June 25th, 2020 by Chris Chapman

Chill Out at Bedtime

While many of us are enjoying the summer heat through the day, it’s often a different story at bedtime. Trying to sleep in a muggy, sticky heat is no fun at all, as you’ll likely know if you’re reading this! If you’re reading this while struggling to sleep, don’t worry – try one of these cool tips to help you chill out.

Put Your Sheets in the Freezer

It sounds drastic, but it’s true – putting your bedsheets in the freezer will definitely help you stay cool! Make sure they’re securely wrapped in a plastic bag and pop them in the freezer for 15-30 minutes. The bag will protect the sheet from getting covered in ice, and after a few minutes, you’ll be left with clean, fresh, ice-cold sheets. Obviously, this won’t keep your sheets cold all night, but it may provide enough quick relief for you to drop off to sleep.

Sleep Downstairs

If you’re struggling to sleep in the bedroom, it might be worth decamping downstairs. As you’re probably aware, hot air rises, which means it’s likely to be warmer upstairs. If your bedroom is unbearably hot, take some pillows and blankets and move downstairs. It might not be as comfortable as your bed, but the temperature will be lower.

Take a Shower

Taking a shower before bed can help you sleep on a hot night. However, while that cold shower might sound tempting, it may not actually help you sleep. A lukewarm shower is likely to be much better for you. This might sound strange, but – as we’ll explain later – your body carefully regulates its own temperature to get you ready for sleep. Getting in a shower that’s too cold is refreshing, but it could cool you down too much, making you more alert. If you get in a lukewarm shower, your body will work to cool itself down, expanding your blood vessels and encouraging heat loss through your skin. When you step out of a warm shower, the air in your bathroom will feel cooler. Your body will find it easier to cool down naturally this way, so you’ll find it easier to drift off to sleep.

Get a Fan with a Timer

Getting the hot, stale air circulating around your room will help get rid of that stifling, sticky feeling that you experience on a warm night. While opening your window is a good way to do this, that comes with problems of its own. For one, the cooling effect may not be that great, especially if there isn’t much of a breeze. It can also make your door or blinds rattle and can allow buzzing insects into your bedroom.

All of this means that, if you need to cool down quickly, a fan is a no-brainer. They’ll get the air circulating around your room more evenly and effectively than an open window would, without any of the downsides. They also put you in control, so you can position your fan where you’ll get the most out of it.

Despite all of this, you shouldn’t rush out and buy the first fan you can find. You’ll want a quiet fan that you can easily tune out as you fall asleep, so a tower fan is a perfect fit. This is because the blades of a tower fan are inside the unit, so they naturally muffle the sound a bit more than other models. You should look out for a model with a remote control, too. The benefits of this are obvious – if your fan’s not set quite right, you can adjust it without getting out of bed.

Finally, look for a model that’s fitted with a timer. This will allow you to program your fan to switch off automatically through the night. If you’ve ever switched a fan on, fallen asleep, and then woken up freezing cold in the night, you’ll understand why this is useful! It’ll also help you reduce your electricity costs – while fans use barely any energy and will only cost a few pence a night to run, this will still save you some money over the course of a summer.

Why Is It Important to Stay Cool Before You Sleep?

We humans are daytime creatures. Our bodies are programmed to be active during the day and to sleep and recharge during the night. To help with this, your body temperature drops slightly at night to get you feeling ready for bed. This means that, if your room is too hot, your body won’t be able to lower its temperature as effectively, which can make it much harder to fall asleep.

Studies have found that room temperature is one of the most important factors that influence sleep. Another major American study found that most people suffer from disrupted sleep patterns in summer, and while the UK doesn’t usually have the sustained high temperatures that many American states do, the current heatwave proves it’s still an issue over here.