Tips for Maintaining the Ideal Room Temperature for Better Sleep

The temperature of your bedroom plays a significant role in the quality of your sleep. Research shows that a cool, comfortable environment is essential for restful and uninterrupted sleep.

As your body temperature naturally drops during sleep, a cooler room can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

While the ideal room temperature for sleep can vary slightly depending on factors like age and personal preferences, many people unknowingly keep their bedrooms too warm, which can disrupt their sleep cycle.

Understanding the connection between room temperature and sleep quality is key to creating the perfect sleep environment.

Here’s what you need to know about setting the ideal room temperature for better sleep and how small adjustments to your thermostat can make a big difference in your nightly rest.

The Science

There are lots of reasons - comfort aside - as to why your thermostat needs to be sent to a certain temperature when you are asleep.

Ideally, you should set the room temperature to around 65 degrees Fahrenheit while you are sleeping. This will help your body regulate its internal temperature. Over a 24-hour period, that temperature will shift as it adjusts to your circadian rhythm.

Just about the time you are getting ready to go to bed, your body will shed warmth - and it will continue cooling down until you start to wake up, sometime around 5 am.

As your body cools, the blood vessels in your skin will expand. That’s why you might notice that your feet and hands feel warmer as your temperature begins dropping at night - your body is essentially allowing heat to escape through your extremities in order to lower your core body temperature.

Unfortunately, when the temperature where you are sleeping is too cold or too hot, it can affect how well your body adjusts its internal temperature, leading to a disruption in your sleep.

Multiple studies point to the importance of the room temperature when you are trying to sleep on your new organic mattress. Believe it or not, people have the worst sleeping patterns during the hot summer months, when it’s more of a challenge to regulate your sleeping environment to an ideal temperature.

What About Babies?

Many people believe that babies need to be kept super-warm while they sleep - and while that’s partially true, it can also be a dangerous assumption to have.

What’s the best room temperature for babies and toddlers?

Babies don’t need a hugely different sleep environment than you do. In fact, while you might consider increasing the room temperature by a degree or two, a baby will normally sleep just fine in a room that’s somewhere between 60 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit - as long as it is clothed properly.

Allowing a baby to sleep in a too-warm room (or overdressing it) can create several problems. For starters, babies have a harder time regulating their body temperatures than adults. They also should not sleep with blankets, pillows, or other coverings, as this can increase the likelihood of SIDS.

Therefore, you should put your baby to sleep in just a sleeper and a sleep sack. You can swap out sleep sacks depending on the season - in the warmer months, your baby can wear a sleep sack made out of a lighter-weight material.

Don’t put a hat on your baby indoors, either. This can affect your child’s body temperature and may make it harder for him to cold down.

Not sure whether your infant is at the right temperature for sleep? Touch the back of his neck or his stomach while he is asleep. If his skin is hot, clammy, or sweaty, he’s too warm - remove a layer of clothing.

Of course, you’ll also want to make sure you provide your baby with a sleeping environment that is dark and quiet to encourage healthy, restful sleep (for you and for your little one!).

Too Hot or Too Cold

Naturally, temperatures that hover outside of the ideal ranges can impact your sleep quality in a number of ways.

Determine Your Best Room Temperature For Sleep

You’ll likely notice that, when your room is too hot, you have trouble sleeping. You might suffer from restless sleep as you decrease your slow-wave sleep or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Humidity can also make it harder to fall and stay asleep.

A room that is too cold won’t pose as many sleep-related challenges as one that is too warm. In general, the cold won’t make it difficult for you to get quality sleep, but it can make it harder to fall asleep in the first place. A room that’s too cold will impact other aspects of your health, too, such as how well your cardiac system functions.

It is difficult to recommend a specific range for ideal sleep, as a lot of this will depend on the individual. What’s comfortable for one person might not be for another. Usually, you will want to keep the room somewhere between 60 and 68 degrees, but some experts advise that certain people may need temperatures as warm as 75 degrees Fahrenheit!

Therefore, you should set the temperature at a comfortable level, whatever that means to you.

Regulate Room Temperature

As you have likely inferred by now, getting good sleep is vital if you want to have a productive day. There are a few ways you can improve your sleep quality - particularly in relation to your body temperature - to help ensure that you get better sleep.

For starters, you will want to regulate the room temperature. There are a few ways you can make sure the room remains between 60 and 68 degrees at night.

One way is to adjust your home’s thermostat. Most modern thermostats can easily be programmed so that they stay warmer during the day but drop cooler at night. Many homes can be outfitted with smart thermostats to help take the guesswork out of this for you, too.

You can also open up some windows or switch on the heat or air conditioning if the temperature goes outside of the desired sleeping range. It might be worth installing a separate thermostat in your room to make sure the temperature is well-regulated in your sleeping quarters, too.

