Man Says He Can Only Sleep When His AC Is Set To 77, 'The Perfect Temperature' — 'You Sleeping In A Volcano?'
His answer sparked a debate about what the perfect temperature to fall asleep is.
Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock In the pursuit of an undisturbed and quality good night's sleep, many factors are taken into consideration including the comfort of your mattress and pillows, which side of the bed you're laying on, and even the sounds from the outside world.
However, one important factor is the temperature of the room, a topic that has sparked debate after a clip of actor David Koechner admitting he likes his AC set to a certain degree has gone viral.
Koechner claimed that to fall asleep, he needs his AC set to 77 degrees.
In a clip from a relationship podcast titled "First Date with Lauren Compton," actor David Koechner was asked by Compton if he prefers to have his room be cold whenever he's trying to fall asleep. Koechner disagreed, claiming that he likes the temperature to be "perfect."
"About 77, 76. You need it colder?" the "Anchorman" actor asked Compton, to which she explained that it needs to be cold in the room so that she can snuggle with a fluffy blanket to be able to drift off peacefully. She admitted that the warmest temperature she can have her room at is 65 degrees.
Both the interview clip and the question of what the perfect temperature to fall asleep to have since gone viral, with people chiming in with their own opinions on either how cold or hot their rooms have to be in order for them to fall asleep.
In a stitched TikTok video of the interview between Compton and Koechner, a content creator named Matt Lipari joked that Koechner needing to sleep in a 77-degree room is not normal. "You sleepin' in a volcano?" he questioned incredulously.
"Imma sweat every single fluid in my body out at 77, my pee in the morning is gonna look like molasses," he continued. "The perfect temperature is 68 to 70. 68 is always safe. 70, sometimes a little bit too hot. Anything above 70, you need to be put in a mental hospital and probably stay there for the rest of your life."
In the comments section of Compton's interview with Koechner, viewers were astonished that he could stomach sleeping in a 77-degree room with ease.
"77 is a sauna," one TikTok user pointed out, while another added, "I'm calling the police if it's 77." A third user chimed in, "I don’t even like when the temperature outside is above 70°. My ideal sleeping temperature is around 60-65."
According to sleep experts, the perfect temperature can range between high sixties and high seventies.
In a study published in the journal Science of The Total Environment, the optimal sleep temperature in the bedroom for older adults is between 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Researchers gathered data from 50 older adults, which included 11,000 nights of sleep and environmental information.
Findings revealed a 5 to 10% drop in sleep efficiency as temperature escalated from 77°F to 86°F.
In an interview with Healthline, sleep experts admitted that the temperature in a room is crucial to having a productive and calming sleep environment, especially when it comes down to falling asleep and staying asleep.
"For initiation of sleep, low ambient light and temperature send signals to the body that it this time to secrete neurotransmitters that facilitate sleep," said Dr. Sudha Tallavajhula, a sleep neurologist. "During sleep, we oscillate between phases where our body temperature is regulated differently."
"Both climate change and urban induced warming (AKA, urban heat island effect) can substantially increase nighttime temperatures," lead researcher Amir Baniassadi, PhD, told the publication. "Our study finds a rapid decline in quality of sleep as the nighttime temperature rises above 77 degrees. So, we expect a decline in sleep quality as cities around the country get warmer."
Photo: Anna Nekrashevich / Pexels
Many people who live paycheck to paycheck most likely can't afford to tinker with their ACs and, according to the study, are more likely to live in houses and apartments that overheat.
A good night's sleep is a universal longing that many people simply don't play around with, and the temperature of a room has garnered a lot of mixed opinions, but almost everyone can agree that it's an important factor that determines whether or not we'll be grumpy in the morning from lack of comfortability.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.