We have been dancing around this topic since pretty much the beginning of Sleep Unplugged. Sleep and Menopause...Circadian Rhythms...Insomnia...even some of the products in the holiday gift guide referred to temperature, but why? What is the relationship between temperature and sleep? In this episode we will:
- Learn why humans and many animals display nesting behaviors designed to warm up prior to bed
- Understand the classic sleep research protocols exploring the "warm bath effect"
- Follow the process of sleep initiation and falling core temperature, and how this affects sleep quality, depth, and continuity
- Contrast the core temperature changes with peripheral vasodilation during sleep initiation and how warming the distal extremities can hasten and improve sleep
- Define the concept of a temperature gradient, and how that can be applied to distal and core temperatures, and how this influences sleep at various points in the process
- Touch upon theories about sleep and temperature regulation and how melatonin plays a role in both circadian light and circadian temperature regulation
- Explore the differences seen in body temperatures upon awakening
- Use this information to better inform how we can manipulate temperature in our own environment to sleep better
Produced by: Maeve Winter
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Thanks for listening and sleep well!
