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I have had weird sleeping issues all my life, and the key for me to falling asleep was when I found out that our body gets tired not when it is warm, but when i

I have had weird sleeping issues all my life, and the key for me to falling asleep was when I found out that our body gets tired not when it is warm, but when it warms up. So next time you can't fall asleep, take off the blankets, make sure your room is cold, and then get really, uncomfortably cold, and stay that way for at least 15 minutes. Then, and this is key, cover your whole body only with your sheet, and then pull the blanket just over your legs. You'll warm up and fall asleep. If you pull the blanket all over yourself and "mummify", then you'll risk getting too warm, which will wake you right up again. I'm sure this doesn't work for everyone, but I think many people get too warm and comfortable, and that will keep you awake. Get cold, warm up, and snooze!

sdrothrock 9y ago
I can vouch for this too, but the down side for me is that because I've done this for so long, it's nearly impossible for me to fall asleep quickly if the room is remotely warm already...
- slfnflctd 9y ago
  This is where strategic fan deployment comes into play. Works for me, anyway.
  - JosephHatfield 9y ago
    When I was younger, and living in an unconditioned house in central Florida, I used to sleep with a big box fan at the foot of the bed pointing directly at my feet. It kept me cool and kept the mosquitos at bay as well
- gilbetron 9y ago
  Oh definitely - if I'm in a room that is still and is 68+ degrees, I know I'm not really going to actually sleep that night :/
  - cortesoft 9y ago
    So do you live somewhere that doesn't get very hot, or do you just have your AC cranked up all night? Many places I have lived would be very expensive to keep under 68 all night.
    - asfasgasg 9y ago
      Probably less than you think. Heat loss or intrusion from the environment is linear in the difference between the environmental temperature and the interior temperature. Since it is cooler at night, it will generally be less expensive to turn down the temperature at night. Even in Florida, the average low in August is 72F. There's not much of a difference between this and 68F, so your AC will not have to work very hard to keep the house cool in the evening. If you're concerned about energy usage, it's by far more important to tolerate higher temps during the day than during the night. Conversely, in the winter, you can afford to warm your house up a little more during the day, but if you want to sip energy, you need to set the lowest acceptable temperature at night. You can optimize this further by putting a minisplit or a window unit in your bedroom. If your bedroom is small compared to your dwelling, you can save some serious energy this way. Generally speaking, the cost of climate control will scale in the surface area of the climate controlled volume, and obviously a single bedroom has much lower surface area with the environment than the whole house. This is also why it takes so much less energy to control the climate of a given apartment unit than a house of the same square footage.
    - gilbetron 9y ago
      Michigan, so nights are < 65F for 9 months of the year. Then the other times, we have a window AC unit, close our bedroom door, and blast the AC :)
kemenaran 9y ago
This is definitely a phenomenon for me. I remember reading in A study that feet warming up was the factor best correlates to falling asleep (I remember it from only a few years ago, maybe it was a follow-up to this 1999 study? [1]) [1] https://www.nature.com/articles/43366 https://www.nature.com/articles/43366
apotheothesomai 9y ago
As a supporting aside, sleep requires that blood vessels constrict a bit, and that's what cold does to a persons body, restrict blood flow to the surface. It may go deeper than that, but I lack the knowledge to assert as much.
weavie 9y ago
A quicker way to get cold is a really cold shower just before bed. It works really well for me, and I believe there are many other benefits to cold showers beyond just getting to sleep.
- bergerjac 9y ago
  This makes sense... because muscles contract The cold water grabs the brain's attention. So the brain doesn't let the mind latch onto thoughts... energy contracts rather than scatters
  - weavie 9y ago
    I find there are two ways you can go with a cold shower. One is to really tense up and to fight the feelings of cold. I don't think this is too beneficial. The other is to really relax and embrace the cold. Taking deep breaths and focusing the mind inwards allows you to accept the cold for what it is. It takes a little practice, but once you are in that zone the shower becomes rejuvenating and relaxing at the same time and really helps shake off the day and get me in the zone for sleep.
- hyperpallium 9y ago
  If I have a cold shower just before bed, my feet get cold and don't warm up.
- jason_slack 9y ago
  I also sleep with my windows open. It is 10 degrees right now and they are still open.
kakarot 9y ago
I can't fall asleep if the temperature is above 65-70°F, and my feet have to be sticking out from the covers. I have to sleep with a very thin blankets. I honestly have never been able to figure out how people get to sleep any other way.
midgetjones 9y ago
Have you tried just putting one leg out? Never fails for me.

