Skin Temperature and Sleep Onset: How Aging and Insomnia Affect Thermal Regulation
How Do Skin Temperature Changes Predict Sleep Onset Across Different Ages?
Skin temperature patterns, particularly in the hands and feet (distal skin temperature), serve as reliable predictors of sleep onset in young healthy adults, with warmer extremities indicating faster sleep initiation. However, this research reveals that aging and insomnia significantly alter these thermal patterns, with older adults and people with insomnia showing disrupted skin temperature regulation that correlates with longer sleep onset times. The study found that the normal evening rise in distal skin temperature that facilitates sleep onset becomes blunted or delayed in older adults and those with sleep disorders, suggesting that age-related changes in thermoregulation contribute to sleep difficulties.