A comfortable environment is essential for healthy sleep. The ideal is to keep the temperature in your room at 20 degrees, give or take a few degrees.
Your body temperature decreases during sleep, and a cool, but not cold, room will help you sleep peacefully.
Infants may need a slightly warmer 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 the science says
There are scientific reasons why a room temperature of around 19°C is optimal for a good night’s sleep. This has to do with regulating your body’s internal temperature.
Your body’s internal temperature changes over a 24-hour period. This is called the circadian rhythm. Your body begins to lose heat around the time you go to bed and continues to cool until it reaches its lowest point at dawn, around 5 a.m.
Your body cools itself by dilating the blood vessels in your skin. When your temperature begins to drop at night, you may notice your hands and feet getting warmer at first. This is because your body lets heat escape to reduce your body temperature.
If the temperature of your sleeping environment is too hot or too cold, it can affect the drop in your body’s internal temperature and disrupt your sleep.
According to several studies, the temperature of the room where you sleep is one of the most determining factors in the quality of your sleep.
Various surveys have found that most people have abnormal sleeping habits 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 itself at night.
Too hot or too cold
Temperatures outside of comfortable sleeping conditions can impact your overall sleep in different ways.
Temperature too high
You may notice that you have 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 generally doesn’t 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 sleeping, your body can change its heart response.
Is it different for babies?
There is no need to create a very different sleep environment for babies. You might consider raising the temperature a degree or two, but they should be fine in a room between 15.6 and 20°C provided they are dressed properly. For optimal accuracy, equip yourself with a baby room thermometer.
However, please avoid overheating the room where an infant is sleeping, as this can increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
You should have your child sleep in a simple breathable sleeper and sleeping bag. Sleeping bags can be made from warmer or cooler materials, and you can swap them out depending on the season. Additionally, your child should not have anything on their head, as this affects the internal body temperature and can prevent the child from cooling down.
You can make sure your baby doesn’t get too hot by touching the back of his neck or stomach while he sleeps. If his skin is hot or sweaty, remove a layer of clothing.
Finally, it is essential for your baby to sleep in a dark and quiet environment to promote healthy sleep.