Experts Say This Is Why You May Sleep Better in Hotels — and How To Recreate It at Home

Hotels may be better at creating the right sleep environment than many homes are, but the fix is surprisingly simple.

Have you ever slept better in a hotel than you do at home?

It may not just be the blackout curtains or the fact that someone else made the bed. According to sleep expert Aaron M. Fuhrman, Founder and CEO of Sleeplay, one possible reason is surprisingly simple: temperature.

Fuhrman says hotels often keep rooms cool and consistent overnight, which can work with the body’s natural sleep process instead of fighting against it. The ideal bedroom temperature is often cited as roughly 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit, the same range Cleveland Clinic and the National Sleep Foundation point to for better sleep.

At home, though, it is easy for bedrooms to run too warm, too stuffy, or too inconsistent without people realizing it. And if you are tossing around at night or waking up tired after a full night in bed, the fix may not start with another supplement or sleep gadget.

It may start with making your bedroom act a little more like a hotel room.

Here’s how to recreate that cooler, steadier hotel sleep setup at home.

Start Cooling the Room Before You Get Into Bed

The biggest change is also the most obvious one: do not wait until you are already trying to fall asleep to adjust the room.

Fuhrman recommends lowering the thermostat about an hour before bed, so the room is already in that cooler sleep-friendly range when you lie down. This is important because your body is naturally trying to cool down as it prepares for sleep.

“As you approach sleep, your core body temperature naturally begins to drop,” Fuhrman said. “This cooling process signals to your brain that it’s time to rest. If your bedroom is too warm, that signal gets disrupted, and falling asleep becomes harder than it needs to be.”

If you do not have central air, the same idea still applies. Use a fan to circulate air around the room, crack a window if the weather allows, or try a cooling mattress topper if your bed tends to trap heat.

Make Your Bedding Easier To Adjust

Temperature is not only about the thermostat.

Hotels often use layered bedding, which gives guests more control during the night. Instead of being trapped under one heavy blanket, you can pull a layer up or push one aside without fully waking yourself up.

“The combination of a cool room and layered bedding is what makes the hotel formula work so well,” Fuhrman said. “You’re not locked into one temperature. You can adjust without waking up fully.”

At home, that might mean using a sheet, a lighter blanket, and a quilt or duvet instead of one thick comforter that traps heat all night.

Fuhrman also recommends breathable bedding, such as cotton or linen, because those fabrics allow better airflow. Synthetic fabrics can trap heat, which may make the bed feel warmer as the night goes on.

Rethink What You Wear To Bed

Your pajamas are part of the sleep environment, too.

Heavy sweats, thick pajama sets, or oversized hoodies may feel cozy when you first crawl into bed, but they can trap heat later in the night. If you regularly wake up sweaty or kick the covers off at 3 a.m., your sleepwear may be working against you.

Lightweight, breathable pajamas are usually a better choice if you are trying to regulate temperature overnight. The goal is not to be cold. It is to avoid trapping heat against your body for hours.

Use a Warm Shower To Trigger a Cooldown

This sounds backward at first, but a warm shower before bed can actually help with the cooling process.

The shower raises your body temperature temporarily. Once you get out, your body temperature drops, which can mimic part of the natural cooling process that happens before sleep.

This does not need to turn into a full wellness ritual. A simple warm shower before bed may be enough to help some people feel sleepier.

Do Not Overcomplicate the Fix

The nice thing about this advice is that it does not require a luxury mattress, an expensive tracker, or another device on your nightstand.

“You don’t have to completely overhaul your bedroom,” Fuhrman said. “Even one or two of these changes can bring you noticeably closer to that hotel sleep experience.”

The simplest sleep upgrade may already be on the wall.

And if better rest is starting to shape more of your travel plans, you’re not alone. Sleep tourism is surging, with some U.S. cities ranking especially well for rest-focused getaways. Sleep is also becoming a bigger relationship conversation, with one report finding that one in three couples may be “sleep incompatible.”

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