Everyone is different when it comes to the temperature of the air in their bedroom. Some prefer to lay down without any comforters and tepid air, while some crank up the A/C and use just enough blankets to prevent completely freezing.
Things get tricky when two different kinds of people share a home. What happens if your partner's ideal sleeping temperature is five degrees higher than yours? What issues arise when you don't sleep at your ideal sleeping temperature?
Science
There is no ‘one size fits all’ nighttime temperature that is best for everybody, as we all vary from person to person. What’s comfortable for you and your neighbor can be drastically different. But what is essential behind every good night’s sleep is the time spent in rapid eye movement (REM), which internal climate plays a huge role.
REM is the time spent in sleep where you ‘dream,’ and your arms and legs are temporarily paralyzed. It typically occurs 90 minutes after you first slip into your sleep cycle. Before this occurs, your internal body temperature begins to lower, and this is when periods of wakefulness most often impact light sleepers.
Either being too hot or too cold can lead to restlessness and trouble getting to the ‘deep sleep’ stage necessary for feeling well rested. If the air in your room is too cold, your body could be pulling overtime in warming up your already ‘cool’ internal temperature to the point where your blood vessels become constricted, and breathing can get shallow. For too hot, your body will be stuck in its cooling process, constantly adjusting to counteract the humidity surrounding it.
For these reasons, most professionals claim that the general ideal sleep temperature can be found within the 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit range, with the National Sleep Foundation going a step further by claiming 67 degrees as the best possible point to set your thermostat at.
As we’ve written about before, cooler temperatures have been found to be beneficial for getting to, and staying, asleep.
Methods
If your partner prefers a different level of comfort while they sleep, there are ways to work around it.
When away from the house for more than two hours, its recommended that you lower your thermostat by two degrees. Upon returning, you could be surprised by how you feel while settling in.
Additionally, you could read this blog and immediately adjust your thermostat to 67 degrees, chances are you won’t immediately take to the sudden adjustment.
Our bodies need time to adapt, and the common advice for people who want to lower their energy use has been to decrease the temperature in their home by one degree each week.
For the two people who can’t find a middle ground, this approach might be the best to finding an agreed upon point within the 60–67-degree spectrum.
A good night’s sleep is essential for a healthy life. Finding your ideal sleep temperature can be a benefit for not only your body, but also your HVAC system’s condition.
In the event that your thermostat cannot get to a proper temperature, or you are looking for an easy to use programmable thermostat, call Harbin today and discuss your options!
