Sleepy course 😴 Day 11

I hope you manage to enjoy yesterday’s evening. Don’t be upset if you didn’t. You have lots of evenings ahead of you. I believe in you! ⭐️

Today we continue discussing things that affect sleep quality.

Temperature 🌡

We have already touched upon it earlier but I promised you to give more details and bust a popular myth. I think, you’ll find it interesting. ❄️

During sleep, at night our body cools down. Our body temperature is usually at its lowest in the early morning, in the time between 4 am and 6 am.

Faster drop in temperature increases the probability of entering the deep sleep.

Let’s reiterate what we know - if we warm feet and hands then we help the body to start the process. And we can make it faster by taking a warm bath or shower an hour before bed.

However, this doesn’t mean we should be cold while asleep.

A wide known myth states that you need to sleep in a cool room. I often see many articles recommending the room temperature to be 16-20℃ (61-68F).

However, scientists showed that not to be true.

In studies using clothing and/or bedding, no significant difference was observed in sleep in a range of 13°C to 23°C

Still, high room temperature, higher than 23°C (73°F) really can negatively affect sleep quality.

CO2 🌬

Do you know in what robots best people? We don’t turn so much valuable oxygen into carbon dioxide. 😄😜 Ok, don’t get upset. Let me tell you how it affects sleep and what can you do to improve the situation easily.

CO2 concentration actually affects the quality of sleep. Outside CO2 concentration is about 400 ppm (0,04%) but in your room you can “exhale” it up to 2500 ppm (0,2%).

Don’t worry, we are here to save you!

1. The obvious advice is to open the window. But during the cold season you can’t just leave the window open for the night. A good life hack, in this case, is to use window stops. They allow you to leave just a small crack that allows oxygen to enter without making you cold.

You can find a variety of them at different price points on Amazon.

2. The less obvious advice is to use house plants. One research showed that only 6 plants cut CO2 concentration in half (from 2000 to 1100 ppm). Added bonus, plants are good at fighting toxins, such as carbonyls and other harmful particles, in the air reducing them by 30%.

I compiled a list of the best house plants that are easy to care for 🌵 and keep fighting CO2 even at night 🌚 for you.

1. Areca Palm
2. Neem Tree
3. Sansevieria Trifasciata Zeylanica, Snake Plant
4. Aloe Vera
5. Gerbera (Orange)
6. Chrismas Cactus, Schlumbergeras
7. Rama Tulsi, Tulsi ( Green)
8. Peepal Tree

Also, one particular robot thinks they are very beautiful! Get yourself a couple of your choice 🙂 🍀

The tasks:

1. Start to air your room before bed and cross it out in your checklist
2. Order window stop and a couple of house plants
3. Do your cherished evening ritual ❤️

The studies:

• Effects of thermal environment on sleep and circadian rhythm
• Sleep and thermoregulation
• Nighttime temperature and human sleep loss in a changing climate
• Could houseplants improve indoor air quality in schools?
• Planting Healthier Indoor Air

Other sources and references:

• Top 9 Plants that give Oxygen at night as well (best for indoors)