How my steamy bedroom habits are hampering my sleep…

If you’re like me (and you loathe cold weather), you might have a high energy bill this time of year.

(Which, parallels that too-high thermostat setting of yours.)

“Let’s keep the excessive heat theme going and just set it on fire…”

For me, it’s because I like to pretend summer hasn’t even left at all. By keeping the thermostat at a steady 80-something, I can carry on with donning shorts and tank tops while I perform assorted chores around the house (and then gear up like an astronaut departing his spaceship each time I leave). But could my affinity for an Amazon-like atmosphere be decimating bed time for me? Are my temps too high to fall asleep?

Yes, say the snooze specialists. By about ten to twenty degrees.

According to medical director at Charlottesville Neurology & Sleep Medicine, Dr. Christopher Winter, it should feel more like winter in my room (well, compared to the hotbox I currently call home, anyway) regardless of the season. And what’s the perfect range? For your best rest, it’s suggested that you maintain a bedroom temp of between 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything higher than 75 degrees (or lower than 54 degrees for that matter – we don’t want it too wintry) can sunder your slumber.

Initially, I did an eye-roll over this one (mostly because: denial). But that’s the beautiful thing about science, they say – it’s true whether or not you believe in it. And the truth behind a nippier night is this: throughout the duration of the day, your body’s temps oscillate up and down. Then, in the evening, as you start to drift off, it does this natural cooling off thing on its own. Attaining that lower temp expediently is the key to that cognitive clocking out we all crave by the day’s end. Thus, if you keep it cooler, that can happen faster.

Contrarily, if you sleep in a sauna like I do, then the opposite thing will happen. That’s when the body’s gotta work overtime to power down. Because my meatbag’s machinery is doubling its efforts to regulate my own temp (amidst this ridiculous heat I insist on keeping at full blast), the end result is me tossing and turning all night long. Voila. One more bad bedtime habit I’ve got to add to the list – along with my too early alarm clocks, too late caffeine vices, and unfavorable feng shui.

So, fellow heat junkie insomniacs, let’s all try a masochistic experiment for the next week.

Let’s lower the thermostat at bedtime and see if our sleep doesn’t collectively improve.

The good news? Even if it doesn’t, our respective bills certainly will.

“Day 1: Tomorrow begins my secret side life of crime to afford the former warmth I’m missing already…”