Some babies don't seem to mind what temperature it is when they are awake or asleep while others are always bothered by extremes in temperature or are only bothered by extremes in temperatures while they are sleeping. This has a bit to do with how they naturally are and a bit to do with
what they are accustomed to. For example, when I was visiting my sister in law in Arizona last summer I was sitting in between her son and my son in the back of the car. Like me, my son was sweating and flushed from sitting in the car that was still around 85 degrees despite the air conditioning. Her son, in contrast, had goosebumps all over his body. Apparently 85 degrees was cold compared to the 115 degrees he was used to!
Getting the right temperature is important when you have a child that is sensitive to the cold, heat or both because it can cause them to have difficulty falling asleep, cause them to wake up after a short period of sleep or cause them to have very fitful sleep. Also, there is an increased risk of SIDS with overheating so this is obviously something to avoid. Below are some tips you help you achieve the right temperature for your child. Likely you'll want it around 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit.
How can I get the right temperature for my child?
Begin by finding out if your child is too hot or too cold, and if this is interfering with his sleep. You may need to keep a sleep log to do this while adjusting the temperature in his environment or the clothes that he wears (see sleep attire). Test your child's temperature while he is sleeping. You can do this by feeling the back of his neck or forehead (honestly, I'm not sure where the best place is to check since there seems to be a disagreement everywhere I look). Is he sweating? Are his feet cold?
If the temperature of your house changes throughout the day and night you could try having him sleep in different clothes for different naps or night time sleep or turn on a fan when it is hot and turn it off the fan when it cools down (e.g. in the summer you could turn the fan on when you put your child to bed and turn it off before you go to bed since it is likely to be cooler then). You may also need to have your child sleep in a different area of the house during certain periods of the day if you are not able to control the temperature in the area that he normally sleeps. I have black out blinds that I keep down much of the day to prevent the cold and heat from coming in. It makes a huge difference for all my upstairs bedrooms. And I'm sure it helps us save on our utility bills!
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what they are accustomed to. For example, when I was visiting my sister in law in Arizona last summer I was sitting in between her son and my son in the back of the car. Like me, my son was sweating and flushed from sitting in the car that was still around 85 degrees despite the air conditioning. Her son, in contrast, had goosebumps all over his body. Apparently 85 degrees was cold compared to the 115 degrees he was used to!
Getting the right temperature is important when you have a child that is sensitive to the cold, heat or both because it can cause them to have difficulty falling asleep, cause them to wake up after a short period of sleep or cause them to have very fitful sleep. Also, there is an increased risk of SIDS with overheating so this is obviously something to avoid. Below are some tips you help you achieve the right temperature for your child. Likely you'll want it around 65-72 degrees Fahrenheit.
How can I get the right temperature for my child?
Begin by finding out if your child is too hot or too cold, and if this is interfering with his sleep. You may need to keep a sleep log to do this while adjusting the temperature in his environment or the clothes that he wears (see sleep attire). Test your child's temperature while he is sleeping. You can do this by feeling the back of his neck or forehead (honestly, I'm not sure where the best place is to check since there seems to be a disagreement everywhere I look). Is he sweating? Are his feet cold?
If the temperature of your house changes throughout the day and night you could try having him sleep in different clothes for different naps or night time sleep or turn on a fan when it is hot and turn it off the fan when it cools down (e.g. in the summer you could turn the fan on when you put your child to bed and turn it off before you go to bed since it is likely to be cooler then). You may also need to have your child sleep in a different area of the house during certain periods of the day if you are not able to control the temperature in the area that he normally sleeps. I have black out blinds that I keep down much of the day to prevent the cold and heat from coming in. It makes a huge difference for all my upstairs bedrooms. And I'm sure it helps us save on our utility bills!
- Some children sweat a bit as they go through certain sleep stages. An infant may even wake up soaked in sweat. This is actually normal (Sleeping Through The Night). Or course, this can make determining if baby in too hot of an environment a little bit tricky!
- Several studies show that people in general sleep better in a cool room compared to a warm one. Of course you don't want your child to be freezing, but this is good to keep in mind since most parents seem to be worried about keeping their child warm and ofter overcompensate.
- A good rule of thumb when dressing your child for sleep is to dress them like you would dress yourself. If your child is under a few years old, you will probably want to include an extra layer since he can't keep a blanket on himself.
Related Posts:
Where should my baby sleep?
What impact does light have on my child's sleep?
Should my baby sleep with white noise?
Sleep Attire
Varying The Sleep Location
What does sound have to do with sleep?
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