STUDY OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that appropriate changes in thermal environment would enhance the quality of sleep. DESIGN/ SETTING: Controlled laboratory study. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy young men (n = 7, mean age 26 years). INTERVENTIONS: Nocturnal sleep structures in semi-nude subjects were compared between a condition where an ambient temperature (Ta) of 29.5 degree C was maintained throughout the night (constant Ta), and a second condition (dynamic Ta) where Ta changed slowly within the thermoneutral range (from 27.5 C to 29.5 degree C). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Statistically significant (P < 0.05) results included a lower and a later occurrence of minimum core body temperature (Tc), and a longer duration of slow-wave (stages 3+4) sleep in dynamic versus constant T. However, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, the total durations of light (stages 1+2) and rapid eye movement sleep, and the latencies to sleep onset, slow-wave sleep, and rapid eye movement sleep did not differ between conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Lowering the minimum and delaying the nadir of nocturnal Tc increases slow-wave sleep (probably by an increase of dry heat loss); use of this tactic might improve the overall quality of sleep.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: We hypothesized that appropriate changes in thermal environment would enhance the quality of sleep. DESIGN/ SETTING: Controlled laboratory study. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy young men (n = 7, mean age 26 years). INTERVENTIONS: Nocturnal sleep structures in semi-nude subjects were compared between a condition where an ambient temperature (Ta) of 29.5 degree C was maintained throughout the night (constant Ta), and a second condition (dynamic Ta) where Ta changed slowly within the thermoneutral range (from 27.5 C to 29.5 degree C). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Statistically significant (P < 0.05) results included a lower and a later occurrence of minimum core body temperature (Tc), and a longer duration of slow-wave (stages 3+4) sleep in dynamic versus constant T. However, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, the total durations of light (stages 1+2) and rapid eye movement sleep, and the latencies to sleep onset, slow-wave sleep, and rapid eye movement sleep did not differ between conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Lowering the minimum and delaying the nadir of nocturnal Tc increases slow-wave sleep (probably by an increase of dry heat loss); use of this tactic might improve the overall quality of sleep.
Authors: C A Czeisler; M Dumont; J F Duffy; J D Steinberg; G S Richardson; E N Brown; R Sánchez; C D Ríos; J M Ronda Journal: Lancet Date: 1992-10-17 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: Katherine M Parisky; José L Agosto Rivera; Nathan C Donelson; Sejal Kotecha; Leslie C Griffith Journal: Curr Biol Date: 2016-03-10 Impact factor: 10.834