2023-07-10 10:03:21
The hotter it is at night, the more the duration and quality of sleep are degraded. An embarrassment difficult to understand and counter.
Sheets that stick, difficulty falling asleep, waking up sweaty… For millions of French people, sleeping during the summer period is a nightmare. Under ideal conditions, studies recommend lying down in a cool room, around 18°C. Yet in summer, during periods of high heat, and especially heat waves, it is not uncommon to go to bed when the thermometer reads well over 20°C. But why do we encounter so many difficulties?
The mechanism that disrupts the machine is quite simple. “Quite simply, to fall asleep, the body needs to drop its temperature by regarding 1.5°C. Anything that’s going to involve warming it up, like room temperature – or digestion, late sport, etc. – goes once morest sleep”, summarizes sleep doctor Jonathan Taieb, director of the Paris Medical Sleep Institute.
Heat will therefore have deleterious effects on sleep, and the consequences are numerous: increase in intra-sleep awakenings, decrease in deep sleep, fragmentation of REM sleep as well as the shortening of it. Clearly, less sleep, and of lower quality.
“Sleep is crucial, however, it allows you to repair yourself both physically and mentally,” insists the specialist.
Alcohol cocktail, noise and screens
Other factors can also negatively influence the quality of rest. Because who says “summer” says “heat”, but not only. Alcohol consumption, for example, is often higher during the holidays. Jonathan Taieb also points to the deleterious effect of noise, made more annoying when the windows are kept open all night.
Among the elements to limit to preserve his precious rest, screens and electronic devices. First, because they disrupt the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Then, because they “generate heat”. Like the rest of the year, coffee consumption should be limited both for the caffeine it contains and for its diuretic effect, which dehydrates.
As for advice, the specialist has several suggestions. Ventilate your room well by taking advantage of the coolest hours of the evening and night, take a “lukewarm shower” before going to bed, wear light clothes… And above all, stay well hydrated, but not anyhow.
“You should not drink too much before going to bed. Drink a glass of water if necessary, so as not to get up too much to urinate during the night”, he specifies, recommending a smooth consumption over the day. .
Tepid reception for technology
What regarding technology? Air conditioning and fans are fairly divisive objects, they cool, but can have annoying side effects, such as drying out the mucous membranes of the eyes and throat. A phenomenon that explains why some people feel “sick” when they wake up.
Other gadgets are appearing like refreshing connected mattresses. “In concept, the idea is quite interesting,” agrees the doctor. But it all depends on the object, it is sometimes a marketing argument, with inefficient technology.
Why is the Earth breaking its heat records?
One thing is certain, the night heat, we will have to get used to it. The National Institute of Sleep and Alertness notes that with climate change and rising temperatures, we are at risk of developing “global sleep debt”.
“By 2099, climate change is expected to transform sleep: we might lose between 50h and 58h of sleep per person each year, due to sub-optimal temperatures”.
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