A comfortable environment is essential for healthy sleep. Ideally, your bedroom temperature should be kept at 20 degrees, give or take a few degrees.
Your body temperature drops during sleep, and a cool, but not cold, room will help you sleep peacefully.
Infants may need a slightly higher room temperature to sleep, but you'll want to avoid raising the thermometer more than a few degrees so their little bodies don't get overheated.
What science says
There are scientific reasons why a room temperature of about 19°C is optimal for a good night's sleep. This has to do with the regulation of your body's internal temperature.
Your body's internal temperature changes over a 24-hour period. This is called the circadian rhythm. Your body starts to lose heat around the time you go to bed and continues to cool down until it reaches its lowest point at dawn, around 5 a.m.
Your body cools down by dilating the blood vessels in your skin. When your temperature starts to drop at night, you may notice that your hands and feet feel warm at first. This is because your body is letting heat escape to reduce your body temperature.
If the temperature of your sleeping environment is too hot or too cold, it can affect your body's internal temperature drop and disrupt your sleep.
According to several studies, the temperature of the room where you sleep is one of the most important factors in the quality of your sleep.
Various surveys have found that most people have abnormal sleeping patterns during the hotter summer months, when it can be more difficult to keep sleeping rooms at an optimal temperature. This can impact the body's ability to cool down at night.
Too hot or too cold
Temperatures outside of comfortable sleeping conditions can impact your overall sleep in a variety of ways.
Temperature too high
You may notice that you have a restless sleep when the room temperature is higher than the optimal sleeping temperature.
Humidity, in addition to heat, can also contribute to sleep problems.
Temperature not high enough
Cold weather does not usually affect your sleep cycle, but it can make it harder to fall asleep and impact other aspects of your health. If you get too cold while you sleep, your body may change its heart response.
Is it different for babies?
It is not necessary to create a very different sleeping environment for babies. You may want to consider raising the temperature by a degree or two, but they should be fine in a room between 15.6 and 20°C as long as they are dressed properly. For best accuracy, get a baby room thermometer.
However, please do not overheat the room or put an infant to sleep, as this can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
You should have your child sleep in a simple breathable sleeper and a sleeping bag. Sleeping bags can be made of warmer or cooler materials, and you can switch them out depending on the season. Also, your child should not have anything on his or her head, as this affects the internal body temperature and can prevent the child from cool off.
You can make sure your baby isn't too hot by touching the back of his neck or stomach while he's sleeping. If his skin is hot or sweaty, remove a layer of clothing.
Finally, it is essential for your baby to sleep in a dark, quiet environment to promote healthy sleep.
