High temperatures can wreak havoc on sleep. Under ideal conditions, your body temperature starts to fall by a couple of degrees about one to two hours before bedtime — and it continues to decline while sleeping, said Dr Leslie Swanson, an associate professor of psychiatry in the Sleep and Circadian Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan.
This internal cooling effect helps us achieve the deep, restorative stage of sleep known as slow-wave sleep.
But “when the ambient temperature is high outside, it prevents our body temperature from falling as quickly,” Dr Swanson said.
This not only makes it harder to fall asleep, but it can also cause frequent awakenings. While it may be difficult to drift off when you and your room are warm, there are things you can do to snooze more soundly.
