26 Aug Hot Weather and Sleep
As Brisbane, and Queensland more broadly, heads into some unseasonable heat, our friends at ABC radio called in to speak with Phil (our lab manager) for some advice.
One caller had recently given up alcohol and is having more vivid dreams, this is not entirely surprising because alcohol can suppress REM sleep. So now that he is in a no-alcohol state, its likely that he has returned to a normal state of good quality and quantity REM sleep.
Onto the warm weather, women are more susceptible than men are to changes in temperature and impact of external factors during sleep. Women also tend to need a warmer room than men, however with a sudden change from cold to warm temperatures women may need to downsize their blankets to avoid being too hot over night… some men, like Phil, may just kick off the blanket entirely as an immediate solution overnight.
Kat Feeney asked about the elderly and children with this warm weather, which is a good question to ask and prompt those of us caring for our most vulnerable community members to think about temperature overnight, at least for the next week or so, and downgrade their clothing to suit.