People who have trouble sleeping resort to all sorts of remedies to get some much-needed rest, such as working out at the gym to tire themselves out, or even resorting to using sleeping pills. Before you try either of these methods, consider changing your heating or air conditioning settings. Allison Air Conditioning shares how the right room temperature can help you get healthy amounts of sleep.
Your Body’s Internal Thermostat
Comfort plays a big part in inducing sleep, and also determines how long your body will stay in that state. Think of your body as having an internal thermostat. To achieve a sleep state, your body needs to reach a certain temperature, which is normally just slightly lower than its normal waking temperature. If the room is too warm (or in some cases, too cold), you’re less likely to fall asleep.
That critical few degrees can also affect the quality of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the stage where you dream. At this stage, your body reaches full relaxation as the mind sets your body’s responses to “off”. This is why your body doesn’t start acting out your dreams as you sleep. In addition, comfortable temperatures let you easily fall back to sleep if you awaken in the middle of the night.
Finding the Right Temperature for Sleeping
Comfortable temperatures typically range from 65 to 70 degrees, but it really depends on the person. There’s a chance that what’s comfortable for you may not be the same for the person you’re sharing your bedroom with. You may need a few nights of adjusting the thermostat settings to find a temperature range you can agree on.
You may also want to invest in a programmable thermostat, which lets you program and save your preferred temperature settings. For example, you can set the temperature lower in the evening as bedtime nears, then have it return to normal in the morning as you wake. Programmable thermostats can also help reduce your HVAC system’s output when the room is unoccupied, and even better, “Smart” thermostats can learn about your daily energy usage and practices and then automate your HVAC settings to fit your movements and habits.
Sleep Better With Allison Air Conditioning
To learn more about how to find the perfect sleep setting for your heating and air conditioning systems, call Allison Air Conditioning today at (951) 736-1101, or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment. We also offer free estimates on new installations.