Getting The Best Nights Sleep In The Heat Of Summer

Summer is the favourite time of year for many of us. There’s not many a better way to spend a sunny day than siting in your garden enjoying the warmth or having a relaxing day by the beach. Unfortunately, it can easily reach uncomfortable levels of temperature for us, especially when we sleep. And because we naturally sleep better in cold temperatures, it’s wise to rethink our routine, when it comes to preparing for bed.
The best way to keep your room temperature down is air conditioning. But if you live in the UK it is unlikey that you will have one. So let’s explore alternative ways to making sure our sleep isn’t disturbed during these hot summer’s nights.

Use a fan 

Fans help moving the air around your room and therefore you body, this in turn causes a pleasant cooling feeling due to the increasing evaporation of sweat. The best fan option for hot summer nights is a large ceiling fan, placed right above your bed.
They are big enough to create a pleasant breeze that will refresh all of your body at once! If you have a smaller fan, you can still enjoy it’s pleasant effect by creating your own DIY air-con system! Place it next to your bed with a bucket filled with ice cubes; the cool air from the melting ice cubes will rise, and the fan will blow it towards you.

Leave the windows open

If you live in a big city and mosquitos aren’t a problem (those living in a country may want to consider a mosquito net), leave your windows open. The more windows the better – those facing different directions will create a light breeze and will let the fresh air move faster. The only downside is if there is night time noise where you live, you will hear it all the more louder.

Cool your body before going to bed

If you get into bed and feel too warm right away, you are more likely to have hard time falling asleep. To avoid that, make sure you lower your body temperature with a help of a cool shower or bath. When you’re done, do not dry yourself fully, but lay on you bed, and let the remaining damp dry off naturally (it will cool you at the same time). Do not do this while soaking wet though as your bed linen will get soaked!
A great way to lower down your overall temperature is making sure your feet don’t get too warm. Wearing damp socks is a great way to achieve that, or if you don’t like the feeling of moistness, put the socks in a freezer for the day, and wear them during your sleep. You can do the same with your t-shirt.
Wetting your hair for the night with cold water is also an effective way to keep your body temperature lower, but you will have a damp pillow!

Bedding

Porous materials breathe the best. Thin cotton (rather than nylon) beddings are the best for hot nights – they absorb sweat rather than leave you covered in moisture. You can also try wicking materials (beddings as well as pyjamas), they’re great when it comes to to drawing moisture away from your skin and they dry quickly.
The material that your mattress is made of, might be a reason for being too warm. The best option would be the ones that let the air circulate through easily (like horse hair filled ones). These can be quite pricey though. As an alternative you can place a straw or bamboo mat on top of your mattress creating an extra space for the air.
For the maximum effect, put your pillowcases, sheets and blankets into freezer bags and place them in the freezer for the day. It may sound radical, but try it, it actually works!

Featured images:

License: Royalty Free or iStock
source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1393138
License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/864416
Author Graeme K: It was the recent change to Tempur pillows that made me think about what else can be changed in the bedroom for summer, and how to get a good nights sleep. We used to use pillow feathers, however both my girlfriend and I found our heads got too hot as they submerged into the pillow! So a change to memory foam happened and worked! However it has got hotter, so it’s now air circulation that we need to think about!