A Simple Hack for Better Sleep
A hot bath can help you fall asleep faster and sleep better, but you need to get the timing and temperature right
Relaxing in a bath before bedtime has often helped me fall asleep, but I never knew why. I figured it had to do with, well, relaxation. The reality has more to do with tricking the body into kick-starting its natural sleep cycle by changing its temperature. New research reveals how a hot bath one or two hours before bedtime actually triggers the body to cool itself down, helping people fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly.
More than a third of Americans don’t get enough sleep, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and this deficiency is linked to everything from bad moods to disrupted brain function and poorer health. Exercising, eating well, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine are among several ways to improve sleep without resorting to sleeping pills, which studies find can raise the odds of premature death.
But better sleep can also be achieved by leveraging the body’s natural sleep cycle, which is governed by circadian rhythms — the daily physical, mental, and behavioral changes driven by an innate biological clock located in the brain’s hypothalamus.
