Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of fluctuating room temperature on human sleep, with the aim to establish a comfort micro climate for summer night sleep. Twelve healthy male students slept in the nude except for underwear shorts at three different ambient conditions: 28°C constant (CTRL), 28-30°C fluctuating temperature with an average 45min-cycle (FLUCT-S) and with an average 90min-cycle (FLUCT-L). The fluctuating cycles were random from 1/f fluctuation. Standard polysomnograms consisting of EEG, EMG and EOG and surface skin temperature from seven parts were recorded. Subjects answered questionnaires concerning thermal sensation and subjective sleep parameters by the OSA sleep inventory. Subject were awakened by the experimenter at 7:30 in the morning to equalize total time in bed among the subjects, i. e., eight hours. Results from the valid ten subjects showed that stage II sleep was longer in CTRL than under both fluctuating temperature conditions. Furthermore, % REM+%SWS (slow wave sleep) was significantly larger in the FLUCT-L condition than in CTRL. These findings suggest that fluctuating room temperature during night sleep may induce better sleep.
