Tip #33: Lower Your Room Temperature

How to Wake Up Early
Tips , Sleep
February 20, 2026

If your bedroom feels warm and cozy when you go to sleep, that might actually be the problem.

It sounds counterintuitive, but sleeping in a cool room is one of the simplest and most effective things you can do to improve the quality of your sleep. And better sleep means easier mornings — it’s that simple.

Why Cool Rooms Help You Sleep Better

Here’s what happens when you go to sleep: your body temperature naturally drops by about 2 degrees. This drop is part of the sleep initiation process — it signals your brain to release melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel sleepy and helps you drift off. A cool room supports this process. A warm room fights against it.

When your bedroom is too hot, your body struggles to cool down the way it needs to. You end up tossing, turning, kicking off the covers, and waking up in the middle of the night. Heat is one of the biggest disruptors of deep, restorative sleep — the kind that actually makes you feel rested in the morning.

The Sweet Spot: 60–67°F (15.6–19.4°C)

Most sleep experts and doctors agree: the ideal bedroom temperature for adults is between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit, or roughly 15.6 to 19.4 degrees Celsius.

That might feel a bit chilly at first, especially if you’re used to sleeping in a warmer room. But you don’t need to make a drastic change overnight. Lower your thermostat by 1–2 degrees at a time and see how it feels. Small adjustments can make a surprising difference.

If you have a baby or a toddler, keep their room a touch warmer — around 65 to 70°F (18–21°C). Their small bodies are still learning to regulate temperature on their own.

Simple Ways to Cool Down Your Bedroom

You don’t need an expensive cooling system to make this work. There are plenty of easy options:

Open a window. If the temperature outside is cool enough, let the fresh air in. This also pairs nicely with Tip #6: Sleep with Fresh Air — two benefits in one.

Use a fan. A simple fan keeps the air moving and helps cool your body. Point it toward your bed for maximum effect.

Switch to lighter bedding. Heavy blankets and thick comforters trap heat. Try swapping them for breathable cotton or bamboo sheets, especially during warmer months.

Take a warm bath before bed. It sounds backwards, but a warm bath about an hour before bedtime raises your body temperature slightly. When you get out, your body cools down rapidly — which mimics and reinforces the natural temperature drop your body needs for sleep. This fits naturally into the evening wind-down routine described in Tip #32.

Turn down the thermostat. If you have one, set it to drop into the 60–67°F range during your sleeping hours. Many modern thermostats let you schedule this automatically. Personally I use Nest Learning Thermostat Gen4 and it works just great.

What If You Sleep With a Partner?

This can be tricky. One of you might sleep hot while the other gets cold easily. A good compromise is to keep the room on the cooler side and let the person who gets cold add an extra blanket. It’s much easier to warm up under a blanket than it is to cool down in a hot room.

Give It a Try

Like most changes in your sleep habits, this one takes a little time to adjust to. You might feel a bit cold the first night or two. That’s normal. Stick with it for a week and pay attention to how you sleep — and more importantly, how you feel when you wake up.

A cooler room won’t just help you fall asleep faster. It will help you stay asleep longer and wake up more refreshed. And when waking up feels easier, everything else in your morning gets easier too.