What is the Sleep Mode on an Air Conditioner? How Useful is It?

Most of us pass the night with fewer hours and lesser quality of sleep than desired. We hope the extra shot of espresso in the morning will stave off the lethargy, and while it may offer temporary relief, there are better ways to improve one’s rest. Believe it or not, your air conditioner is one of them!

What happens when we don’t get Quality Sleep?

Quality sleep, along with adequate duration, (adults need 7-9 hours per night), is vital to our overall well-being. It results in more than feeling tired and groggy but contributes to health, lifespan, and mood (thus the term “cranky baby”), all of which can impact our relationships, our memory, cognition, reaction time, and judgment, potentially putting ourselves and others in harm’s way. Sleep deprivation has been proven to be just as dangerous to driving as is driving intoxicated! Read that again. Yes, driving while sleepy is equivalent to driving while drunk!

We can see why the quality of our sleep is so important. The research concludes room temperature plays a significant role in how well we rest. So significant the Sleep Mode button on your air conditioner is an added feature to address just this.

So how does it work?

There are five stages of sleep, each offering different benefits. The REM stage, or Rapid Eye Movement, is the deepest stage of sleep. This is when the body restores, ready to face the following day with renewed energy. During REM sleep the body-temperature regulation system shuts off. Naturally, this is when the room temperature is most important as it is the only tool maintaining our body temperature, and in turn, impacts our quality of sleep.

REM sleep isn’t the only stage dependent on temperature. For us to fall asleep our body must lower its core temperature. If the room temperature is too high our body is facing a difficult battle and we find ourselves tossing and turning until our body can reach the ideal temp – between 60 and 70-degrees Fahrenheit – for sleep.

The Sleep Mode feature on your air conditioning unit regulates your room temperature while you sleep, improving your sleep quality. It does so in increments, raising or lowering the temperature by .5 to 1 degree per hour. The change is so gradual that you don’t even notice it. If you have a newer, higher-end model, it may be equipped with a motion sensor. If you are still and unmoving, the built-in intelligence interprets this as sleeping soundly. If it detects movement it interprets the opposite. It will then send a signal to the unit to either increase or decrease the temperature, allowing the Sleep Mode feature to operate even more efficiently.

Improved sleep comes with many benefits including enhanced quality of life, a better mood, and better health.

To reap the benefits of your unit and all its features, it’s important to keep your air conditioner clean and serviced regularly. Call us at Sinclaire Home Services for Franklin and Dover air conditioning repair and service, or if you simply have more questions about the features of your unit.