While the majority of people will be comfortable sleeping in a cool room, or one that just borders on cold, the realty of this matter is that it is just as unhealthy to sleep in a cold room as it is to sleep in a space that is too hot.
Of course, you can always put on some warm pajamas and crawl under a pile of blankets or a feather bed and be quite friendly.
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3 Action Steps to Sleep Well Tonight
The problem with this solution is that, even though the room is too cold, you may end up being too warm beneath the covers.
What’s the Solution?
- The first step to getting ready for sleep in a cool or cold room involves exercise. While many people may shut down at the first suggestion of this subject, you can prepare with a few stretching movements that involve raising your legs, stretching above your head with your arms, taking some deep breaths between the different moves. This will submit your body temperature very slightly and increase circulation to your extremities.
- Drinking a cup of tea or broth will help raise your body temperature as well. It will probably be best to limit your intake, so you do not have to venture to the bathroom during the night. That defeats the purpose of preparing to sleep in a cold room. You may also get some help with a warm bath or shower immediately before heading to the bedroom. Again, this raises the body temperature slightly and may help you stay warm long enough to get to sleep.
- Use layers rather than heavy clothing and blankets. Remember, the goal is to trap body heat. If you have a comfortable, relatively thin pair of pajamas, put them on first. Then put another layer over that, gradually getting heavier cloth until you have three layers that are still comfortable enough for you to relax and fall asleep.It has been shown, in sleep studies, that most people sleep more deeply and are less restless when the space around them is excellent or even a bit cold. But you certainly do not want to make yourself too warm by trying to sleep in clothing you would wear outside on a cold day. In addition, you should not rely only on one heavy feather bed for cover because you have nowhere to go if that is too warm. Of course, if the room is freezing, this might be the solution.Use layers with blankets, beginning with the usual bedsheet and gradually putting light or medium blankets on until you find your comfort zone.
Other Ideas
These are not the only methods to sleeping comfortably in a cold room, by all means.
You can always warm your bedsheets and light blankets in the dryer right before going to bed.
You could use a hot water bottle or two, carefully, with one at your feet and one at your side. This has a similar effect as the old bed warmers of earlier days.