During the hot summer months, don't’ be afraid of running an air conditioner or a fan. Yes, this will cost some money when it comes to your power bill - but it’s worth it. Even if you don’t feel overly warm, a fan can be beneficial on its own in that it can circulate the air and keep things from getting too stuffy in humid weather.

Be wary of memory foam pillows, too. Although these are comfortable, they can make you too hot, particularly when you wake up in the middle of the night. Keep a close eye on your thermostat to make sure it stays at ideal levels throughout the year, even if that means your energy expenses are slightly higher.

Swap Out Bedding When Season Changes

Sleep Tip: Change Bedding Often To Help Find The Best Room Temp For Sleeping

Splurge on a few sets of moisture wicking bedding that you can swap out each and every time the calendar changes. This is essential, because a down comforter that keeps you nice and toasty in January might not be the best choice in the heat of the summer. You'll Want to use just a lightweight blanket on the bed to prevent yourself from overheating.

Have All of your bedding changes handy, though - if there’s a cold snap, you might want to double up on bedding or have it washed and ready to go if you happen to need it.

Embrace The Quiet

When you’re trying to make your bedroom comfortable for sleep, it comes down to much more than just the ideal temperature. You should do your best to keep your bedroom quiet and serene at all times - it is just for sleeping, after all.

Sleep Tip: Embrace The Quite Noise In Finding The Right Room Temperature

Get rid of any gadgets that beep or buzz and if you can’t eliminate all kinds of background noise while you’re trying to sleep, consider investing in a good pair of earplugs. A white noise machine can also be helpful, as it will block out unexpected noises with its consistent drone.

Think of your bedroom as a cave. It needs to be cool, dark, and quiet for the best chances to get good rest.

Are you a troubled sleeper who finds himself waking up frequently throughout the night? If so, you might want to consider a few helpful hacks (these can also be helpful if you are sharing the bed with a spouse or partner who is a troubled sleeper, too, even if you yourself sleep like a rock).

For example, start by adjusting the room temperature - but if you still can’t get to sleep, put a hot water bottle at your feet or wear socks. This will dilate your blood vessels more quickly and help your body regulate its internal thermostat to a more desirable level.

Remember that you might have an easier time falling asleep when your bedroom is slightly warmer, but that doesn’t mean you’ll stay asleep - nor that your sleep quality will be as high. Warm sleeping environments interfere with circadian temperature regulation and make it tougher for your body to get comfortable.

Adjust The Thermostat To Find The Right Room Temp For Sleeping

If you find that the room is too chilly when you go to bed, simply layer on a few extra blankets. Keep your thermostat low, but feel free to shuck off the blankets during the night if you happen to get too hot. That way, you can continue to sleep soundly without waking up (or having to get out of bed to adjust the thermostat).

On the flip side, if your bedroom doesn’t feel cool enough when you head to bed, you might want to invest in cooling bedding. This will lend a natural cooling effect to your room that is sure to help lull you to sleep. You can also try putting a few pillowcases in the freezer just before bed and then putting one on your pillow before you go to sleep. It sounds strange, but when you’re able to keep your head cool, the rest of your body will quickly follow.

If you get hot in the middle of the night, you might want to keep an ice pack or a glass of cold water next to the bed. You can use fans to keep the air blowing and sleep in light, breathable pajamas (or in nothing at all) to help keep your body cool.

Get Better Quality Sleep Throughout The Night At The Right Room Temperature

There are plenty of other changes you can make to help ensure you get better-quality sleep throughout all seasons of the year - and room temperatures! For starters, make sure you keep your room dark. You should consider your bedroom to be a caveat night when you head to bed. Cover your windows with curtains or blinds so that street lights or sunlight (particularly during the brighter summer months) doesn’t filter in.

Get rid of all those electronic devices that tend to keep you distracted right before bed. Not only should you be ditching these devices within an hour or two of bedtime anyway for better quality sleep, but the light that they emit when you’re trying to sleep can be downright invasive. The list of electronics to toss from your sleeping quarters includes computer monitors, televisions, phones, and any other device that emits a blinking light.

Setting a good sleep routine is important no matter what your sleep goals might be. Your body’s circadian rhythm is a skilled performer and will do a good job of regulating itself so that you can get healthy sleep. However, you may need to help it out by getting rid of gadgets, practicing some relaxing activities (like reading or meditation) right before bed, and making sure the room temperature where you are sleeping is at the ideal level.

Remember, your room should be between 60 and 67 degrees for healthy sleep - even if you are sharing a room with an infant. Getting quality rest is a hot topic - but remember to keep things cool for better sleep.

Karen A Mulvey is a personal social blogger and mom with 14 years of experience in the every day world of motherhood and sustainable product research. Karen is on a mission to help everyday families select sustainable, non-toxic organic products, stop stressing about uncertainties on sustainable home goods and apparel, and start living the life they’ve always wanted.

Follow Karen at @karenAmulveycs | Karen A Mulvey