The Science of Sleep Temperature
You might be questioning, my body temperature seems mostly the same during the day unless I’m working out, what’s going on at night that is causing me to wake up feeling hot? A number of factors could be at play, including:
- Your room is too warm: The ideal temperature for sleep is supposed to be around 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Your mattress isn’t breathable: The materials it’s made from could cause it to retain body heat. Many foam products, in particular, can limit airflow.
- You have medical reasons that cause temperature spikes: Medical conditions, hormone changes, or being sick could cause middle-of-the-night wakeups because you’re feeling warm.
- Your food or drinks make you wake up hot: If you had some alcohol before bed or you ate heavy or indigestion-causing foods, those could make you to wake up. Your body temperature is raised as it goes into overdrive processing them.
The ideal sleep temperature for one’s body is about 1.8 degrees cooler than during the day. It’s believed that the body’s temperature starts to drop within an hour of you falling asleep as a physiological response kick-start sleep onset and help your body hit the sleep stages it needs. That being said, it’s possible for body temperatures to fluctuate throughout sleep. People who have lower body temperatures during sleep have shown associations with getting more REM (rapid-eye movement) deep sleep.
Overheating during sleep can cause unexpected wakeups which can make it difficult to fall back asleep – especially if your room, bedding, clothing, or mattress are retaining heat. This will impact how well-rested you feel the next morning. No bueno!
That’s why adding a mattress or bedding with temperature-regulating features will help your body stay cool throughout the night naturally as body temperatures rise and fall. When a mattress for hot sleepers does its job well, you stay asleep and don’t wake up due to a mattress retaining heat.
Mattress Materials and Construction for Hot Sleepers
The materials a mattress is made of can play a part in your body’s temperature as you sleep. If it’s made with heavy foam, that limits air flow which can trap body heat and cause you to feel hot and sweat while you sleep. Here are mattress materials to explore if you are a hot sleeper.
Cooling Fabrics
Choosing a mattress that features breathable, natural materials like cotton, bamboo, and linen.
Innovative Cooling Technologies
Enjoy the benefits of advanced technologies in mattress construction these days. Our Brooklyn Aurora Hybrid mattress has cool tech fibers throughout as well as cooling technology on the top cover so it feels cool-to-the-touch and helps remove excess heat from the sleeping surface. Copper infusions into a cooling mattress will help naturally dissipate heat and have antimicrobial elements to repel bacteria for a ‘cleaner’ sleeping experience if that’s something you’re looking for. These materials can be found in the Brooklyn Aurora Luxe mattress with our advanced cooling technology, GlacioTex™.
Mattress Construction
The way a mattress is constructed can aid in its ability to stay cool or avoid retaining heat. When mattresses are made with open-cell foams and coil systems — like those in an innerspring mattress or hybrid mattress — that can also improve airflow and ventilation. Looking for the best mattress for hot sleepers and want to explore natural options? Consider those made with latex. It’s an inherently cooling material that aids in ideal temperature moderation along with greater breathability. Brooklyn Bedding’s hybrid mattresses are made with open cell technology to prevent the mattress retaining heat.
Beyond the Mattress: Lifestyle Changes to Combat Sleep Temperature
Outfitting your mattress for hot sleepers with cool elements and temperature-regulating technology is a good way to help your body stay cool and get better, deeper sleep. That being said, there are other ways to help your body temperature stay in check and prevent overheating while you rest.
Mind your diet.
Consuming a healthy diet and minimizing high-calorie, heat-producing foods — especially close to bedtime — could help you stay cool while you sleep. That means avoid “flaming hot” crunchy snacks and spicy, heavy meals within a few hours of bedtime.
Eating meals that are high in fiber can aid in maintaining stable blood sugar levels throughout the night, reducing the likelihood that blood sugar fluctuations are contributing to overheating while you snooze. Consume balanced meals throughout the day so you don’t fall prey to hunger before bedtime and find yourself at the bottom of a glucose-spike inducing bag of snacks.
Keep water consumption in check at night.
It’s important to drink enough water throughout the day, especially in the summer, to help keep the body internal temperatures regulated. Steady consumption all day long can also help you avoid feelings of thirst that might occur in the evening if you forgot to drink forgot to hydrate during daylight hours. Do your best to avoid drinking a glass of water close to bedtime, as this could disrupt sleep when you’re waking up frequently to answer nature calls all night long.
Focus on a relaxing bedtime routine.
Practicing mind-body techniques, like following a meditation or doing a stretching routine before bed might help you fall asleep faster. Some experts say that a revved up brain leads to the body overheating and sweating. Spending even 15 minutes before bed as part of your wind-down routine to journal, breathe, and deal with the day can help reduce those ruminating thoughts that keep you up and can raise body temperatures.
Take a warm bath or shower before sleep.
Yes, it sounds counterintuitive but raising your body temperature temporarily through a warm bath helps kick-start the cooling down process your body needs to prepare for sleep. It can also be relaxing and help get your mind in the right place before you settle down on a mattress for hot sleepers to get a great night’s rest.
Choosing the Right Mattress for Hot Sleepers
Adding the right mattress to your bedroom could be the missing piece of the puzzle if you’re a hot sleeper who has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep because you wake up feeling warm.
Explore mattresses that will keep you cool with the following ELEMENTS:
Innerspring/coil construction
The Brooklyn Sedona Elite is a luxury mattress with dual innerspring construction and copper-infused foam for cooling benefits as well as a GlacioTex™ Cooling Cover. Our Aurora Luxe Cooling also features individually encased, zoned coils as does our top-selling Signature Hybrid mattress.
Cooling foam
Memory foam gets a rap for retaining heat. That’s why it’s important to choose a cooling mattress with foam that helps you stay asleep as body temperatures change throughout the night. Brooklyn Bedding’s Cooling Infused Foam does exactly that. You’ll love it as one part of the cooling elements in the Aurora Luxe Cooling mattress.
Copper materials
As we mentioned above, look for a mattress for hot sleepers that contains copper as our CopperFlex does when you want to sleep cool. Brooklyn Bedding’s CopperFlex Memory Foam is infused with copper particles that wick away sweat and regulate heat so you don’t wake up feeling warm and clammy. You could also get this mattress in a hybrid option for even more cooling comfort factors.
Consider your preferences and hot sleeping challenges when choosing the right cooling mattress for a hot sleeper.
Conclusion
Establishing a calm, dark and cool sleeping environment will go a long way to ensuring you’re set up for quality sleep. That’s why ensuring you have one of the best mattress for hot sleepers under you to reduce wakeups from sweating and overheating. Invest in a temperature-regulating mattress for better sleep all year long.
