Sleeping In The Cold Is Actually Better For You, According To Scientists

Sep 29, 2018 by apost team

Most of us do not give a lot of thought to the temperature of our bedrooms. I know I haven’t. I usually just decide whether or not I want to open or close the windows or turn on the fan right before I crawl into bed.

Since my hands and feet always seem to be freezing cold, I do greatly enjoy my sheets being a bit warmer. But then I often end up waking up hot and miserable in the middle of the night.

Is there a middle ground that I should be aiming for? According to science, there actually is.

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According to the medical director of Charlottesville Neurology & Sleep Medicine, Christopher Winter, the average temperature for your bedroom should stay around 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature allows for the best sleep possible. These studies have shown that anything about 75 degrees and below 54 degrees tends to disrupt our sleep.

Why is that, you may wonder? The study says that during a 24-hour period, the temperatures in our bodies peak and decline naturally. We experience the highest internal temperature around early afternoon and the lowest at about 5 a.m. Our bodies naturally cool down when we fall asleep. When you help your body reach that low temperature faster you typically experience a better and deeper sleep overall.

Are you ready to be convinced to turn on the fan or turn down the thermostat? We have four reasons why you should:

When you give your body the right atmosphere to fall asleep in, it will. When you are sleeping in a room that is too cold or too hot you’ll waste precious energy and time trying to regulate your body, leaving you to toss around all night.

When your body is comfortable and not fighting to regulate itself, your sleep will become more restful and deeper. Cooler environments are also thought to decrease a few types of insomnia, according to Australian research.

Sleeping between 60 to 68 degrees makes your body release more melatonin. Melatonin helps keep your skin smooth and subtle. You’ll look better when you get more rest, as well.

A four-month sleep study was conducted to research sleep and metabolic diseases. Sleeping in a room kept at 66-degrees helped the participant burn more calories the next day when they were awake. Not only that, the good fat in the body increased. This is the fat that causes your body to burn off calories. This may help to lower your risk of developing metabolic diseases such as diabetes.

We can’t all afford to run the air conditioner all year. One smart way is to buy a smart thermostat, which allows you to program the temperature in your home to fluctuate to match the times you are home and the times you aren’t. This allows you to cool down your bedroom for the specific amount of time you are in it.

A ceiling fan will also help keep your room cool at night, as will opening up the windows once the weather cools down. You can also check out the following six tips that will keep your room cool at night:

1. Throw your top sheet in the freezer and put it back on your bed right before you go to sleep.
2. Set up a fan near your bed and turn it on before you go to sleep.
3. Sleep naked. You won’t have as much insulation to raise your body temperature.
4. Take a stuffed animal and freeze it. Put it between your knees before you sleep.
5. Buy a cooling pillow. These help to draw any heat away from your body.
6. Put a foot out from beneath the covers as you sleep to feel the cooler air of the room.

Do you feel as though you sleep better when it is cooler in the bedroom? Leave us a comment and feel free to pass this along to family and friends!

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation with your doctor. Your health is important to us!