Chilling Facts on the way you sleep
Air Conditioning helps maintain a comfortable indoor climate for you to feel nice and cool. On the other hand, our bodies have a built-in system - the hypothalamus, that regulates the internal temperature of our bodies.
The comfortable indoor temperature for most people during sleep is often cited to be in the range of 26 to 30°C. This is called the thermoneutral zone which is closer to the skin temperature, which is about 33°C as against your internal core (organ) temperature of 37°C.
But many of us disrupt this thermodynamics and human circadian biology by making the room too cold (19-23°C). This leads to a conflict between our internal body temperature and the environmental temperature - and that’s why we feel the need to cover ourselves, sometimes from head to toe with a blanket.
By doing this you are creating a microclimate - a small warm bubble inside a cold room. It’s an artificial setup which can confuse your body, because it keeps switching between cold air and warm quilt zones, especially while you toss and turn.
This type of extreme and frequent temperature change can not only lead to health problems in individuals with certain health conditions but also disrupt your sleep.
Stress on your cardiovascular system, weakened immune responses, dry sinuses, throat and skin problems are some other issues attributable to continuous and alternate hot and cold air exposure.
To sum up, set the temperature to 26°C and above and turn your fan on to a low speed - this way you keep your room cool, body comfortable, and your bills under control. And when you exit your bedroom in the morning, it allows your body to cool down naturally without being unduly affected by any external extremes.
Zareer Patell
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