What is the optimal sleeping temperature?

On average, each person spends seven to eight hours sleeping, which amounts to almost a third of our lives.

When we don't get enough sleep, our performance and concentration suffer. In addition, lack of sleep can also have a negative impact on our immune system.

Several factors play an important role in our ability to get healthy and restful sleep. One of these factors is the optimal sleep temperature.

So, what is the optimal bedroom temperature for sleep? And how does it affect our sleep? In this blog article, we'll answer these and other important questions about the topic of sleep temperature.

What influence does our bedroom temperature have on the quality of our sleep?

In the past, it was often believed that a cold bedroom strengthens our immune system and makes us stronger. This theory is now outdated; nowadays, scientists have found that cold temperatures make our muscles tense, which weakens the immune system, instead of strengthening it. 

Our body recovers while we’re in the deep sleep phase. In order to repair itself, it releases growth hormones in greater amounts than usual. Furthermore, the brain processes the day’s events and other important information while we’re asleep, and eventually stores it in our long-term memory.

The length of the deep sleep phase has a profound effect on our concentration and performance. In addition to the deep sleep phase, there are four other phases that we go through at night. To get truly restorative sleep, a person's five sleep phases should not be interrupted.

If the temperature in our bedroom is too low, we wake up more often due to the feeling of cold or wake up the next morning with tension in our body. But even a bedroom that is too warm does not bring the rest we hope for.

If our bedroom is too warm, we quickly start to sweat more during the night; in addition, the warm air can dry out the mucous membranes in our nose and throat, which can lead us to waking up with a sore throat in the morning.

Optimal bedroom temperature for sleep

So, what is the best sleeping temperature for our bedroom?

Studies on the optimal bedroom temperature for sleep show that it lies between 15 to 18 degrees Celsius, as this allows our body to recover sufficiently. Of course, the right bedroom temperature for sleep may vary from person to person, as it depends on how we perceive cold as individuals.

If you want to stay within the bounds of the optimal sleeping temperature, it’s best never to go below 12 degrees or above 23 degrees. Throughout the course of the day, our body temperature changes and eventually reaches its lowest point at around 5 am. In the evening, our body temperature gradually falls due to lower heat production, thereby inducing sleep.

Thus, sleep temperature is based on the environment in which our body can maintain the normal temperature of 36 degrees Celsius without difficulty. Furthermore, at temperatures between 15.6 and 20 degrees, the body secretes more of the hormone melatonin, which controls our daily rhythm and can have an antioxidant effect.

In addition, you should make sure that there is enough oxygen in the air. Our body reacts to too little oxygen by resorting to rapid breathing, which can negatively affect the quality of our sleep. Our bedroom’s recommended humidity level should be at 40 to 60%. You can ensure this by regularly airing the bedroom.

The optimal sleeping temperature for newborns

Newborns shouldn’t be dressed too warm at night, as most infants prefer to be cool while they sleep. Therefore, the room temperature for newborns should ideally be between 16 to 18 degrees. You should make sure that your baby doesn’t get too warm at night, especially in the summer, otherwise they’ll overheat and start sweating.

To dress your newborn optimally at night, we recommend using baby sleeping bags. On particularly warm nights, you can even find special baby sleeping bags for the summer to ensure that your baby has the perfect sleeping climate. These not only keep your baby from sweating excessively, but are also excellent moisture absorbers, thereby creating the best conditions for deep and restorative sleep.

The optimal sleep temperature for babies

The optimal sleeping temperature doesn’t drastically change when your baby gets a bit older. As with newborns, it should lie somewhere between 16 and 18 degrees, with a humidity of 30 to 50%.

Babies often have cold hands and feet, leading many worried parents to dress their children warmer as a result. Hands and feet are not a reliable indicator of how warm or cold your baby is, however. Babies still have poorer blood circulation in the first few months after birth, which is why their limbs often feel colder than the rest of their body.

The best way to check whether your baby is really too hot or cold is by feeling the back of their neck or between their shoulder blades. If the back of these areas feels damp, your baby is too warm and you can remove a layer of their clothing.

The optimal sleeping temperature for your nursery

During the day, the temperature in the nursery should be 20 to 22 degrees, so that the children can play and let off steam without getting too hot or too cold. A humidity level of 40 to 60% is optimal for children's rooms.

At night, the temperature of the room can be allowed to cool down to about 18 degrees. Because just like adults, children sleep better with less heat in the room. Ideally, the humidity level shouldn’t exceed 60%, otherwise the children will quickly overheat.

What influence does our bed linen have on our sleep?

Our bedding has a big impact on how comfortable we feel at night. So when buying new bedding, be sure to pay attention to how hot or cold you feel and then choose the bedding to match.

In general, bedding should be breathable and able to absorb moisture well. Good bedding is able to release excess heat to the outside, thus preventing heat from building up under the covers. For the summer, you can even get special summer bedding, which provides an all-around comfortable sleeping climate even on warm nights. Natural fabrics are best suited for this purpose, because they can better regulate the temperature and can optimally absorb sweat.

Bedding for the optimal sleeping temperature from Zizzz

At Zizzz, we offer you bedding from the best natural materials. With us, you can get bed sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases made of soft, GOTS-certified cotton. The material feels quite pleasant against the skin and is also quite durable. In order to keep transport distances and CO2 emissions as low as possible, we only manufacture our products in Switzerland or the European Union.

For babies and toddlers, we offer fantastic sleeping bags that not only provide a relaxing sleep environment, but also keep your child protected at night. Breathable sleeping bags provide the perfect climate for sleep and stay in the right position throughout the night. The fabrics we choose are soft and won't irritate your children’s sensitive skin. Furthermore, our sleeping bags are completely free of harmful substances and no pesticides or other chemicals are used to grow our organic cotton.