Thermoregulation in wakefulness and sleep in humans

Veronique Bach, Frederic Telliez, Karen Chardon, Pierre Tourneux, Virginie Cardot, Jean-Pierre Libert

In this episode, we talk more broadly about thermoregulation in wakefulness and sleep in humans - a bit of a deep dive into human physiology. We increasingly understand that there is a relationship between sleep, body temperature regulation and patterns of skin temperature. 

The functional consequences of this relationship is that sleep disturbances can be observed with thermoregulatory changes. Knowing that there is this relationship, there are a number of clinical implications that can be influenced by therapists and the environment. 

Some considerations include 

(1) how thermoregulatory responses can be modified by sleep stages; 
(2) how skin and internal body temperatures vary according to the sleep-wake cycle;  
(3) how manipulating thermal parameters can influence sleep quantity and structure.