleep, your set point for body temperature \u2014 the temperature your brain is trying to achieve \u2014 goes down,\u201d says H. Craig Heller, PhD, professor of biology at Stanford University, quoted in WebMD<\/a>. \u201cThink of it as your internal thermostat. If it\u2019s too cold or too hot, the body struggles to achieve this set point.\u201d<\/p>\n

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We believe that sleep is a right, not a privilege. What\u2019s more, we also believe that all this struggling over temperature throughout the night is a needless waste of time \u2013 sleep is too important to play games. If you\u2019re playing hide and seek with sleep it\u2019s time to get serious about your sleep health.<\/p>\n

Is sleeping in a cold bedroom better for you?<\/h2>\n

When your body overheats or is chilled, it works hard to regulate the temperature to ensure your organs continue working and you stay alive (in extreme circumstances). But if it can\u2019t control your temperature internally, it moves to more aggressive tactics, like making you sweat or shiver or increasing (or decreasing) your heart rate. If you\u2019re asleep when your thermostat soars, you\u2019re in for a\u00a0restless night<\/a>\u00a0and a not so great morning as you toss and turn to cool down. If your thermostat dips low, your sleep will be fine \u2013 as long as you have enough blankets to keep your micro-climate neutral. Trouble is, our perception of temperature is as unique as our fingerprints \u2013 two people in the same bed can feel very different about the micro-climate.<\/p>\n

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But does heat really affect sleep that much? Ask any insomniac if they prefer a cool or hot pillow. Research shows that when we\u2019re asleep, our brain craves the cold. A study from the University of Pittsburg<\/a> found that a cooling cap can help people with sleep problems sleep better.<\/p>\n

During the course of a normal day, your body temperature rises and falls slightly. This pattern is tied to your sleep cycle. As you become drowsy, your temperature goes down, reaching its lowest level around 5:00 am. As your body prepares for you to wake up, it begins to climb again. If your bedroom is too warm, your body will struggle to maintain those natural temperature variances. In fact, studies indicate that some forms of insomnia are associated with an improper regulation in body temperature. Of course each of us has a slightly different optimal temperature for sleep, so experiment with keeping your room cool and find what makes you most comfortable.<\/p>\n

Achieving temperature neutrality during sleep<\/h2>\n

If the temperature in your bedroom is keeping you awake at night, try these tips to reclaim your right to a healthy night\u2019s sleep.\"Beat<\/p>\n