The "Burning" Question

A great question arrived by e-mail this weekend:

Dear Mr. McPeek,

Here is a burning weather question I have had for years!!! Please put an end to this mystery.

70 degrees is beautiful and comfortable during the day - with sunshine! Why is it such a miserable temp at might when there is not any sunshine?

Thank you for answering this question!
Tami
Cardington, Ohio

The answer is more about perception than any real weather phenomenon. Seventy degrees is seventy degrees whether it’s daytime or nighttime, in the sunshine or in the dark... it's just a number on the thermometer. But our PERCEPTION of 70 degrees may be radically different at certain times of the day.

We humans function pretty well at 70 degrees... in fact, we consider it a beautiful day to be out and about. Not too hot, not too cool for outdoor activities. But we tend to sleep better when the temperatures are cooler. A 55-degree night with a blanket is great sleeping weather. Leave the windows open and enjoy. But 70 degrees make a bedroom feel like an oven.

Some experts say a cooler body temperature is associated with better sleep. From the National Sleep Research Project in Australia:

To drop off we must cool off; body temperature and the brain's sleep-wake cycle are closely linked. That's why hot summer nights can cause a restless sleep. The blood flow mechanism that transfers core body heat to the skin works best between 18 and 30 degrees. But later in life, the comfort zone shrinks to between 23 and 25 degrees - one reason why older people have more sleep disorders.

You already figured it out... the temps they mentioned are in degrees Celsius. So our bodies want to be cooler when we sleep. That's why a 70-degree bedroom is so uncomfortable... but a 70-degree office is pretty comfortable.

Here are some great tips for getting to sleep on a hot night:

Thanks for your question, Tami!