Is Sleeping In A Cold Room Bad For You?
Short answer
Sleeping in the cold is not bad for you—it helps your metabolism, improves insulin sensitivity, and may even help to regulate certain kinds of insomnia.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
View Full Grading System
Category 'A'
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Side effects are rare. Things rated an 'A+' are typically necessary for survival (for example, water).
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Harmful qualities may be associated, but aren't usually serious.
It is important to note that even the best things in life can become bad in immoderate amounts. So, although something may be rated an 'A+', overconsumption/overdoing can bring unwanted effects.
Category 'B'
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
More beneficial to your health than not. However, harmful qualities are most likely associated and shouldn't be overlooked.
The main difference between category 'A' and category 'B' is the harmful qualities typically present in 'B' items. Serious side effects are usually uncommon, but are still possible and should be taken note of.
Category 'C'
Both beneficial and harmful qualities associated. Things rated a 'C+' are typically a bit more on the beneficial side. Still, moderation is important.
A fairly even ratio of beneficial and harmful qualities. Moderation is important. Very general topics that can lean towards both sides of the spectrum will be placed here as well. Rice, for example, can be good or bad depending on the type.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
Category 'C' usually denotes to both good and bad qualities. When it comes to this category, it is important to keep this word in mind: moderation.
Category 'D'
Harmful to your health. Although benefits may be associated, the bad most likely outweighs the good. Moderation is very important.
Harmful to your health. A few benefits may be associated, but the bad outweighs the good. Moderation is extremely important.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
Category 'D' is typically for things that are more harmful than beneficial. While consuming/doing something unhealthy once in a blue moon shouldn't hurt, we definitely recommend eliminating 'D' items as a regular part of your routine/diet.
Category 'F'
Category 'F' is for things that fail to bring anything beneficial to the table, and are very harmful to your health. We recommend completely avoiding anything in this category. Long-term side effects of 'F' items are usually very serious.
Category 'N'
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are generally (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
Long answer
According to the New York Times, sleeping in the cold affects your metabolism in subtle but important ways. It increases your deposits of brown fat. Brown fat is unique - unlike normal fat, it's metabolically active so it burns calories. The NYT also found that sleeping in the cold improves your insulin sensitivity - it makes your body slightly better at regulating body sugar. These changes are small but could decrease your risk of chronic disease like diabetes over time.
Why does sleeping in the cold increase deposits of brown fat? The mechanism might be not just the cold - the researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University responsible for the brown fat study think it might be the body's shivering in response to the cold that stimulates brown fat production. If you're sleeping in the cold but warming up with a heavy blanket, your body heat might not get low enough to enjoy the metabolic upsides.
Lower temperature helps people fall asleep - Time Magazine reports that the body responds in a dip in core temperature at the right time of day by thinking that it's time to go to bed. One way to trigger this dip is by taking a bath before you go to bed. The sudden drop in body temperature when you get out of the bath will flip the switch.
Sleeping in the cold may also help to regulate certain kinds of insomnia. Researchers in Australia determined that sleep onset insomnia, which affects people when they're falling asleep, can be curbed by medication that reduces core temperatures.
Once you're asleep, though, the cold might not be right for you. Ideal temperatures for maintaining a deep and healthy sleep are individual - for the elderly, they may be higher than those which buff your insulin sensitivity or up your production of brown fat. Get too hot, however, and you might experience less deep sleep, which is important for staying rested. Sleeping in the heat also may aggravate sleep apnea, which is a common condition later in life.
Benefits
- increases deposits of brown fat
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improves insulin sensitivity
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decreases risk of diabetes
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may help with sleep onset insomnia
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