Embrace Cold Wyoming Nights For Healthier Sleep

There are only a few months out of the year in Wyoming where cold temperatures aren't the norm.

Even during the dead of summer, we could have snow and cold, and the higher you go up in elevation, the better the chances of that.

I'll be the first to admit that I love the cold weather. I've always lived by the code "you can always wear more clothing when it's cold, but society says you can't take off all your clothes when it's hot."

If you were to ask me what one of my favorite parts of living in Wyoming is, the weather would be one of my top answers. When the temperature is cool, or even cold, I get much better sleep than I do in the hot summer months.

I know many people believe that sleeping in a toasty, warm room is more beneficial. They put on the flannel sheets, wear fleece pants and thick socks to bed, and cuss the cold.

Unfortunately for those people, science agrees with me, and sleeping in the cold is better for your body, mind, and (probably) soul.

A study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that people who slept in rooms at 66°F (19°C) for 4 weeks:
- Increased calorie-burning brown fat
- Improved insulin sensitivity (better metabolism + lower diabetes risk)
- Produced more melatonin for deeper, restorative sleep

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Sleeping in a cold room can improve your sleep by increasing the amount of melatonin that your body produces, in turn allowing you to sleep more deeply and stay asleep.

As your body starts to cool, it enters sleep mode, and in a cold room, you reach that state more quickly.

On top of sleeping in a cold room, waking in a cold room is beneficial, too. Getting out of a warm bed and into a cold room will give your body a quick adrenaline boost as it goes into warming mode.

There are quite a few other benefits to cold sleeping that you can check out at Health.com.