Abstract
This study was designed to evaluate effects of controlling temperature and humidity on sleep quality during night sleep in summer from psychological and physiological responses. Eight healthy male subjects underwent sleep experiments conducted at an artificial climatic chamber located in Ashikaga Institute of Technology in August 2001 and 2002. In the first series of experiments, three cooling patterns have been tested. In pattern 1, room temperature was controlled at 26℃ for the first 2 hours and at 30℃ during the rest of period. In pattern 2 and pattern 3, room temperature was controlled at 28℃ at 30℃, respectively during the entire sleep period. In the second series of experiments, three humidity levels have been tested while temperature was kept constant at 28℃. Relative humidity was controlled at 40%, 60% and 80% on each occasion. EEG, EOG, rectal and skin temperatures were continuously recorded during sleep periods. Subjective evaluation on sleep quality was evaluated with the OSA sleeping questionnaire soon after subjects woke up. Body weight loss during sleep was measured by the accurate weight scale. The results showed that constant cooling at 28℃ with combination of 40%rh and 60%rh may induce better sleep quality amongst given thermal conditions.
