Let’s not go to how tossing and turning can leave your eyes on for the entire night. One of the reasons you aren’t resting enough is the flush of heat that you have to bear especially during the summer. While a cooling mattress pad or topper and breathable cooling sheets contribute to the comfort and quality of sleep, some hacks could help you rest well.
Have you thought about how beneficial it would if you slept with your legs outside of covers? Well, to many this would not seem like a helpful idea, but it works. In this article, you can learn the science behind this simple and useful hack.
As the sleeping process kicks in, the body temperature goes lower than usual. The lower it gets, the faster you start feeling dizzy, and the desire to sleep finally kicks in. The body temperature is lowest at the deepest stage of sleep. Most people would think that we fall asleep because we warm up enough to feel dizzy. But, from the astonishing fact above, it is apparently the right opposite.
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Usually, once you pop into bed, you probably start feeling chilly in the first few minutes. At this point, you are most likely to fall asleep immediately the temperature hits the lowest for your body. As the night progresses, the body starts heating up, and slowly it starts becoming unbearable.
At this stage, it feels extremely hot, and you can hardly sleep as required. This is where the hack comes in. Keeping the feet outside the covers certainly helps to calm down and fall asleep again. The science behind this explains the different temperature levels in your blankets and out. When one or both feet are out, the cooling breeze in the room helps to flash out the heat helping you lower down the temperature for better sleep.
For people that have difficulties sleeping right after they get to bed, there are a few things they can practice to help the process. As mentioned, cooler temperatures have shown to be conducive for sleep. One of the things you could do is take a warm shower right before bedtime. After leaving the tub, the body temperature drops significantly.
The same happens when you take a warm beverage before sleep. This, however, depends on the type of drink you choose since some prevent sleep. Also, a cooling fan in the bedroom can help to induce a calm atmosphere for better rest. The body system shows the magic whereby practicing ‘warm’ actually cools the body minutes later. This explains how it serves right keeping the feet outside because you are probably too warm to sleep.
But, have you thought about why it gets hard to wake up early? Surprisingly, the body is at its coolest as you approach the morning; around 4-5 AM. And, as explained the deepest stages of sleep shows the coldest temperatures. As much as people would pin it down to the environmental conditions, the body at this time is at its coolest and hence the deep sleep as morning approaches.
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Why the Feet?
According to a study by the National Institute of health, a group of adults was tested for sleep deprivation in relation to regulation in temperature. The test involved measuring temperature gradients of the upper body, the middle and the lower. The upper involved measuring the temperature around the ear-mastoid while the lower was to measure the temperature of the legs.
The study results indicated a significant heat reduction from the hands with an even enhanced loss from the feet. Also, the study showed much heat retention for the upper body. This study explains why keeping feet outside of the covers will reduce the heat massively. It goes without saying that the lower the temperature gets, the faster and better you sleep through the night.
Another explanation to why hands and feet lose heat easily would have to be in the structure. The skin surfaces of both do not have hair. More to this, the skin around the hands and feet has special vascular structures that aid in heat loss. The blood vessels around these areas in addition to the lack of hair aid to lower the temperature.
When the weather is cold, hands and feet are the coldest parts of the body. This is because even in the coolest of temperatures, the natural process of heat loss still takes place. When the sun hits the top, hands and feet tend to sweat more which explains the rapid heat loss. These facts in addition to the temperature fluctuations during the night describe why keeping feet outside of the covers could do you right.
From the facts stated, it is clear that keeping one or both feet outside of the covers can help with better sleep. The relation between quality sleep and feet outside the sheets can be explained based on temperature variations. It shows that the cooler the body gets, the better and faster you are likely to fall asleep. The hack is more geared to a scientific approach to the composition of the feet skin and the natural heat loss process.