Could a wrist brace be keeping me up all night?

June 8, 2015 8:58 AM

Could wearing a snug wrist brace cause my body temperature to lower and keep me up all night?

I've been wearing a wrist brace the last two nights to deal with an injury. Coincidentally, the last two nights, I've woken up in the middle of the night, and struggled to fall back asleep due to light sweating and feeling warm. I took my brace off in the middle of the night last night and was able to get back to sleep.

My apartment is otherwise cool and I've had normal nights of sleep prior to wearing this brace. Is there an explanation for this?

posted by alligatorman to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

There is research on cooling perceived body temperature using just a hand in ice or cool water so I wouldn't be at all surprised if it also worked in the other direction. I sometimes wear a sweatband on arm when I run and I always find it unbearably warm on my wrist at first.
posted by srboisvert at 10:08 AM on June 8, 2015

A commonly shared body "hack" is to hold a cold drink on your wrists when you're overheated. So it could certainly be the brace causing this.
posted by phunniemee at 11:38 AM on June 8, 2015

Are you taking any medications in addition to wearing the brace?
posted by aecorwin at 1:35 PM on June 9, 2015