TOO HOT TO SLEEP?

HOW HUMIDITY STOPS US FROM DROPPING OFF AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.

- BY CAMILLA FOSTER

IF you have been struggling to fall asleep recently, tossing and turning in bed, you're not alone.

While many of us enjoy the gorgeous sunny days, the muggy evenings are a different story... and not nearly as pleasant.

To better understand why these humid nights can severely disrupt our sleep, Dr Greg Elder, associate director of Northumbria Sleep Research at Northumbria University, sheds some light on how humidity can impact our sleep quality and patterns and how to get a better night's rest.

How does humidity impact sleep?

"Sleep and temperature regulation are very closely related - so the hotter it feels, the worse our sleep tends to be, and this is worse when we can't properly acclimatise to it. For example, when a heatwave happens," explains Dr Elder.

Does it affect our circadian rhythms?

"Yes. How much sleep we get, and the quality of it, is affected by the interaction between our sleep need and our body clock (our circadian rhythms)," says Dr Elder.