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Our baby’s room doesn’t have a window AC unit, so the overnight temperature is pushing 80 in there, and the internet says her room should be 68 to 72 degrees. Do I need to be worried about this? She seems fine, but I’m awake worrying about this at 3:20 in the morning, so clearly I’m not. And what about the other end? Is under 68 degrees too cold?
—Too Hot or Cold
“She seems fine, but I’m awake worrying about this at 3:20 in the morning, so clearly I’m not,” may be the best summary of parenting I have ever seen.
Although it is commonly cited, I want to start by noting that this very narrow temperature range (68 to 72°F) is not something we have specific data on. There is nothing in the data or our understanding of biology that suggests moving from 68 to 67 degrees or 72 to 73 would make any difference to anything.
There are concerns with heat extremes on both ends. In the case of high heat, the worry is about the elevated risk of SIDS when the temperature gets very high. There is a bit of evidence on this, but the impacts are small. One large study in the U.S. found a slightly elevated risk of SIDS on days with elevated temperatures. But overall, this data is mixed, with other studies not finding a similar result. These data are often from a period before the “back to sleep” campaign, and back sleeping for babies has lowered the overall risk of SIDS. In the end, this isn’t worth staying up at night worrying about.
On the colder side: in general, people sleep well in the cold, and if appropriately dressed, this is also true for babies. I will refer you to the Nordic cultures, where people will leave their babies to nap outside when it’s snowing. As the room gets colder, you want to make sure you’ve got your baby dressed appropriately. Inside, in a house at 60 degrees, your baby isn’t going to freeze, but they might not sleep as well if they are cold. A long-sleeve romper under their sleep sack or swaddle can safely add another layer.
Bottom line: baby sleep temperatures are more flexible than you think, so please just go back to sleep!
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Food for thought: I wonder how many homes worldwide actually have air conditioning.