sdrothrock 9y ago

I can vouch for this too, but the down side for me is that because I've done this for so long, it's nearly impossible for me to fall asleep quickly if the room is remotely warm already...

slfnflctd 9y ago
This is where strategic fan deployment comes into play. Works for me, anyway.
- JosephHatfield 9y ago
  When I was younger, and living in an unconditioned house in central Florida, I used to sleep with a big box fan at the foot of the bed pointing directly at my feet. It kept me cool and kept the mosquitos at bay as well
gilbetron 9y ago
Oh definitely - if I'm in a room that is still and is 68+ degrees, I know I'm not really going to actually sleep that night :/
- cortesoft 9y ago
  So do you live somewhere that doesn't get very hot, or do you just have your AC cranked up all night? Many places I have lived would be very expensive to keep under 68 all night.
  - asfasgasg 9y ago
    Probably less than you think. Heat loss or intrusion from the environment is linear in the difference between the environmental temperature and the interior temperature. Since it is cooler at night, it will generally be less expensive to turn down the temperature at night. Even in Florida, the average low in August is 72F. There's not much of a difference between this and 68F, so your AC will not have to work very hard to keep the house cool in the evening. If you're concerned about energy usage, it's by far more important to tolerate higher temps during the day than during the night. Conversely, in the winter, you can afford to warm your house up a little more during the day, but if you want to sip energy, you need to set the lowest acceptable temperature at night. You can optimize this further by putting a minisplit or a window unit in your bedroom. If your bedroom is small compared to your dwelling, you can save some serious energy this way. Generally speaking, the cost of climate control will scale in the surface area of the climate controlled volume, and obviously a single bedroom has much lower surface area with the environment than the whole house. This is also why it takes so much less energy to control the climate of a given apartment unit than a house of the same square footage.
  - gilbetron 9y ago
    Michigan, so nights are < 65F for 9 months of the year. Then the other times, we have a window AC unit, close our bedroom door, and blast the AC :)

kemenaran 9y ago

This is definitely a phenomenon for me. I remember reading in A study that feet warming up was the factor best correlates to falling asleep (I remember it from only a few years ago, maybe it was a follow-up to this 1999 study? [1]) [1] https://www.nature.com/articles/43366 https://www.nature.com/articles/43366

apotheothesomai 9y ago

As a supporting aside, sleep requires that blood vessels constrict a bit, and that's what cold does to a persons body, restrict blood flow to the surface. It may go deeper than that, but I lack the knowledge to assert as much.

weavie 9y ago

A quicker way to get cold is a really cold shower just before bed. It works really well for me, and I believe there are many other benefits to cold showers beyond just getting to sleep.

bergerjac 9y ago
This makes sense... because muscles contract The cold water grabs the brain's attention. So the brain doesn't let the mind latch onto thoughts... energy contracts rather than scatters
- weavie 9y ago
  I find there are two ways you can go with a cold shower. One is to really tense up and to fight the feelings of cold. I don't think this is too beneficial. The other is to really relax and embrace the cold. Taking deep breaths and focusing the mind inwards allows you to accept the cold for what it is. It takes a little practice, but once you are in that zone the shower becomes rejuvenating and relaxing at the same time and really helps shake off the day and get me in the zone for sleep.
hyperpallium 9y ago
If I have a cold shower just before bed, my feet get cold and don't warm up.
jason_slack 9y ago
I also sleep with my windows open. It is 10 degrees right now and they are still open.

kakarot 9y ago

I can't fall asleep if the temperature is above 65-70°F, and my feet have to be sticking out from the covers. I have to sleep with a very thin blankets. I honestly have never been able to figure out how people get to sleep any other way.

midgetjones 9y ago

Have you tried just putting one leg out? Never fails for me.