Q&A: What Arizona's spring heat does to your sleep – and what to do about it

Arizona's spring arrives gradually, but the nights warm up faster than most people expect. By April, bedrooms that felt comfortable a few weeks earlier can heat up and lead to restless sleep – often before anyone has thought to turn on the AC.

Michael Grandner is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson and director of the Sleep and Health Research Program. He spoke with Lo Que Pasa about how warming spring nights affect sleep, why one bad night isn't necessarily cause for alarm, and why trying harder to fall asleep can actually make things worse.

Image

Tucson nights warm up in April, before most people adjust their routines. What does that transition do to sleep quality?

Sleep and temperature are very closely linked. Temperature regulation is a big part of sleep regulation, and if you're not able to cool down, it becomes harder to sleep soundly. You might find it harder to fall asleep, but it's also harder to stay asleep. One thing I see in my clinic, especially as we get deeper into summer, is people waking up very early in the morning. Even in a climate-controlled room with blackout curtains, the changing patterns of light and heat during the day start shifting people's internal rhythms, and they wake up earlier than they're used to. That can be quite distressing.

Does the gradual spring warming matter, or is it only really a problem when temperatures become extreme?

The gradual change matters too. Your body adjusts to its environment over time. You can blunt some of that impact by controlling your sleep environment as much as possible: keeping your bedroom cool, using lighter sheets that breathe or trying a cooling mattress topper. When your body prepares for sleep, it starts shedding heat. If your bedding traps that heat, you'll wake up feeling hot. That's usually the moment someone pulls a blanket off in the middle of the night. Their body is trying to regulate temperature, and the heat has nowhere to go.

What does disrupted sleep actually do to how people function at work the next day?

One or two rough nights actually don't impair performance as much as people think. You might feel a bit more irritable, but your ability to really function isn't significantly degraded until disruption has gone on for several days – and especially if it stretches past a week. The good news is that a bad night here and there isn't something to worry about too much. But if it becomes a pattern, that's when you want to start making adjustments to your environment or your schedule.

For employees who've recently moved to Arizona, what should they know about their first desert spring?

People coming from other parts of the country may not realize how early in the year they need to start cooling their bedroom at night. Tucson evenings stay warmer than most places, and it can help to start cooling your room about an hour before you plan to go to bed, giving your body the environment it needs to begin winding down. If you're waking up during the second half of the night or earlier than usual, that's often the first sign that temperature is affecting your sleep.

Any final advice for someone who finds themselves lying awake as the heat sets in?

Don't try harder. If you can't sleep, get up for a while and try again when you're ready. Nobody fell asleep faster by putting in more effort. In fact, effort is usually the problem. The more energy you expend trying to force sleep, the harder it becomes. If that pattern continues, it can tip into chronic insomnia. Sleep is something that happens when you stop fighting it.