Temperature and air humidity as factors influencing sleep and wakefulness

Summary In experiments on rats we studied the influence of temperature (21, 27 and 33° C) and air humidity (50, 70 and 90 %) on the duration of sleep and insomnia.The sleep of an animal, exposed to variously warm and humid air for 24 hours, is shortened the more, the higher the humidity and temperature of air. After insomnia lasting 24 hours and preceeded by an exposure to variously warm and humid air for one hour, sleep debt is increased at the rate at which air humidity and temperature of the exposure is raised. Similar changes of the animal's sleep depth occur also in such cases where the exposure of the animal is carried out during insomnia.