Improve Your Sleep Quality
Achieving quality sleep can be difficult in the days of long work hours and increased screen time. Fortunately, there are many different methods you can try to help you fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. One of the things we recommend is sleeping in colder temperatures. Along with helping you stay asleep, sleeping in a cooler room provides people with many benefits for their overall health.
The Benefits of Sleeping in Cool Temperatures
Fall Asleep Quicker
When nighttime approaches, our body temperature naturally begins to drop as a signal that it’s time to slow down and rest. By having a cooler room temperature, you’re reinforcing your body’s instinct to sleep. This helps you fall asleep quicker and remain asleep through the night. Benefits of falling asleep quicker include increasing your quality of REM sleep and decreasing your risk of metabolic diseases.
Improve Your Sleep Quality
Even though your body temperature naturally lowers before bed and rises before waking, there are still times when you may “sleep hot.” Sleeping hot can wreak havoc on your sleep as you may awake during the night covered in sweat and feel uncomfortable. By keeping your room cooler, you can help regulate your body temperature and avoid waking up during the night feeling overheated and unable to fall back asleep.
Increased Metabolism
Your metabolism is affected by cooler temperatures, which is beneficial for you. Cooler sleeping temperatures increase brown fat — which is stored and helps to burn calories and dispose of excess blood sugar. This is considered “good” fat as it’s what we need for our bodies to process energy as effectively as possible. Colder temperatures while you sleep are shown to be the most effective for our metabolic rates.
Decrease Your Risk of Diseases
The increase in brown fat isn’t just good for your metabolism. Higher levels of brown fat decrease your chances of obesity — which is linked to other diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and even some cancers. While brown fat isn’t the sole indicator of healthy body weight, it still plays an important role in your overall health.
Improve Your Natural Melatonin Levels
Sleeping cooler may help increase your natural melatonin production. Melatonin is a hormone that your brain produces to help with the timing of your circadian rhythms and your sleep. Try dimming your lights and decreasing your screen time before bed to help start the healthy process of your body producing melatonin for sleeping.
Ways to Cool Your Room
Not everyone is lucky enough to have the advantage of a central air conditioning unit and as the summer approaches, our bedrooms can quickly become warmer and prevent us from getting the quality sleep we need.
Fortunately, there are other ways besides an air conditioning unit to aid in the cooling of your room, including:
- Use a fan to help circulate air
- Invest in a cooling gel mattress topper — or pillow — to help draw heat away from your body while asleep
- Keep your windows closed during the heat of the day and covered by blinds or curtains — When the temperature drops, open them for air circulation
- Sleep naked
- Drink water as it’s a cooling agent and helps the body regulate temperature
Dr. Lauck is Here to Answer Your Sleep-Related Questions
If you’re having trouble sleeping and have tried every trick in the book, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Keller, TX office. Dr. Lauck has two diplomate degrees in Sleep Apnea Treatment and has helped hundreds of patients. To schedule an appointment, call our office at (817) 431-6764, or fill out our online contact form. We look forward to meeting you!