How to Find Your Ideal Sleeping Temperature
Creating a comfortable sleep environment is important for the quality of sleep you’re getting. One of the biggest factors in having a good night’s rest is temperature – and finding the perfect sleeping temperature can be difficult! We’ve all experienced those nights filled with too-hot-too-cold moments where you just can’t find the best temperature to sleep in, and they certainly don’t end with feeling well-rested. You want to curl up with a thick comforter, but then that gets too warm. You want the white noise of an A/C, but then that gets too cold.
Finding the best temperature for sleep is an art of balancing many variables, ranging from how your room is set up to how your bed is made. Follow these 4 simple bedtime tips to achieve your optimal sleeping temperature:
1. Set Your Thermostat
A general rule of thumb: keep your bedroom like a cave – cool, dark, and quiet. When attempting to sleep, your core body temperature drops to help facilitate the process. Because of this, experts suggest the ideal sleeping temperature is somewhere between a cool 60 and 72 degrees.
One study from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine states that sleeping in a 66-degree room even increased the stores of good fat in healthy men. Additionally, cooler sleeping temperatures can improve the quality of REM sleep. It really all depends on your personal preferences, however. If a thermostat set to 72 is just too cold to be a comfortable sleeping temperature, make adjustments to your comfort level.
If trying to save money on an energy bill, or live in a climate where air conditioning isn’t common, you can drop the temperature of your bedroom in other ways. Keep airflow moving with an oscillating fan, or open a window to take advantage of the fresh air. A fan can also provide white noise to help drown out sound distractions, from busy city streets to partners snoring.
2. Make Your Bed
Choosing the right bedding materials for your bed will help regulate a comfortable sleeping temperature and improve your quality of sleep. If you wake up with your comforter on the ground every morning, chances are you’re overheating in your sleep. Consider lighter materials when making your bed, and don’t add on too many layers if they will just end up on the floor. Cotton and silk bedding are tried-and-true choices, and bamboo bedding is becoming more popular due to its breathability.
Choosing the right pillow is imperative to achieving the best temperature for sleep, as keeping a cool head (literally) will help you relax. From the same University of Pittsburgh study mentioned previously, researchers found that wearing a cooling plastic cap helped users fall asleep faster and sleep longer. Switch over to a waterbase pillow for ultimate comfort, without the heat of traditional memory foam pillows.
3. Plan Your Pajamas
The same sleep material rules for your bedding apply to your pajamas. Wearing thick clothes to bed may seem warm and cozy at first, but your internal thermostat will soon catch up to you. Sleep under a comforter with thick pajama pants, a sweatshirt, and socks, and you’ll probably start to feel hot later in the night. Opt for more breathable and less restrictive materials like cotton and silk, or flannel in the colder months, to maintain a comfortable sleeping temperature.
And if you’re comfortable with it, studies show there are benefits of sleeping naked, including lowering your skin temperature to achieve a deeper sleep. While you’ll have to clean your sheets more often, this is a great way to allow your body to regulate its ideal sleeping temperature on its own.
4. Ask Your Partner
Of course, everybody has a different optimal sleeping temperature. While you may sleep best wrapped in blankets with the cool blast of air conditioning, someone else may feel more comfortable over the covers with the heat on. This can be especially tricky if you have a roommate or a bed partner.
It’s important to work together to set up a sleeping environment that is comfortable for everyone when sharing a space because if one person in the room isn’t sleeping well, chances are you aren’t either. Try simple fixes like having a personal fan or space heater on your bedside table, getting the right pillow, or having individual blankets to separate body heat.
In the end, the key to finding the best temperature for sleep is keeping it cool. By following these 4 sleep tips and setting up the perfect sleeping environment, your nights are sure to result in sweet dreams. Take the next step in achieving the ideal sleeping temperature by investing in customizable water pillows from Mediflow!
