Hot summer nights can be enjoyable if you’re lounging on the patio sipping cocktails with friends and family. However, when you’re lying in bed trying to get to sleep, it can become very difficult to drift off when the temperature soars.
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Poor sleep can interfere with life in general by lowering productivity, increasing stress and driving hunger hormones, which leads to overeating and weight gain. Fortunately, there are many things you can do when the mercury rises to stay comfortable and cool, so that you can get the restful sleep you need. Try one of these techniques and you should be sleeping better in no time at all.
1. Ice Pack In Your Sheets
When you’re feet are hot, the rest of your body could feel hot too. Just like you’d use a hot water bottle in the winter to keep feet warm, use a frozen one in the summer to keep feet cool. Simply place the frozen water bottle between your sheets and you’ll feel instant relief all night long.
2. Use Cotton Sheets
Cotton is best for hot summer nights because it is incredibly breathable, and is much better at promoting air flow to cool you down than other fabrics like silk or satin.
3. Dampen The Sheets
This is a trick that is common in Egypt where it routinely gets very hot. Get your sheets a bit damp before you go to bed, and that moisture should help cool you off all through the night. You know how good it feels to roll into a spot that has cooled off and the dampness enhances that effect.
4. Wear Loose Pajamas
If you don’t like sleeping in the nude, make sure your pajamas are loose-fitting and made of cotton materials. This helps wick moisture if you find yourself sweating during the night, and also helps circulate the air around your body so that you aren’t stifling.
5. Lower Your Bed
Heat rises, so it makes sense that putting your bed lower to the ground will help keep you cooler. If you can’t lower your bed, consider sleeping in a hammock or on a cot that you can put closer to the floor in your sleeping space.
6. Keep The Lights Off
Light bulbs produce heat, so keeping them burning in your bedroom for hours before bed can heat up your space pretty quickly. Instead, turn those lights off, and read or do chores elsewhere. When you go to bed, your bedroom should be cooler and easier to sleep in.
7. Take A Cool Shower
Standing in the cool water of a shower helps lower your core body temperature, which makes you feel naturally cooler. Having wet hair when you go to bed also keeps your body temperature down.
8. Sleep Outside
If you have a safe backyard or patio space, you might want to move your bedding outside and sleep there. Heat tends to get trapped in the house during hot summer days, and it can take a while to cool back down. However, summertime air can get cool, so sleeping outside is an easy way to cool down, even in the hot season.
9. Don’t Touch
If you sleep with a partner or your kids, try not to touch each other while you’re sleeping. Your body heat will transfer and that will heat both of you up, making it pretty unbearable to get to sleep. There’s nothing wrong with separating during the night if you need to, so that you can both get the sleep you need.
10. Hang A Wet Sheet
This method works similarly to a swamp cooler or air conditioner. When a breeze blows through the wet sheet, the air cools down automatically. Hang a wet sheet in your bedroom window, and any wind that blows during the night will come through the screens immediately cooler, which will help lower the temperature in your sleeping space.
11. Create A Cross Breeze
When two sources of air are blowing from opposite ends of the room, it cools things down quickly. Set up a couple of fans on either side of your bedroom to create the effect.
12. Put Ice In Front Of The Fan
This is an old way of cooling off that was used for many generations before the invention of central air conditioning. Fill a large bowl with ice, and position it directly in front of the flow of a fan. The air will be much colder that way.
13. Put Ice On Pulse Points
Cold applied directly to your pulse points is a fast and easy way to cool off. Press an ice cube to the pulse points on your wrists, elbows, feet, knees and neck for an instant cool down.
14. Try A Cooling Pad
Many mattress manufacturers market pads that are designed to cool down your entire bed. All you have to do is place the item under your sheets for a much cooler sleeping environment.
15. Drink Before Bed
Filling your belly with cool water just before you lie down lowers your core temperature and helps prevent dehydration if you sweat in your sleep due to the high temperatures. If you wake up during the night, sip a bit more so you can get back to sleep easier.
16. Don’t Use Your Stove
The stove isn’t in your bedroom, but heating it up during the summer can cause the entire house to become hotter. Skip anything that has to be cooked inside, and make use of your grill or smoker to prepare meals. You can also choose more ready to eat foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, which is another easy way to cut back on the heat circulating through your house.
17. Switch Your Mattress
Traditional mattresses don’t circulate air as well as many other options. Experts suggest switching to a bamboo or straw mattress during the summer to keep your entire body cooler.
18. Use A Grain Pillow
This is a fabric pillow that is filled with rice, buckwheat or some other type of grain. All you have to do is place it in the freezer before bed and then transfer it to your bed for a quick cool down that lasts for hours.
19. Dunk Your Feet
Because cool feet help keep the rest of your body cool, a quick foot bath in cold water can do wonders for your body temperature and make it much more comfortable to sleep during hot summer nights.
20. Point Fans Out
Instead of pointing your fans directly onto your body, try pointing them out of the window. This helps suck the hot air out of your room to the outside.
Staying comfortable during hot summer nights is an important way to ensure adequate sleep. Mix and match these methods to find the system that works best for you. Your health and your body will thank you!
