Best Temperature for Sleep (UK): Ideal Bedroom Temperature, Heating and Bedding

What is the best room temperature for sleep?

The Sleep Charity puts the ideal bedroom temperature at around 16 to 18°C. US sleep experts give a similar figure of about 18°C. The NHS doesn’t give a number for sleep, but it does say you may find it easier to sleep in a room that is quiet, dark and cool, and it lists a room that’s too hot or cold as a common cause of insomnia.

Treat it as a starting point. What matters most is the air under your covers: 16°C with a thick duvet can feel just right, and freezing with a thin sheet.

Older people may sleep better a little warmer. In a US study of older adults sleeping at home, sleep was most efficient with the bedroom at 20 to 25°C, and worse at 25 to 30°C. If 16°C feels too chilly, don’t force it.

Why a cool bedroom helps you sleep

Your core body temperature follows your body clock. It starts to fall in the evening, as melatonin rises, and is lowest in the early hours. Falling asleep and a falling core temperature go together.

To shed that heat, your body opens up the blood vessels in your hands and feet. In a Swiss sleep lab study, how warm people’s hands and feet were compared with their trunk predicted how fast they fell asleep better than core temperature, melatonin or how sleepy they felt.

A cool room makes that heat loss easier. A hot one gets in the way. A review of thermal comfort and sleep found that in real life, with bedding and nightwear, a hot room leads to more waking and less deep sleep and REM sleep. Humid heat is worse still. Cold made less difference to sleep stages, as long as people had enough bedding, though it still affected heart rhythm during sleep.

It’s also why a warm bath 1 to 2 hours before bed is popular: it draws blood to your skin, so you lose heat faster afterwards. Pair it with the rest of a wind-down routine and the other sleep hygiene habits that have good evidence behind them.

Warm feet and socks

Warm feet help you fall asleep because they let heat leave your body, which lets your core temperature drop. Loose, clean bed socks are fine for most people if cold feet keep you awake, but take them off if you get hot.

iFor the research, the best socks for bed and who should skip them, including people with diabetes or numb feet, see our guide to sleeping with socks on. If your hands and feet are always cold, read why am I always cold? and mention it to your GP.

Heating on or off at night in winter?

It depends on who you are. The NHS says to heat your home to a temperature that’s comfortable for you, and at least 18°C in the rooms you regularly use, including the bedroom. It says this is particularly important if you have a health condition. It also advises keeping bedroom windows closed at night in winter.

If you’re fit and healthy, a cooler bedroom with warm bedding is fine and suits most people’s sleep. A sensible middle ground for a UK winter:

• Warm the bedroom before bed, using a timer, then let it drift cooler overnight.
• Heat the rooms you use, rather than the whole house, and close doors to keep the heat in.
• Close thick curtains at dusk to cut draughts.
• Warm the bed, not the room: a hot water bottle or electric blanket, used exactly as the instructions say, plus layers you can remove.
• Watch for condensation. Moisture from showers, cooking and laundry condenses on cold walls and windows, and damp and mould can harm your lungs. Don’t dry clothes in the bedroom, and ventilate for a while during the day.

See also tired in winter.

Too hot to sleep: summer, hot flushes and night sweats

In a heatwave, the NHS suggests closing windows, curtains and blinds during the day and opening them at night once it’s cooler outside. Electric fans can help while the temperature is below 35°C. Swap the duvet for a sheet or a lighter tog and wear thin cotton nightwear, or none.

Sometimes the heat comes from inside. Hot flushes and night sweats are common in perimenopause, and a warm room and heavy bedding can make them worse. Your body also runs slightly warmer in the days before a period, which is one reason for insomnia before your period. If you and your partner differ, try two duvets of different weights. A weighted blanket adds warmth, so keep the room cooler if you use one.

Too hot or too cold? Quick fixes

Still lying awake once the room is right? Try these ways to fall asleep fast.

Best room temperature for a baby

The Lullaby Trust recommends a room temperature of 16 to 20°C for babies, so they don’t get too hot. Overheating raises the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

• Use a room thermometer.
• Use light bedding or a lightweight baby sleep bag, not a duvet or quilt.
• Babies don’t need hats indoors.
• Check your baby’s temperature by feeling their chest or the back of their neck. Hands and feet are usually cooler, which is normal. If the skin feels hot or sweaty, remove a layer.
• In hot weather, dress them in fewer layers and never point a fan straight at them.

iOur products are for adults only. Speak to your health visitor or GP if you’re worried about your baby’s sleep or temperature.

A calm bedtime drink

A warm, caffeine-free drink is a simple cue to wind down. Our Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex is a berry-flavoured powder with magnesium bisglycinate and citrate, glycine, L-theanine and chamomile. Magnesium contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system and to a reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Read more in magnesium for sleep.

Related guides

• A cooler, drier bedroom also helps keep dust mites down; see how to reduce dust mites in the bedroom.
• If cold feet keep you awake and your toes change colour, see our guide to Raynaud’s in your feet.
• Warm your feet gradually rather than on a hot water bottle if you’re prone to chilblains on your toes.
• A hot, dry bedroom can also dry out your skin overnight. See dry skin in winter.
• Heat is one reason people sleep lightly. See light sleeper: causes and what helps.
• If you warm the bed with a hot water bottle, read our guide to hot water bottle safety first.
• Using one to warm the bed? Read our electric blanket safety guide first.
• If icy toes keep you awake, read our guide to cold feet in bed and what helps.
• Shopping for someone who sleeps hot? A cooling pillow or silk pillowcase is among our sleep gifts for her and him.