September 15, 2023 – According to a recent study, older adults sleep best when the room temperature is between 21 and 23 degrees.
For the study, published online within the journal Science of the entire environmentFrom 2021 to 2023, researchers examined the Sleep habits of fifty people within the Boston area who were 65 years or older. Environmental sensors were placed of their bedrooms to measure nighttime temperatures, and study participants wore a hoop connected to a smartphone to measure how long they slept and the way much they tossed and turned. The monitors also recorded respiration, heart rate and body temperature.
The researchers concluded that sleep was “most effective and restful” when the ambient nighttime temperature was between 20 and 25 degrees. When the temperature increased from 25 to 30 degrees, sleep efficiency decreased by 5 to 10 percent.
“We found that the true peak of sleep – where it is most restorative – is in the range of 70 to 74,” said Amir Baniassadi, PhD, the study's lead writer and a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and the Marcus Institute for Aging Research. The Washington Post. “If we had to suggest an optimal range based on our findings – which I generally hesitate to do – then it should be 70 to 74.”
Sleep efficiency also decreased when the temperature fell below 20 degrees. There was plenty of room for variation amongst individuals.
The findings are particularly relevant in light of climate change, the study says.
“In addition, our study highlights the potential impacts of climate change on sleep quality in older people, particularly those with lower socioeconomic status, and supports improving their adaptive capacity in the face of climate change,” the researchers write.
This study was different from other sleep studies that were either conducted in a laboratory or based on self-reported sleep behavior. post noted.
The CDC says About a 3rd of all Americans sleep lower than the beneficial amount. Adults should get not less than 7 hours of sleep an evening, and other people over 65 should get 7 to eight hours of sleep.
The CDC recommends that individuals go to bed and rise up at the identical time each day, keep the bedroom dark and at a cushty temperature, remove electronic devices from the bedroom, and avoid large meals, alcohol and caffeine before bedtime.