Bedroom temperature matters more for sleep as you age

2026-02-13 08:03:00, Shëndeti CNA

Have you ever found yourself tossing and turning on a warm night, turning your pillow over and hoping that sleep would finally come?

A new study published in the journal BMC Medicine suggests that the temperature of your bedroom may play a bigger role in how you rest, especially as you age.

A study from Griffith University in Australia found that adults 65 and older were less likely to show stress-related heart changes when their bedroom temperature was kept at 24 degrees Celsius at night.

This is significantly warmer than the settings that many sleep experts recommend for better sleep.

"For individuals aged 65 and older, maintaining the bedroom temperature at 24 degrees Celsius at night reduced the likelihood of experiencing heightened stress responses during sleep," Fergus O'Connor, who led the research, said in a press release.

O'Connor noted that heat puts extra pressure on the heart.

"When the human body is exposed to heat, its normal physiological response is to increase the heart rate. The heart is working harder to try to circulate blood to the surface of the skin for cooling," he explained.

"However, when the heart works harder and for longer, it creates stress and limits our ability to recover from the previous day's heat exposure," O'Connor added.

To understand how bedroom temperature affects sleep in everyday life, researchers followed older adults during an Australian summer.

Participants wore fitness trackers on their non-dominant wrists to measure heart rate during sleep. At the same time, temperature sensors placed in their bedrooms recorded nighttime conditions.

The data showed that warmer bedrooms were associated with higher heart rates and signs of stress during sleep.

The researchers said this is among the first studies to show these effects in real home environments.

The findings come as nighttime temperatures continue to rise due to climate change.

"Climate change is increasing the frequency of hot nights, which may independently contribute to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by impairing sleep and autonomic recovery," O'Connor said.

He also pointed out a gap in public health guidelines.

"While there are guidelines for the maximum indoor temperature during the day, 26 degrees Celsius, there are no equivalent recommendations for nighttime conditions," O'Connor added./ CNA