The Association between Thermal Comfort and Sleep Patterns: Preliminary Results from the Center for Research on Environmental and Social Stressors in Housing across the Life Course (CRESSH) Sleep Sub-Study

Thermally comfortable sleep environments are necessary for optimal sleep. Vulnerable populations (e.g. racial/ethnic minorities, lower socioeconomic status) are disproportionately affected by adverse housing conditions, which likely impact thermal comfort and sleep. We investigated the influence of thermal comfort on objective and subjective sleep patterns among a racially/ethnically diverse population. Between 2016-2017, participants (N=44) of the CRESSH Sleep Sub-Study underwent 7-day actigraphy for objective measures of sleep duration and sleep efficiency. During a home visit, participants self-reported thermal comfort as "too cold" or "too hot" to fall or stay asleep as well as subjective sleep duration and quality. We conducted chi-square tests to determine whether thermal comfort was related to a short sleep duration (<7 hours), poor sleep efficiency (<90%), or subjective restless sleep. Participants were predominately female (63.6%), minority (38.6% Hispanic, 11.4% Black, 15.9% Asian), co...