Israel is a country of extremes. While shopping, you are either going to receive extremely good service or extremely bad service. The products you wish to purchase are either going to be extremely expensive or on an extremely good sale. Even the weather follows a pattern of extremes and right now it is extremely hot!
The relationship between body temperature and sleep is well documented. Our internal body temperature follows a 24 hour rhythm. Our average body temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius but fluctuates about a degree depending on the time of day. The lowest point occurs between 4 am to 5 am when we are usually in a deep sleep. It starts to rise at 6 am and reaches a peak at 12 pm. There is another dip in body temperature around 2 pm (about half a degree) and then body temperature rises to a peak at about 6 pm. After that our internal body temperature starts to fall again reaching its lowest point in the early hours of the morning. My description is purposely written in general terms because of course its dependent on many factors one of them being the place on the body where the measurements were taken. I am basing these numbers on average rectal temperature for the average healthy adult, should you wish to try this at home.
The interesting thing is that body temperature is very closely related to our levels of alertness. Simple personal observation (much less invasive than a rectal thermometer) should confirm this. As our body temperature rises at 6 am we are generally waking up. We are active the whole morning until 2 pm. This drop in body temperature is commonly referred to as our afternoon dip in alertness. We feel alert again until 6 pm. This is usually the time when our kids go crazy and we are panicking because its almost bed time. One of the main contributing factors to their sudden burst of energy is a peak in their body temperature. Please remember that what goes up must come down. As that peak in body temperature begins to drop, your kids should start to feel more sleepy. It would make sense that our body temperature drops while we are sleeping and inactive but keep in mind that the drop in body temperature cues the sleepiness not the other way around. So if you are very active in the night you are still going to feel sleepy because your internal body temperature has dropped. Whether you respond to those sleepiness cues or not is your decision.
This 24 hour rhythm of body temperature and levels of alertness is usually programmed in babies after about 6 weeks. We need to be aware of our children's sleepiness cues which brings me to my favorite topic: routine, routine, routine!
Of course living in the middle of a desert which is cleverly disguised as a modern city comes with its challenges. Its very hot outside and we have to cool down at night in order to cue sleep. Its not comfortable to sleep in a hot environment so for every member of the family the environmental temperature plays an important role in healthy sleep. Dr Harvey Karp suggests that your baby's room should be warmer during the day and cooler at night. Recommended nighttime environmental temperature between 16- 21 degrees Celsius for infants and babies (also linked to prevention of SIDS). For toddlers and children the recommended room temperature is between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius.
I am not going to recommend any one method of keeping the room cool, fans, air conditioner or even an open window are acceptable. Please make sure your child is not sleeping next to the open window. Dress them in cool breathable pajamas with a single layer of bedding.
I appreciate that some of my readers are currently experiencing winter. Keep the room warm (follow recommendations above) but don't overheat your child's sleep environment. Don't overdress your child and add just one extra layer of bedding, don't smother them with too many blankets.
Whether you are currently day dreaming of the snow or sitting on a hot beach eating ice creams, I wish you all a healthy sleep in a comfortable, temperature-controlled room.
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