Thermal comfort

Cognitive psychology

Engineering

Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance

Ecology

Neuroscience

Biology

Sleep debt

Sleep disorder

Cognition

Systems engineering

Operating system

Microclimate

Computer science

Sleep (system call)

Thermodynamics

Physics

Psychology

Task (project management)

Sleep quality

Mood

Medicine

Physical medicine and rehabilitation

Clinical psychology

Audiology

Journal of Thermal Biology

Sleep loss impairs task performance and post-physical activity recovery, cognitive performance and mood, heightens fatigue and decreases vigour; poor sleep quality impairs decision-making, the speed and accuracy of task performance, and post-exercise recovery. Sleep time and quality are affected by age, psychological and physiological conditions, culture and environmental factors. Skin temperature, rapid temperature change and sweating during sleep can significantly reduce sleep quality. Hence, the thermal properties of bedding and sleepwear, both in steady-state and transient ambient temperature conditions, are logically important factors. Research to date on sleeping thermal microclimates and their effect on sleep quality is scarce. This present review covers the fundamental elements of human sleep, highlighting physically active people, such as athletes, and the influence of sleepwear and bedding on sleep thermal microclimates, as well as the research methods that have been and could be used in this field. This review identifies opportunity for future research direction and approaches to understanding thermal environments that may support better human sleep.

Sleep environments and sleep physiology: A review