The temperature of your bedroom plays a significant role in deciding the quality of your sleep. A comfortable bedroom environment is essential for achieving an optimal body temperature having a healthy nighttime slumber. Thus, setting an ideal temperature in your room that is neither too hot nor too cold is necessary for better sleep.
If you are struggling with poor sleep quality that has you feeling groggy throughout the next day, you might want to take a look at your room’s thermometer. Just like several other things, there exists an ideal temperature that promotes quality sleep. It is also scientifically proven that keeping your bedroom closer to that temperature can ensure you can get the best sleep possible.
So, what is the best temperature for sleep? How does it affect your body? Read this article till the end to find out everything about it and more!
What is the Ideal Bedroom Temperature for Sleeping?
The ideal temperature for having a sound sleep at night is approximately 65 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take a few degrees.
This is so because the temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit is neither super chilly nor extremely hot. So, it eliminates the chances of people shivering or sweating during sleep and waking up in the middle of the night, and thus enables them to fall easily into a deep sleep.
An NIH study conducted in 2012 found that most people believed the temperature of their sleeping environment is one the most significant factors for having a comfortable and undisturbed nightly slumber.
Another study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation that analyzed the data from around 765,000 survey respondents revealed that most individuals had trouble falling asleep during the hotter months of the year. This problem occurs because of the increased reliance on air conditioning to keep your bedroom at an optimal temperature during the summertime.
Why Does Temperature Affect Your Sleep?
The internal temperature in human bodies shifts during the 24 hours of a day. This is called cardiac rhythm, and it regulates our core temperature. The human body is designed to shed warmth and cool down during the evening and night. It keeps cooling down alongside the natural sleep cycle until it reaches its lowest point near the break of dawn, at around 5 A.M. After that, it starts to warm up gradually.
Therefore, if your room is too cold or too hot, it may impact your body’s cardiac rhythm, thereby resulting in sleep deprivation.
Keeping your bedroom’s thermal level closer to 60 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit helps your body’s natural temperature regulation process and induces rem sleep at a quicker pace. It also signals your mind and body that it’s time to go to bed, thereby reducing the chances of you tossing and turning in bed.
What is the Best Sleeping Temperature for Babies?
While the ideal sleeping temperature is not vastly different for infants, you can bump up their nursery’s thermostat by one or two degrees. As babies have smaller and developing bodies, they are slightly more sensitive to the changes in an environment’s temperature than adults.
Hence, raising their bedroom temperature by a few degrees can help create a comfortable sleeping environment. However, most infants would do perfectly fine in a temperature of around 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit as long as they are suitably clothed.
Other Practical Sleep Tips and Tricks
We can never overstate the importance of a good night’s sleep for our bodies. A fulfilling sleep is essential for the well-being of both your physical and mental health. Therefore, creating a good sleep routine starts with setting a comfortable environment geared towards quality sleep.
Now that we have discussed the ideal sleeping temperature and its importance for your body, it’s time to discuss some other tips for creating a healthy sleep-inducing environment.
Keep your Bedroom Free of Bright Light
A cool and dark bedroom environment can do wonders for your sleep. So, consider covering all your windows and switching off all the lights whenever you lie down to sleep to create a blackout effect.
Also, try to remove or turn off your electronic devices that emit blue light like your laptop, television, smartphones, etc. This will help your body start the natural production of melatonin and help you achieve quality sleep sooner.
Eliminate the Noise!
To have a sound sleep at night, you must keep your bedroom as quiet as possible. A noisy environment will distract you from falling asleep and can even cause sudden nighttime awakenings, disrupting your circadian rhythm, and exasperating preexisting sleep disorders.
Embracing the quiet is an excellent sleeping habit. So, keep all your gadgets that beep or buzz away from your room and turn off your phone’s notifications. If you live in a place where you cannot block out the noise made by your roommates or neighbors, then consider using earplugs or a white noise machine. Some people on their sleep apnea treatment journey even find that the acute noise made by their machines can act as a sort of white noise for them!
Use a Smart Thermostat
Like we just discussed, maintaining an optimal bedroom temperature is vital for having quality sleep. If your room often gets hot and regulating its temperature throughout the night is difficult for you, then consider investing in a smart thermostat.
A smart thermostat uses Wi-Fi technology and can be used together with your other devices at home. It allows you to adjust the heating and cooling of your room even when you are away from your home.
You can also schedule your temperature requirements at night, and it will automatically regulate your room’s temperature accordingly. So, you’ll be able to have a comfortable and fulfilling sleep at night.
Summing it all Up
Ensuring that the temperature of your sleeping environment is cool and pleasant enhances your chances of getting satisfying sleep every night.
While the ideal sleeping temperature mostly depends upon the personal preferences of each sleeper, experts generally recommend keeping it anywhere between 60 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit for having the most comfortable nighttime rest.
Apart from that, you can also practice sleep hygiene to improve the quality of your nightly slumber. For example, you can avoid caffeine and alcohol before going to bed, implement a fixed sleeping schedule, reduce the usage of electronic devices an hour before dozing off, and use comfortable mattresses and pillows.
All of this will go a long way in ensuring that you get a good sleep every night and have a happy and cheerful mood throughout the day!
