The Simple Temperature Trick Sleep Doctors Swear By for Deeper, More Restful Sleep

Sleep can be a fickle thing: sometimes we succeed in staying off our phones and properly winding down before bed, but still feel groggy the next morning. If you’ve got your bedtime routine down and still aren’t feeling rested, there might be one key variable you’re overlooking: temperature.

According to sleep doctors, the trick to improving sleep is not to bundle up and get cozy, but to cool the body down before bed. Keep reading to hear from experts about the importance of deep sleep, the critical role temperature plays in this type of sleep, and their best tips for enhancing sleep quality by being mindful of temperature.

The Importance of Deep Sleep

We all know sleep is important, but why is deep sleep so crucial to feeling rested? “Deep sleep is the most restorative stage of sleep,” says Dr. Andrea Matsumura, board-certified sleep medicine physician. “It’s when the brain clears waste, the body repairs tissues, and key hormones that affect energy, metabolism, and immunity are regulated. Without enough deep sleep, people often wake feeling unrefreshed, even if they got a full night’s sleep.” According to the Sleep Foundation, we spend the most time in deep sleep during the first half of the night. This is why properly setting the stage to fall and stay asleep is key to feeling rested.