woman asleep in bed

Hot weather: Hacks to help you keep cool and sleep in the heat

The ideal temperature for sleep is around 16-18°C, but when the mercury rises that is very hard to achieve. Here are our top tips to get a good night’s sleep:

Switch to bamboo bedding

man with tattoos on his arms laying in bed smiling

If you’re tossing and turning all night long you may think that your natural cotton sheets are the best way to keep cool at night, but surprisingly they could be one of the reasons you’re getting hot and bothered! Cotton is an extremely absorbent material, when you start getting hot it absorbs your sweat and traps the moisture in the material. Once your sheets are saturated, your sweat has nowhere to go and can’t evaporate properly meaning your body can’t naturally cool itself like it’s supposed to. But it doesn’t stop there, trapped moisture reflects your body heat back to you making you even warmer, causing you to overheat and wake often.

The new fabric du jour is bamboo, it works with your body to maintain a perfect temperature all night long. Bamboo has many natural abilities, including the ability to quickly wick heat and moisture away from you, in fact twice as fast as cotton, reducing the humidity in your bed by 50%! Rather than becoming trapped like in traditional cotton bedding, this moisture rises to the surface of your organic bamboo bedding and evaporates. If you’re also experiencing the double whammy of peri- or menopausal symptoms, bamboo bedding is a life-changer!

Block the light

white wooden window shutters open looking on to garden

If the weather forecast for the day is warm, keep bedroom blinds and curtains during the day to avoid further heating by the sun. Then 1-2 hours before bed open the windows to let the cooler air flow through. We recommend wooden shutter like those from Just Shutters, wood acts as a natural heat conductor, helping to keep your room cool during the summer months.

Keep chilled

A fan can help create a refreshing breeze, add a bowl of ice in front of it to intensify the cooling sensation and blow cool air around your room. If you are conscious of the increased energy costs, add a timer plug so that it just runs for the first hour or two. Fans also have the added benefit of creating white noise, this can block out distractions such as traffic (and snoring!) and lull you gently to sleep.

Keep the same routine

It’s tempting when the weather is hot to go to bed later and change our wind down routines, however to main a healthy circadian rhythm it is important to stay in routine.

Avoid cold showers

If you shower before bed, tepid water is actually better than cold water, as cold water can actually raise body temperature.

Keep hydrated

Woman in bed with a sleep mask on drinking tea

We recommend upping your water intake during the day to keep you hydrated and reduce night-time waking from thirst. Just minimise the amount an hour before bedtime to avoid midnight bathroom trips! A warm cup of caffeine-free Sleeping Beautea is the ideal window drink. As part of an optimal bedtime routine it is best to avoid alcohol, this is even more important in hot weather as affects your nervous system, causing a fluctuation in blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature.

www.allaboutsleep.co.uk

 

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