Passive Body Heating and Sleep: Influence of Proximity to Sleep

Bunnell, David E.; Agnew, James A.; Horvath, Steven M.; Jopson,, Linda; Wills, Marsha

doi:10.1093/sleep/11.2.210

Cited by 110Sleep and Wakefulness ResearchSleep and related disordersCircadian rhythm and melatonin

Passive Body Heating and Sleep: Influence of Proximity to Sleep

Bunnell, David E., Agnew, James A., Horvath, Steven M., Jopson,, Linda, Wills, Marsha·1988·Sleep

DOI 10.1093/sleep/11.2.210

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Abstract

Previous studies have found enhanced delta sleep following body heating. This study assessed the influence of body heating as a function of its proximity to sleep. Electroencephalogram (EEG) sleep patterns were compared following body heating (1 h immersion in water at 41 degrees C) at each of four times of day: morning (MO), afternoon (AF), early evening (EE), and late evening (LE), ending just prior to sleep. A delta filter/integrator system provided objective measures of delta content. Relative to baseline nights, whole-night delta sleep was increased by the two evening heating sessions only, particularly LE heating. Following LE, the increased delta occurred primarily in the first sleep cycle, whereas EE heating elicited increased delta distributed across the later sleep cycles (cycles 2-4). Effects on manually staged indices of slow wave sleep (SWS) were confined to increases in Stage 4 in the first sleep cycle following LE heating. Heating just prior to sleep also resulted in a substantial reduction in the duration of the first rapid eye movement sleep period. Sleep onset time was reduced by heating, particularly EE heating. The results indicate that body heating induces temporary changes that affect sleep propensity and both the quantity and temporal distribution of delta activity in the sleep EEG.

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Crossref · 10.1093/sleep/11.2.210

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This sleep enhancement seems to occur mostly when the heat stress is annihilated, i.e., core temperature is no longer elevated, while skin temperature is still somewhat increased due to the overshoot in heat dissipation.
“It is important to note that this sleep enhancement seems to occur mostly when the heat stress is annihilated, i.e., core temperature is no longer elevated, while skin temperature is still somewhat increased due to the overshoot in heat dissipation [10, 11, 20, 23–25, 40, 41, 44, 45, 76].”
From Sleep, vigilance, and thermosensitivity (2012) · cites this paper as [10]
Body heating activates heat dissipation for a duration that outlasts the heat stress, and consequently may keep skin blood flow higher for a few hours.
“Body heating activates heat dissipation for a duration that outlasts the heat stress, and consequently may keep skin blood flow higher for a few hours.”
From Sleep, vigilance, and thermosensitivity (2012) · cites this paper as [10]

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Authors: Bunnell, D. E., Agnew, J. A., Horvath, S. M., Jopson, & Wills, M.
Affiliations: University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
Corresponding author: Bunnell, David E.
ORCID: Bunnell, David E.
Venue: Sleep
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published: 1988-03
Volume: 11
Issue: 2
Pages: 210-219
ISSN: 0161-8105 (ISSN-L)
1550-9109
DOI: 10.1093/sleep/11.2.210
OpenAlex: W2409143442
Cited by: 109
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 4
FWCI: 1.51
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: SLEEP (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
Keywords: sleep onset, delta sleep, slow-wave sleep, REM sleep, sleep timing, sleep cycles, sleep latency, sleep propensity, sleep EEG, hot water immersion
MeSH terms: Adult, Body Temperature Regulation, Brain, Electroencephalography, Female, Hot Temperature, Humans, Male, Sleep Stages, Time Factors

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Passive Body Heating and Sleep: Influence of Proximity to Sleep

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