Soaring temperatures mean one thing: sleepless nights. Although the warm summer days are blissful, that same heat becomes oppressive during the night, interfering with our sleep hygiene.
From the constant heat causing you to toss and turn, to the sound of the fan pushing hot air around the room, it’s important to take action to ensure you get the sleep you need.
We’ve pulled together our 10 favourite tips for sleeping in hot weather.
Go Nude
Sleeping naked regulates temperature and keeps you cool(er), but only around a fifth of people do it. It provides all-important air flow around the body, with the added benefit that it can help you feel less claustrophobic.
Blackout Bliss
Investing in blackout curtains or blinds, and keeping them closed during the day, prevents the sunlight from heating the room up during the day. Depending on your bedtime, they also provide the darker sleep conditions needed to drift off. A perfect purchase for both adults and children alike, pairing blackout window dressings with a fan to help keep the air moving around the room should ensure that your bedroom is cool enough to sleep in.
Tog Down For Summer
The optimum sleep temperature is around 18°C, which can be a challenge to achieve without an expensive air conditioning unit on those long, balmy summer evenings. Opting for thin cotton sheets or choosing lower Tog rated duvets of between 1 - 4.5 will help to keep you cooler under the covers. Alternatively, if you’re not looking to invest in a summer duvet, take a page from the French and sleep with unfilled sheets!
Warm Yourself Up
It sounds counter intuitive, but a hot drink before bed can help you cool down at bedtime. We like a hot cup of herbal tea, as a two in one, that gets you relaxed and helps reduce your body temperature. Choose a sleepy tea, or something with chamomile, to help you relax and wind down. The heat of the liquid will then cause your body to get warmer and sweat, which then cools your skin and lowers body temperature in the process.
In the same way as a hot drink before bed can work wonders, a soak in a lukewarm bath or shower, again helps the body naturally reduce in temperature.
Change It Up
Warm, humid summer conditions cause the dreaded house dust mite to thrive and multiply in their thousands. It poses a nightmare for allergy sufferers – triggering symptoms such as a blocked nose, repetitive sneezing and even breathing difficulties. Changing bedding regularly, washing it at a temperature of at least 60°C, can help keep the little creatures at bay.
Get The Right Bedding
Natural fibres are essential when choosing pillowcases or sheets. Cotton, linen, and silk sheets have breathable qualities which cool down your skin in the night, as well as absorbing your sweat and drawing it away from you, helping it to evaporate.
Specialist sheets are also helpful on those hot summer nights. Our Tencel sheets are designed to stay cool, being very breathable with a silky touch. Alternatively, lavender scented sheets have the aromatic power to calm and aid sleep, so if you find yourself getting irritated at not being able to fall asleep, which in turn keeps you up for longer, these might be the dream sheets for you.
The Big Chill
Sometimes, nothing will work other than a freezing cold air conditioning unit. Of course, we can’t all have those in our homes, so a handy tip is to pop a bowl of ice cubes in front of your fan to achieve a cool breeze as it circulates the room, faking that air conditioning experience! Alternatively, fill a hot water bottle with freezing cold ice water to pop inside your pillowcase.
Target The Heat Zones
When choosing a pillow, think about replacing your snug, fluffy winter pillow with a firmer alternative. The head is one of the hottest areas of the body and a firm pillow will allow the heat to disperse easier. If you’re super organised, pop your pillowcase into the freezer (in a sealable plastic bag so it doesn’t get wet) just before bedtime – true bliss!
Make Sure Your Mattress Is Breathable
Synthetic materials, such as memory foam, will only cause for you to overheat as you sleep – they hold onto the heat from your body to mould around you. The easiest way to prevent memory foam overheating is to opt for mattresses full of natural, breathable materials instead. Cotton and wool are two of the most popular materials in the luxury mattress world, primarily because they are the most breathable, regulating your body temperature and wicking away moisture as you sleep.
We’ve recently launched our own range of mattresses, specifically designed to be breathable, so you can sleep soundly (and coolly!) every single night.
Avoid Naps
Although the hot weather makes you feel lethargic and craving a siesta, avoid naps during the day as they will leave you feeling less tired at bedtime. The key to a great night’s sleep is keeping to a routine. Put your phone down at the same time every night, journal, read a book, or listen to a calming podcast. A relaxing aromatherapy oil, rolled onto the inside of your wrists can work wonders. Allow your body to wind down and hold yourself accountable to making sure this is at the same time each evening.
Creating the right sleep environment at this time of the year just requires a bit of careful planning and preparation but getting it right will be one of the determining factors of improving your sleep.
