If you’re having trouble falling asleep, you’ve probably tried the obvious tricks: pitch dark room, limit water intake, and don’t eat too close to bed.
But experts say there’s one crucial thing most people overlook: temperature.
Neurologist and sleep expert Dr. Chris Winter told DailyMail.com that keeping your bedroom cool at night “makes a big difference.”
You may have even noticed when you wake up in the morning that your feet stick out from under the covers. This is your body naturally trying to regulate temperature.
The Sleep Foundation recommends keeping your bedroom between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit to help the body fall asleep faster
About one-third of Americans don’t get enough sleep — at least seven hours a night — according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A lack of sleep is consistently linked to chronic health problems such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity and depression.
By lowering the temperature in your bedroom, you can reduce those risks.
“I think a lot of people will surprise themselves if they keep their working or living environment relatively warmer during the day and cooler at night…that makes a big difference,” said Dr Winter.
In a 2021 report from OnePoll, 31 percent of Americans surveyed said being too hot or too cold was the top reason they didn’t get enough sleep.
Sleep is regulated by the circadian rhythm, which consists of the physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. It acts as the body’s internal clock, receiving signals from the environment to regulate vital functions such as body temperature.
Neurologist and sleep expert Dr. Chris Winter recommended using temperature-controlled mattresses and cool pillows to lower bedroom temperatures at night
Just before you fall asleep, your body temperature drops, signaling that it’s time to go to bed.
“The place where your temperature drops the fastest is usually when people are falling asleep,” Dr Winter said. “If you’re kind of a night owl, your temperatures might stay high a bit longer.” If you’re more of a morning person, your temperature may drop a little earlier.
Supporting that with a colder bedroom usually helps to sleep.’
Keeping the bedroom cold will keep that temperature cooler, making it easier to fall asleep.
However, higher temperatures are likely to keep you awake longer by causing restlessness. During REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the body naturally stops controlling behaviors such as sweating and shivering. Extremely hot rooms therefore lead to less time spent in REM sleep.
Too little REM sleep can lead to forgetfulness and make it harder to get up in the morning.
Data from the United Health Foundation showed that about one-third of adults don’t get at least seven hours of sleep a night until they are 65 years old. From there, levels drop to 26 percent — but this is still more than a quarter of older adults who get less than seven hours a night
The same dataset found that men are more likely to get insufficient sleep compared to women
a study in the journal Environmental Researchfound, for example, that a too warm bedroom affected the body’s temperature regulation and caused fatigue.
Lowering your thermostat has numerous health benefits.
a study in the journal Diabetes found that sleeping in a 66-degree room increases metabolism. This is because that temperature increases brown fat, also known as brown adipose tissue, a specific type of fat that is activated in response to cold temperatures. It helps produce heat and maintain body temperature, which in turn helps you burn calories.
This can also help reduce stress. While anxiety can keep you from sinking in, a physical sign of stress is an elevated body temperature, so a cool room can counteract that.
Additionally, a 2018 study in the journal Molecules found that lower temperatures could stimulate the production of melatonin, a hormone directly related to sleep.
“We live our lives at 73 degrees or 68 degrees, whatever we set our thermostat to, and it doesn’t change,” said Dr. Winter. “You can really manipulate and improve people’s sleep by manipulating temperature.”
Sleep Foundation recommends keeping the ambient temperature between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cooler temperatures could help the millions of Americans who don’t get enough sleep catch some extra z’s.
The CDC also says 8.4 percent of American adults take pills to fall asleep, more than double the number they took 10 years earlier.
Like warm temperatures, these can rob the body of REM sleep.
The desk also recommended that all Americans should get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Children from six to twelve years old need nine to twelve hours a night, teenagers eight to ten hours.
If you’re used to keeping your bedroom at a certain temperature, Dr. Winter suggested turning down the air conditioning gradually. For example, if you keep it at 70 degrees, try 67 for a few days.
Some mattresses and mattress protectors also have adjustable settings. However, you don’t even have to go out to buy something new to cool the room.
Dr. Winter recommended stashing extra pillowcases in the freezer until it’s time for bed to keep your head cooler. “If you can keep your head cool, the rest of your body will feel a lot cooler,” he said.
I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone do these things and think it wasn’t really helpful.”