Sleep is crucial for health and mental well-being. Environmental factors, including noise, light, space, and room temperature, can impact sleep quality. Both hot or cold rooms can lead to insomnia and frequent awakenings. However, maintaining an air conditioner at 24-26 degrees Celsius throughout the night, creating a cool sensation, can offer sleep benefits.

**Improved sleep quality**

Cooler temperatures stimulate melatonin production, the hormone that signals it is time to sleep, leading to deeper rest. A cool room helps the body regulate its temperature during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, reducing tossing, turning, and startling awake. While high temperatures cause the body to release cortisol, a cool room helps control cortisol, reducing stress and improving mood.

A moderately cool room temperature helps promote better sleep. *Image created by AI.*

**Faster onset of sleep**

The body's natural temperature tends to decrease when preparing for sleep. Therefore, being in a cool room aids this process by signaling to the body that it is time to rest, helping you fall asleep more quickly. Warmer temperatures often prolong the time it takes to initiate sleep.

**Reduced night sweats**

Night sweats and hot flashes negatively impact sleep quality. Ensuring a cool bedroom temperature of 24-26 degrees Celsius, adjusted to individual tolerance, helps you rest comfortably and sleep better.

**Potential reduction in diabetes risk**

Maintaining a low room temperature at night may help prevent metabolic diseases like diabetes. Cooler temperatures boost metabolic activity, specifically stimulating better calorie burning and increasing brown adipose tissue (also known as "good" fat tissue) mass. This stabilizes insulin sensitivity, leading to better blood sugar control.

**Slowed aging process**

Beyond its role as a sleep-promoting hormone, melatonin is also an antioxidant with anti-aging effects. Sleeping in cool temperatures boosts melatonin production, thereby enhancing the body's anti-aging capabilities.

Despite these benefits, sleeping in cold temperatures can negatively affect sleep quality due to individual differences in temperature perception. Each person should assess their body's reaction to temperature to determine the most comfortable level. Individuals with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) should avoid sleeping in cold rooms, as it can easily trigger lung inflammation and impede blood circulation.

In addition to sleeping in a cooler room, individuals experiencing insomnia should relax before bed and go to sleep at the same time each day. Avoid eating excessively in the evening, and refrain from consuming alcohol and caffeine after 16h. Regular exercise, at least 30 minutes daily, and limiting blue light exposure in the evening help prevent disruption to the body's natural sleep-wake cycle. Keep the bedroom dark by using curtains or blackout blinds to promote melatonin production.

*Anh Chi (According to Very Well Health)*