Doctor Explains Why We Should Sleep With The Heat Off When We Can

Published December 13, 2021

Since we both need it and spend about a third of our lives doing it, it's probably not so surprising that sleep is such a heavily-researched subject.

And while studies have uncovered when the best time is to sleep and how certain people can be more comfortable in their slumber, much of that research has to with our sleep hygiene's relationship to our overall health.

It's through that research that we've learned that sleeping nude may not be the best idea and it's what's compelling one doctor to tell us we should be doing it in a cold room.

On November 27, London-based surgeon Dr. Karan Raj uploaded a TikTok in which he explained why it's good for our health to sleep in a cold room.

TikTok | @dr.karanr

You've likely noticed that you've had an easier time sleeping in a cold room than a warm one and it turns out there's a reason for that.

As he put it, "Warmer temperatures means your brain and body are more actively trying to cool you down."

That's because the ideal body temperature to start triggering sleep responses falls between 97.9 and 98.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The closer you are to the lower end of that range, the faster you fall asleep.

Raj also said this is why we dream more when we sleep in cold places, as the cooling activity our brains engage in gets in the way of REM sleep.

TikTok | @dr.karanr

It also appears that the colder our core temperatures, the more we can produce a hormone called melatonin.

And this hormone is a big engine for another benefit that comes from sleeping in a cold room that has little to do with sleep itself.

Raj went as far as to claim that sleeping in a cold room can help reverse aging.

TikTok | @dr.karanr

In his words, "Not only does melatonin increase sleep propensity, it's also a hormone that promotes anti-aging."

This is because the hormone produces antioxidant enzymes that reduce oxidated stress damage and bring our cortisol (or "stress hormone") levels down.

But while this all sounds pretty good, we can see in the full video that Raj wasn't finished giving us reasons to shut the heat off overnight.

Although this isn't as widely confirmed as the other reasons, Raj said there's research to suggest that cold exposure could increase the amount of brown fat produced by our stem cells.

This is promising for our metabolic health because this brown fat is better at regulating cholesterol, our blood sugar, and how sensitive our bodies are to insulin.

All in all, it looks like our bodies enjoy sleeping in cold rooms whether we do or not.

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