If you stress over how much you toss and turn well at night, you aren’t the only one. The Center of Disease Control estimates that over 35% of American adults get less than 7 hours of sleep a night. It’s a problem that can have significant consequences as well; losing out on those hours of sleep can affect you during your day and lead to health complications later in life.
There are plenty of causes that can contribute to insomniac tendencies: Stress, diagnosed or undiagnosed sleeping disorders, environmental factors, pain or posture issues – you get the picture.
But one of the biggest impediments on sleeping, however, is how we negatively influence our bodies’ natural sleep cycles. Televisions, computers, and smartphones can confuse the body’s internal clock and hormone regulation.
That hormonal regulation is responsible for one of the most important parts of falling asleep, too: Your body temperature.
Body temperature fluctuates during several times during a 24-hour day. A body’s temperature will rise from morning until the afternoon and start dropping in the evening. As you sleep, your temperature can plummet compared to what it was during the day. This process is part of how your body lulls itself into sleep.
You can either help or hinder this process through your nighttime habits. If you want to sleep easily, it’s important to create an environment that allows your body to naturally drop its temperature.
The optimal thermostat setting
Research has connected people with a higher average body temperature as being more susceptible to insomnia due to their difficulties in dispersing body heat at night.
Due to the general variance in each person’s body temperature, it’s difficult to specify that a specific temperature is best for everyone. With that disclaimer added, the majority of people will fall asleep easier in a room around 65 degrees.
A cooler room allows the body to more efficiently shed heat and allow for your circadian rhythm to take over and lull you to sleep. For someone with a higher body temperature, they may do better with a room even cooler than that.
How to influence your body temperature
Of course, a cold room isn’t the only solution. There are steps that you can take to manipulate your body’s temperature as well.
A warm bath or shower
It might seem counterintuitive, but a warm shower or bath before bedtime will force your body to quickly lose heat afterwards. A warm shower dialates your blood vessels and gives your body more control over losing heat. You’ll also experience a pretty steep drop in body temperature this way which can induce drowsiness.
In the same vein as a shower, blood circulation is key. Studies show that cold feet – a sign of poor circulation – is also a sign that a person will struggle to fall asleep. Try wearing socks to bed for a few days to help with blood circulation; if socks to bed sounds unappealing, you can also use a heating pad or a hot water bottle.
Reduce the humidity
Humidity and heat go hand in hand; we’ve all tried to struggle through a particularly humid summer day before. That humidity makes it more difficult for the body to control its internal temperature.
Likewise, a humid room will feel stuffy and oppressive as you try to fall asleep. A dehumidifier can be a worthwhile – and cheap – investment to combat restlessness at night. In fact, in naturally humid clients a dehumidifier is nearly essential.
Manipulating your hormone production
The hormone melatonin is responsible for your sleepiness and wakefulness. As it’s produced in the body, the sleepier you feel. Unfortunately, many modern conveniences can mess up the production of this hormone.
If you’re the type to watch television in bed or to use your smartphone late at night, that light coming from those screens can trick your body’s circadian rhythm and disrupt the natural production of melatonin. By manipulating this hormone, you’re dooming your body’s chances of reducing its temperature.
Other lights in your home can cause this affect as well. As the night wanes on, make a habit of reducing the amount of light in your home. This will help avoid issues in hormone production.
Create a bedtime ritual
You can also help your body recognize that it’s bedtime by participating in routines that you repeat each night. This could include that shower from earlier, reading, a practiced grooming routine, laying out close for the next day – anything, essentially, that doesn’t require too much mental concentration. This allows your body and mind to relax and become susceptible for sleeping.
If you still struggle to get cool and comfortable in bed, there are bedding products out there that wick away moisture and heat while allowing for air to circulate easier. If you suffer from a pillow that feels too hot, this might be an avenue to explore.
We’re surrounded by stimulants on a daily basis. Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and pre-workout ingredients for those that like to exercise at night can all wreak havoc on your body’s ability to regulate its temperature and shut down mentally. Try to cut yourself off from these sorts of stimulants hours before bedtime.
Paying attention to your body temperature before bedtime doesn’t just affect your ability to fall asleep. These efforts will allow you to increase your quality of sleep and sleep through the night. That sort of deep sleep will allow you to feel refreshed and focused the next day.
Pills and other forms of sleeping medication are ways to mask symptoms but do nothing to solve the initial problem. By paying closer attention to your evening habits, you can let go of the stress of tossing and turning at night.
Getting the right amount of sleep is key to your overall health and well-being. Though it may seem basic rather basic, ensuring that your body temperature is ideal for sleep is a simple and powerful, means of self-care.
Ryan Bridges is a contributing writer for Smart Choice Plumbing & Air.