Sleep Switch

Pre-menopausal women are described as more likely than men to respond to warming as a sleep trigger, while menopause reverses that pattern. The article cautions that temperature-trigger patterns are tendencies rather than universal rules. For most people, cooling initiates sleep and warming initiates waking, but the direction can vary by individual and hormonal state. Melatonin and core temperature are described as a mutually reinforcing loop for sleep onset. The article identifies the sleep switch as a neurological mechanism triggered by body temperature change.