The Association between Thermal Comfort and Sleep Patterns: Preliminary Results from the Center for Research on Environmental and Social Stressors in Housing across the Life Course (CRESSH) Sleep Sub-Study

Abstract

Thermally comfortable sleep environments are necessary for optimal sleep. Vulnerable populations (e.g. racial/ethnic minorities, lower socioeconomic status) are disproportionately affected by adverse housing conditions, which likely impact thermal comfort and sleep. We investigated the influence of thermal comfort on objective and subjective sleep patterns among a racially/ethnically diverse population. Between 2016-2017, participants (N=44) of the CRESSH Sleep Sub-Study underwent 7-day actigraphy for objective measures of sleep duration and sleep efficiency. During a home visit, participants self-reported thermal comfort as "too cold" or "too hot" to fall or stay asleep as well as subjective sleep duration and quality. We conducted chi-square tests to determine whether thermal comfort was related to a short sleep duration (<7 hours), poor sleep efficiency (<90%), or subjective restless sleep. Participants were predominately female (63.6%), minority (38.6% Hispanic, 11.4% Black, 15.9% Asian), college-educated (56.8%), and married (40.9%). The average age was 53.6 years (standard deviation: 16.3). Approximately 47.7% of the sample had a short sleep duration and a poor sleep efficiency and 52.3% reported restless sleep. Most of the sample (56.8%) reported being "too hot to fall or stay asleep" at least once per week; whereas 45.4% reported being "too cold to fall or stay asleep". Participants who reported "too hot" compared to those who did not, were more likely to have restless sleep (56% vs. 26%, P=0.05) and a poor sleep efficiency (68% vs. 42%, P=0.09). "Too hot" was not associated with sleep duration and "too cold" was not associated with the explored sleep measures. Among our racially/ethnically diverse population, poor sleep was common and uncomfortable temperatures were reported barriers to initiating or maintaining sleep. Being "too hot" was related to poor sleep quality, thus thermal comfort may be a point of intervention to improve sleep in this population.