Best temperature to increase sleep and reduce stroke risk: experts -Premier Medical

how did you sleep last night

Not very good if you are like many Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 35% of U.S. adults don’t get enough sleep on a regular basis.

This is more than just annoying, as sleeping less than seven hours each night is associated with increased risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and frequent emotional distress.

And this problem is especially acute among the elderly, who often suffer from sleep disorders. Older people, like all adults, need about seven to nine hours each night.

But older people tend to go to bed and wake up earlier than when they were younger, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Also, sleep problems in older people can be exacerbated by experiencing pain, being ill, or taking certain medications.

Dr. Amir Bhaniasadi of the Hinda Arthur Marcus Institute on Aging said in a news release that most research on sleep problems has focused on physical and behavioral factors, although environment plays a role as well. I explained.

To understand the relationship between bedroom temperature and sleep quality, Baniasadi and colleagues at Hebrew Senior Life (a Harvard Medical School affiliate) studied about 11,000 individual sleep nights experienced by 50 older adults. data was collected.

Researchers used wearable sleep monitors and environmental sensors to monitor sleep duration, efficiency, and restlessness over time in participants’ homes.

The study, published in the journal Science of the Total Environmental, reveals that sleep is most efficient and restful for older adults when ambient nighttime temperatures range from 68 degrees Fahrenheit to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. made it

Additionally, researchers observed an overall trend of a 5% to 10% decrease in sleep efficiency as ambient temperature increased from 77 F to 86 F.

“These results highlight the potential to improve sleep quality in older adults by highlighting the importance of optimizing the thermal environment in the home and individually adjusting the temperature based on individual needs and circumstances.” We are doing it,” Baniasadi said.

Personal preference is also an important consideration, and the study also revealed significant differences between subjects regarding optimal bedroom temperatures. So some people prefer to stay hot, while others prefer to stay cool.

That’s one reason many couples admit to “sleep divorce,” sleeping in separate beds or sleeping in separate rooms, like couples in 1960s sitcoms.

“For some partners, there are benefits to sleeping separately,” Dr. Erin Flynn-Evans, a consultant with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, told CBS News. “Studies have proven that if one of your bed partners has a sleep disorder, it can negatively affect the other sleeper.”

A recent AASM study found that couples are using strategies such as earplugs, eye masks, silent alarms, and different sleep schedules to take care of each other and get a good night’s sleep.

However, more than a third of survey respondents opted to omit all of these first aid measures and instead put a wall between them and their spouse, which caused them waking troubles.

Other tips for getting a good rest at night include avoiding late-night eating and drinking, avoiding alcohol, and avoiding caffeine late in the day.

The authors of the Room Temperature Study build on this body of research by focusing on the potential impact of warm weather on sleep in low-income older adults and developing interventions to optimize their sleep environment. It is planned to continue.