Body Temperature Needs To Be Colder When Sleeping Now

Symptoms Neurological
#1

I’ve been having trouble sleeping and noticed some things that have helped me sleep. Basically my body temperature needs to be colder to get to sleep than before finasteride. Thought it might be a common occurrence.

My mattress traps too much body heat now so I’ve been sleeping on an $8 blow up/air mattress. It traps no heat and if it’s too cold I just throw a blanket on top. For my pillow I bought a $100 Buckwheat pillow, it’s the coolest pillow on the planet, takes some getting used to because it’s really firm but it’s totally worth it, I can’t sleep on any other pillow now. Generally if I’m not yawning or seeing white lights/figures when I close my eyes then I’m too hot and won’t be able to fall asleep.

Another thing, it helps to have the AC on blowing even in the winter, the cold air on my face helps me get more tired. Sometimes it’s not enough for my face to be cold though, the whole body needs to be which is where the air mattress comes in handy. It’s tough finding a balance sometimes though.

I’ve been in bed for hours figuring out why I can’t get tired and I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m too hot. I can’t fall asleep anywhere in any conditions like I could before finasteride.

Insomnia and Brain Spasms
#2

I think it’s possible for people who can only sleep for ~4 hours a night to get more sleep if they stay in bed longer and keep their bodies cool. 47-50°F or lower seems to be the ideal good room temperature.

How it works for me is the first 3-5 hours I can sleep without much interruption. But after that, my body doesn’t want to sleep for long periods anymore. So I stay in bed catching 20 minutes of sleep multiple times. During that period it’s tough falling asleep so many times but it’s worth it to try. I usually spend 12 hours lying in bed whether I’m asleep or not, sometimes even 15 cause I don’t have any responsibilities. I have yet wake up completely refreshed cause I still can’t put a number on how many hours I sleep, but it makes a big difference towards grogginess/fatigue throughout the day.

#3

Noticed a big change this week in my sleeping habits. I no longer need it to be really cold to sleep. I can easily fall asleep several times during the night after waking with the AC on at 60 degrees, which would’ve been really difficult a few weeks and months ago.

I’m creeping up on almost exactly a year since quitting the drug so it looks like sleep is improving but it’s still far from normal.

I’ve even started sneezing and building up a small fever now. There’s on a topic on SolvePFS.com about people not being able to get sick anymore and I’m pretty sure I have/had that same side effect cause I haven’t gotten sick at all the past year. I should’ve had a few fevers sleeping in the cold but I never got sick. I think it’s coming back now though.

Also haven’t mentioned this before but I’ve gone back to exclusively sleeping on my side like before finasteride. Due to the frequent urination I had to adjust and sleep on my back because any pressure around my waist increased my need to urinate. The frequent urination symptoms have been reducing the past few months but now I don’t need to lay on my back to fall asleep, in fact it’s actually hard to do so. I tried the last two nights because without any pressure I thought I could sleep longer initially but I couldn’t get to sleep unless I slept on my side. Didn’t change the outcome in how long I slept though, it’s still 3-5 hours and then I wake up.

#4

My sleep’s improving, I still wake up several times throughout the night but I’m getting more sleep and feeling more rested throughout the day. Toward the end of my sleep cycle I think I’ve been sleeping an hour at a time after the initial 3-5 hour period (I don’t know if I ever slept 5 hours in a row though, it’s a rough estimation, probably 3). I still think the temperature change where I don’t need to it be freezing cold to sleep was a big turning point, it just happened randomly. I think I’ve been averaging 6 hours of sleep a night the past week. I even nap during the day to help with fatigue. It’s looking like it might go back to normal, it’s been my worst side effect so that’s a relief. 6 hours of broken sleep is still shit though, I used to sleep 9 hours before this. But I’m realizing my other side effects may never return to normal though so even if I can sleep normally everything still sucks.

Anyway this is my last update on this topic, hope it helped some people who had similar issues.

#5

Came back to provide a useful update. Body temperature change is a side effect of finasteride. Under Metabolism on the PFSFoundation website: “decrease in body temperature.” This is why a lot of people probably have trouble falling asleep. So keep the AC as low as you need it and get a cooler pillow and mattress.

pfsfoundation.org/post-finas … -symptoms/

#6

So our bodies are colder than should be in waking hours but suddenly too hot when trying to fall asleep? Your body temperature decreases during sleep so maybe ours doesn’t decrease enough anymore that’s why you have to use a/c and cold beds to aid sleep?

#7

Yeah I was thinking about how it works and I think it’s this:

Before our bodies were at the usual 98.6 temperature, and when it’s that hot even a gentle breeze can make you cold. But now that it’s below that usual temperature, it takes more for you to be cold now. At least that’s how I envision it when it comes to sleeping.

It could also be like you said that maybe it doesn’t decrease enough anymore during sleep. You’d have to undergo a sleep study and get your temperatures measured to see if this is the case though.

I haven’t measured my body temperature with a thermometer but I’m pretty sure it’s lower now. And like I mentioned in the above posts, it was even lower when I needed the A/C to be under 50 degrees to sleep but then it kinda improved and I’m now able to sleep when it’s 60 degrees. So it can get better if you have this side effect, but I don’t know if it’s going to go back to normal. I used to be able to fall asleep in 80+ degree temperatures but there’s no way in hell I can do that now lol.

This is an important revelation when it comes to sleep though and people with sleep issues aren’t aware of it.

New member need help in finding some form of medication to get me through the worst of this
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#8

Another update:

It seems my body temperature raised a little bit again. I’ve been sleeping with the AC at 65 degrees and last week I only needed one thin blanket but this week one blanket leaves me too cold. I now need three blankets to sleep.

