Sleep Temperature: Why Your Bedroom Should Be Cold

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title: "Sleep Temperature: Why Your Bedroom Should Be Cold" description: "The science behind optimal sleep temperature and practical tips to create the perfect sleep environment." date: "2025-01-03" category: "sleep" author: "MyProtocolStack" readingTime: "4 min read"

If you're optimizing sleep, temperature is one of the most impactful and underutilized levers. Your body needs to drop its core temperature to initiate and maintain quality sleep.

The Science

Your core body temperature naturally drops 2-3°F during sleep. This decrease:

• Signals to your brain that it's time to sleep
• Enables deeper slow-wave sleep
• Supports natural melatonin release

When your environment is too warm, your body struggles to achieve this temperature drop, leading to restless sleep and frequent awakenings.

Why Most Bedrooms Are Too Warm

Modern homes are often heated to 70-72°F for daytime comfort. But this temperature is too warm for optimal sleep.

Common problems:

• Central heating running overnight
• Memory foam mattresses trapping heat
• Heavy bedding creating a warm microclimate
• Partners with different temperature preferences

Practical Solutions

Room Temperature

• Set thermostat to 65-68°F for sleeping
• Use a programmable thermostat to cool down before bed
• Open a window slightly for fresh, cool air
• Use a fan for air circulation

Bedding

• Choose breathable materials (cotton, linen, bamboo)
• Consider a cooling mattress pad or topper
• Use lighter blankets than you think you need
• Layer bedding so you can adjust easily

The Warm Shower Trick

Counter-intuitively, a warm shower 1-2 hours before bed can help you sleep cooler. Here's why:

1. Warm water dilates blood vessels in your extremities
2. After exiting, heat rapidly dissipates from your skin
3. This creates a "rebound cooling" effect
4. Your core temperature drops faster than it would naturally

Signs Your Room Is Too Warm

• Waking up sweating or kicking off covers
• Restless sleep with frequent position changes
• Waking up in the middle of the night
• Feeling groggy despite adequate sleep duration

Temperature and Sleep Stages

Different sleep stages have different temperature sensitivities:

• Deep sleep (N3): Most temperature-sensitive. Too warm = less deep sleep
• REM sleep: Also affected by temperature
• Light sleep (N1-N2): More tolerant of temperature variation

This is why the first half of the night (when deep sleep predominates) is most affected by a warm bedroom.

Browse our Sleep Protocols to find Temperature Optimization and build your complete sleep stack.