Sheets that stick together, difficulty falling asleep, waking up sweaty… For millions of French people, sleeping in the summer is a nightmare. Under ideal conditions, studies recommend lying down in a cool room, around 18°C. However, in summer, during very hot periods, and especially heat waves, it is not uncommon to go to bed when the thermometer marks more than 20°C. But why do we run into so many difficulties?
The mechanism that interrupts the machine is quite simple. “Simply, to fall asleep, the body needs to lower its temperature by around 1.5°C. Anything that involves heating it, such as the ambient temperature – or digestion, late sports, etc. – goes against sleep ”, sums up the dream. Dr. Jonathan Taieb, director of the Paris Sleep Medical Institute.
The heat will, therefore, have deleterious effects on sleep, and the consequences are numerous: increased intra-sleep awakenings, decreased deep sleep, fragmentation of REM sleep as well as shortening of it. Clearly less sleep, and of lower quality.
“Sleep is essential, 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 whoever says “summer” says “heat”, but not only. Alcohol consumption, for example, tends to be higher during the holidays. Jonathan Taieb also points out the deleterious effect of noise, which becomes more annoying when windows are kept open all night.
Among the elements to limit to preserve your precious rest, screens and electronic devices. First, because they interrupt the secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Then, because they “generate heat”. Like the rest of the year, coffee consumption should be limited both because of the caffeine it contains and because of its diuretic effect, which dehydrates.
As for advice, the specialist has several suggestions. Bien aér sa chambre en profitant des heures les plus fraîches de la soirée et de la nuit, prendre une “douche tiede” avant d’aller au lit, porter des vêtements légers… Et bien surtout, bien s’hydrater, mais pas does not matter how.
“You shouldn’t 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 soft consumption throughout the day.
lukewarm reception of technology
What about technology? Air conditioners and fans are pretty divisive things—they cool, but they can have annoying side effects, like drying out the mucous membranes in your eyes and throat. A phenomenon that explains why some people feel “sick” when they wake up.
Other gadgets like cooling connected mattresses are appearing. “In concept, the idea is quite interesting,” agrees the doctor. But it all depends on the object, sometimes it’s a marketing argument, with inefficient technology.
One thing is certain, the heat of the night, we will have to get used to it. The National Institute of Sleep and the State of Alert points out that with climate change and rising temperatures, we run the risk of developing a “global sleep debt.”
“By 2099, climate change is expected to transform sleep: We could lose between 50 and 58 hours of sleep per person each year, due to suboptimal temperatures.”
Source: BFM TV