I still haven’t bothered to actually check my body temperature cause what’s the point really lol but it feels like it’s improving.

2 Likes
#9

Thanks for continuing to study this IBV

#10

It raised again. The past two nights I’ve been freezing with the temperature at 65 even with three relatively thin blankets.

I put the temperature at 68 last night after being too cold from 65 and it seemed to be okay but I was still cold. I think I might be able to start sleeping on a normal bed again cause even if I put more covers on top of myself I feel cold from the bottom of the air mattress.

My insomnia is steadily getting better along with my frequent urination. I wake up to use the bathroom a lot still, but I think I sleep at 7-8 hours a night now, I’m still groggy when I wake up but sometimes I solve that with a mid day nap. It might be that I have a lot of lost sleep from the past year to catch up on though.

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#11

I recall from some cutting edge sleep science researcher that napping is quite good for you though so long as it does not intrude on your sleep pressure at night so that you can still maintain a regular sleep schedule at night. May be even preferable over an equivalent time of meditation. Ideally you’d do both.

Sleep, Insomnia, and Recovery
#12

I perceive groggyness as being positive, like I’ve awoken from a deep sleep, rather than instantly snapping out of sleep as was the case after discontinuing use.

#13

I get decent sleep but wake up a lot too. I also feel grogginess, and much more so than pre-fin. It’s almost a dizziness and a tiredness/strain in the eyes. Kind of as if I was having a bender the night before.

#14

Grogginess probably is a good sign cause if you wake up from deep sleep you’re gonna be more tired versus light sleep.

I still have eye strain, both my eyes are usually red whether I sleep 8 hours or not. They’ve been less red when I’ve managed to over 9 hours of sleep a few times though.

The last few nights I’ve gotten at least 8 hours only waking up 1-3 times to use the restroom. It’s been a major relief. I went about a year and half of being tired and now it’s finally over. My body temperature still needs work but I can relax for now. I’m worried about it in the future when I’ll eventually get prostate problems due to BPH though.

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#15

This past week my body temperature/regulation got better again. I can sleep on my regular bed mattress if it’s 65 degrees. Usually lately I could only sleep on my bed if it was 57 degrees or lower, otherwise I would have to go back to sleeping on the air mattress cause the regular mattress traps too much body heat. I noticed it cause I tried to sleep on my air mattress one night when I knew the temperature was warmer but I was still cold and I tried to sleep on the bed but then I was too warm, it was really annoying, I had to keep figuring and balancing the temperature by changing from two long sleeve shirts to one and stuff.

Thinking back I don’t know if this topic has actually helped anyone besides me. I know other people have posted about low body temperature but I think I may have been one of the only people with sleep problems related to it though. LIke I finally checked my body temperature this year and I was at 97.0, but I’ve read that people who naturally have lower temperatures than that don’t have any problems sleeping, so I’m pretty sure regulation is the main side effect I’ve been dealing with. Either way it’s been a frustrating two years so far lol.

I’m far away from the days of needing it to be 47 degrees and sleeping on air mattress so I’m grateful but hopefully I keep improving.

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#17

This side effect hasn’t improved for me all that much anymore. I still need it to be cold to sleep. I’ve lost deposits and have left apartments because it doesn’t get cool enough in some buildings. I’m currently renting a house and I can’t get consistent sleep because it’s hard to control the temperature in a two story house. I turn it to 70 degrees and it doesn’t feel like 70 so I have to lower it and it gets annoying. I want to break the lease but I’m just going to keep throwing money away moving. Shit is no guarantee I’ll be able to sleep consistently in a place whenever I move.

How the fuck am I the only person in the world with this severe of a body temperature sleeping side effect. I’ve seen nobody else report they need it really cool to sleep. I can’t wait to die, I’m not dealing with this shit and other side effects no matter how mild they are for the rest of my life.

#18

Hey, man.

I also had what you’re describing in the first month. It felt so hot while laying in bed, and I couldn’t sleep. It’s not just you.

#19

I put severe because I can’t sleep without it being cold, it never went away for me, I know someone who went through chemo and they have the same problems as us with the light sleeping, body temp, and waking up throughout the night but nobody’s I’ve read is as bad as mine.

#20

I found a new way to sleep that doesn’t require actual AC, but instead with fans. I can sleep at any temperature now. Sleep isn’t as deep compared to the AC, but it’s good enough with 7-9 hours seeing as I tried a lot of different rooms and temperatures that didn’t always work with AC.

I sleep with 1-2 box fans next to my bed blowing at me, on my side with them pointed at my back. I still wake a few times a night to use the bathroom and sometimes I can sleep with the fans pointed at my stomach, but the window is usually short depending on how long I’ve slept cause of body temperature. Usually the longer I’ve been sleeping the higher my body temp is since I’m close to waking up, so I have to revert back to pointing them at my back to get back to sleep. But if I just change positions on the bed I can always have them pointing at my back so it doesn’t matter. Just a thought though.

When it’s like 80 degrees inside the house I don’t wear a shirt, when it’s 70 or lower I wear a very thin long sleeve shirt. And I use a breathable blanket so the air can get through.

I’d encourage anyone who has trouble sleeping to try this, it might help.

Anyway, this part of the nightmare is over finally.

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#21

I can now fall asleep without any AC or fans on a regular bed. It helps with keeping your body cool enough to fall asleep.

I just have to sleep without a shirt or cover on. I usually fall asleep on my back. Then when I wake up to pee, I fall back asleep on my side with a cover (a thin sheet or two, not a thick cover) cause I’m usually colder after the initial sleep, but I leave my back exposed and don’t cover it.

For people that can’t sleep this might help.