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Sleeping in a Bedroom Below 18°C Could Be Making Your Back Pain Worse
If you’ve woken up stiffer than usual this winter, your heating might be partly to blame.
With energy bills still high, many households are turning the heating off overnight or lowering it significantly. But according to a pain specialist who has collaborated with MattressNextDay, letting your bedroom temperature drop too low could be worsening back pain and affecting how well your body recovers while you sleep.
The World Health Organization recommends indoor temperatures of at least 18°C for healthy adults. Yet winter bedrooms often fall below that level in the early hours of the morning.
And that matters more than many people realise.
Why cold bedrooms can aggravate back pain
“The cold may increase the experience of pain,” explains Jen Uschold, Fellow of Pain Science and Physical Therapist with more than 30 years of experience treating chronic pain.
“When it’s colder and we’re moving less, there’s reduced blood flow throughout the body. That means less oxygen and fewer nutrients being delivered to muscles that are trying to repair.”
Lower temperatures can also heighten sensitivity.
“Some people become temperature-sensitive when they’re already in pain. Think about it: if you go outside when it is 10 degrees, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, you will feel cold. This is simply your temperature sensors saying, “It’s cold! Go inside or get a jacket.”
Essentially, this means your body may expend more energy regulating temperature overnight than repairing tissues and reducing inflammation.
Why letting your bedroom drop below 18°C could be problematic
While overheating can disrupt sleep quality, overly cold rooms can be just as problematic.
“Generally, a room temperature of around 19 degrees is recommended,” says Jen. “The brain needs a slight drop in core temperature to initiate sleep, but if the environment is too cold, the nervous system works harder to maintain warmth.”
That extra effort can disrupt sleep cycles, reducing the deep, restorative sleep stages most important for recovery from musculoskeletal pain.
Research consistently shows that sleep quality plays a major role in pain management. Poor sleep can heighten pain sensitivity the following day, creating a cycle that becomes difficult to break.
In other words, cold bedrooms may not directly cause back pain, but they can make existing pain feel worse and slow overnight recovery.
6 budget-friendly ways to stay warm during winter, without turning on the heating
With millions of households trying to reduce heating costs this winter, MattressNextDay has shared practical ways to stay warm overnight without turning the thermostat up.
- Go for a 15-minute walk during the day to reduce pain at night
Jen says, “movement and blood flow are very important for happy nerves and less pain.”
So, if you choose to stay indoors or reduce your physical activity in winter, you could find that you experience more pain during sleep.
Gentle, moderate movement is the key to better sleep. Studies have shown that regular exercise during the day can lead to better overall sleep quality and even reduce the amount of time it takes to get to sleep.
Even a 15-minute moderate walk during the day can support circulation and improve sleep quality at night.
- Always keep your bedroom door closed
Shutting the door can reduce heat loss during the night, particularly if you have set your heating to the perfect temperature before bed. You should also close off unused rooms during the night to prevent further heat loss, reducing energy costs.
A closed door can also reduce noise from around the house and, importantly, block any additional light that can stop you from sleeping.
- Place a hot water bottle at your feet
You can heat the bed by using a hot water bottle, which should last anywhere between one and three hours. If you do use a hot water bottle, do not use boiling water. Water that is too hot could damage the rubber and weaken the hot water bottle, causing it to burst.
A further trick is to place the hot water bottle at your feet. Keeping your feet warm will improve blood flow to your feet, which allows for better temperature regulation and, therefore, better sleep.
- Heat the bed, not the bedroom
Instead of heating the whole bedroom, which could destabilise the temperature of the room, leading to poorer sleep, you simply need to heat the bed.
Start with your bedding and duvet filling. Natural down duvets provide more warmth than synthetic covers, while also remaining breathable, so you don’t overheat. Your pyjamas can also retain heat, so it’s important to opt for the right pyjama set to avoid overheating. Natural cotton pyjamas will help keep you warm, while also maintaining the optimum temperature for sleep.
Mattress toppers can also moonlight as insulators on your bed, helping to trap heat that would otherwise escape.
- Keep your bedding tucked at the foot of the bed
To avoid cold air pooling at the bottom of your bed, tuck your bedding under the mattress to prevent your feet from escaping out of the covers. If your feet do get too cold, it reduces blood flow to your feet, depriving the muscles of nutrients and oxygen and leaving them in distress. This could lead to heightened pain during the night, impacting your sleep quality.
- Move the bed at least 30 centimetres away from the wall to reduce cold transfer
Walls, particularly exterior walls, can be much colder in winter. If your bed is next to the wall, the wall absorbs heat from you, passing through to your mattress. This then transfers the heat away from you, making you feel much cooler. Similarly, a bed placed directly against the wall affects airflow. Essentially, the warmer air in the bedroom can’t circulate properly, meaning the wall stays cooler, so it’s important to always keep your bed at least 30 centimetres away from the wall if your bedroom layout allows.
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