Colder days mean colder nights, and this sometimes makes it harder to fall asleep. Having cold hands and feet stop you from sleeping but turning on the heating isn't a good idea either. So, what's the best way to solve this issue?
When temperatures take a big dip, you can dress up in a warm sweater or jacket to keep out the cold during the day, but what about at night?
Getting to sleep with cold feet is not possible, according to neurologist and sleep expert Inge Declerq. "That's because one of the rhythms to trigger the sleep signal has to do with the drop in your central temperature,” she told VRT. “In order to fall asleep, your body temperature must first drop. Your blood vessels in the skin expand, causing more heat to drain away and your temperature to fall.”
“For example, if you have a fever, that central body temperature goes up. That is one of the reasons why it is sometimes more difficult to fall asleep with a fever."
"To get to sleep well, your central temperature has to go down," she added. "And if you have cold hands and feet, that central temperature gets the signal that there are still several things that need to be warmed up. The drop in that temperature then goes less well. That's why we sometimes sleep with warm socks or a hot water bottle."
"Everyone has their own internal thermostat,” she continued. “It works differently with one person than the other. The base temperature you have also varies from one person to another. I wouldn't be surprised if people who go to sleep with a lot on, have to shed layers sometime in the middle of the night because they get too hot.
Declerq believes that turning on the heating at night is not a good idea.
"You can put it on to take the chill off but do that long before you go to sleep. But warming up your bed in advance with heated pillows, hot water bottles or sheets is a very good tip. Your skin needs to be warm enough for that central thermostat or regulation to go down, but you need to be able to release that heat. You do that mostly through your head and that's why the room has to be fresh enough."
Can you sleep with your window open in winter? "Yes, you certainly can. It is also true that the ideal bedroom temperature is somewhere between 15 and 19 degrees. It has been shown that if your room gets too cold, it is also not ideal for sleeping well. Be sure to pay attention to that when you sleep with your window open."
"But making it too hot is obviously not a good idea either. A lot of my patients don't realize that they sleep too hot and that they sleep a lot better when they open the window or make sure the room is well ventilated on hot days."
And sleeping naked? "Depending on how you feel about this, that's definitely a good idea, Declercq said. “Does this feel comfortable? Do you feel warm all night? With a nice down blanket? Then it’s no problem. It's purely a personal choice."
