How to sleep well in a heatwave
What’s worse than tossing and turning all night in a muggy bedroom? Sweat-soaked hair and tossed sheets never make for a good night’s sleep, and often leave us crabby in the morning.
As we face record-high temperatures here in the UK, I wanted to share some tips to sleep well in a heatwave.
How to sleep well in a heatwave
Prep Your Room During the Day
Surprisingly, you can do a lot of the heavy lifting in this battle while you’re at work!
Keep your windows at home closed and blinds drawn during the day to keep the outside heat from creeping inside.
If you can, it’s worth investing in some blackout curtains to do an even better job – 30 percent better, in fact, than regular curtains.
When you’re back for the night, try spritzing some water on your curtains and partially closing them over your open window.
The breeze will cool as it blows past the water in the curtains and into your room acting as natural air conditioning!
Use the Best Bedding
Constantly flipping your pillow to get the cool side?
Try investing in a breathable pillow that uses airflow to stay cool throughout the night.
It will help circulate air around your head to keep your temperatures low, and help you sleep through the night!
Also, make sure you’re ditching the fancy silk or polyester sheets and going for the classic: cool cotton.
It’s much more breathable and lightweight than other fabrics and will keep you cooler for longer.
Check out some of my other cool bedding tips here.
Go for an Evening Jog
Contrary to popular belief, running at night doesn’t keep you up, it actually preps your body for rest.
Your body craves sleep after exercise to rebuild its muscles, no matter the temperature.
A brief run at night also immediately lowers your stress levels which makes it easier to ignore temperature discomfort at bedtime.
Plus, even though it’s not immediate, if you exercise regularly enough to get your resting heart rate down, it’ll become easier for your body to cool itself naturally.
Just be careful not to overheat while working out and make sure you’re drinking plenty of water.
Many avid readers will know that I’m taking on my first half marathon in September so training on an evening is working for me.
Choose the Right Nightwear
Although many people believe that sleeping in the nude is the best way to keep cool, the best option for beating the heat is to wear an oversized cotton t-shirt.
The large size keeps air flow around your body, and the fabric will wick away sweat to keep your body temperature down.
If you’re able to sleep wearing an eye mask, try a gel pearl eye mask that can be frozen.
Not only do these help alleviate some of the beauty issues that arise in heat waves, it also chills the blood vessels and nerves in your face which can help lower your overall body temperature and block out some of the light too!
Eat Smartly
Surprisingly, your diet can have an impact on your body’s temperature, so it’s important to watch what you eat before bed.
Try enjoying a late-night snack that retains a lot of water, like cucumbers, watermelons, or apples, and avoid alcohol that dehydrates you.
Also, try to avoid cooking inside your home where possible. An oven or stove can significantly increase the temperature of a small home when it’s on for a prolonged period of time.
Take the night off to keep your house cool, and treat yourself to a grilled dinner, takeaway or eat out at a restaurant. Just tell yourself it’s an investment in your sleep!
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What tricks do you use to stay cool in the summer heat? Let me know in the comments below.
This is a collaborative post. If you’d like to work with me please visit my contact/work with me page for more information.
Other related posts
Here’s 10 tips to keep your home cool in summer
If you’re worried about your energy bills I’ve got a post packed full of useful information.
Here’s 10 tips to tackle condensation in your home
Here’s 10 tips to stay warm at home this winter
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This is something I’ve really been struggling with for a while! It’s awful! Lol
Lainy x https://bookishbitsblogblog.wordpress.com
Great post with some brilliant tips most of which I do already but interesting about nightwear.
It can make a big difference 😊
Good luck with the marathon preparation Rachael!!
Thank you. I need it!!
Great post, Rachel and I can attest to the running at night helping you sleep tip. It certainly does. Another tip is going to bed with wet hair. It helps keep you cool on those hot sticky nights!
I do this too! Just put in in plaits 😊
Good idea! I never thought of doing this! I bet your hair turns out wavy and soft in the morning!
It does 😊
Sorry, I spelled your name wrong. I have a friend who spells hers Rachel and I got you two mixed up! 🙂
No problem 😊
Great tips, thank you! Suffering here in Athens, Greece this summer. I will definitely try spritzing water on the curtains 🙂
It does help 😊
It helps to keep things shut over the day time.
Here in Holland it’s very hot as well. We are going up to 35 Celcius on tuesday.
I mean WOW! :S
I usually do try to just shower warm and drink some hot drinks in the morning. It’s better for your body as you can ‘sweat it out’ easier.
I used to love cold showers and then I read it isn’t that good on hot days.
Interesting read hun!
Love,
Rose – http://www.rainbowsdreamcloud.com
Thank you. Yeah it’s not good for your body you can get cold water shock.
Nodding so much here! I’ve been going for my runs in the evening the last couple of weeks and it has really helped. Blackouts are an absolute must too! You have me wanting to invest in new pillows now though…x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
It’s all the little things that add up that make a difference. It’s just soooo hot!!
A night run sounds lovely! Good idea to wear yourself out so you can sleep better. I keep a box fan in the window at night and it fills the room with cool air. Helps a ton.
Just little things that can make a difference 😊
You always come up with an idea or 2 or 3 have never heard before so thank you
Thanks for reading Carol 🙂
Thanks for some really great tips! I had never heard the one about running, but good luck in your training. I do know that keeping the curtains closed during the day is advisable. I close the blinds every time I leave a room (just to keep it cooler). 👍🏽
Thank you 🙂 Keeping blinds/curtains closed does make such a difference.
Great tips! ^_^ Heh too bad I have a 3 yr old who acts like a radiator and loves to try and sleep on top of me. Ooph.
You have really nailed this one, Rachael – many of these tricks are new to me! YES on the blackout curtains, though. My mama lives in a big old house with no AC, and it gets quite warm there in the summer – but she has a whole-house attic fan. So summer is like a science at her house. During the day, all the curtains are drawn and the doors/windows are closed. And she has an indoor/outdoor thermometer in her bedroom. As soon as the outside temp drops one degree cooler than the inside temp, it’s time to throw open all the doors and turn the fan on high. The fan draws in the cooler outside air and sucks the hot air up into the attic, from which it exhausts it out of the house. By morning the whole house is cooled off, and the process repeats. My personal favorite (besides insisting that our new house contain AC!) is to sit on the edge of the tub before bed and rinse my feet in cold water, which helps to cool off my whole body (but a quick cool shower is even better!)
I’m from the USA, where basically everyone has air conditioning. Now that I live in Germany, well…we definitely don’t have air conditioning. Last year was unseasonably cold, but this year has been like living in Hell. If Hell was also humid.
These tips are great! Perhaps next year we’ll invest in those black-out curtains. For now, we definitely keep the blinds drawn all day. Which really sucks because it’s nice outside, but…what can you do?
This is such a helpful post Rachael. I’m loving the tip about spritzing some water on your curtains to make natural air conditioning, that’s genius! I agree with baggy clothes. I’m wearing my boyfriends tshirts at the moment to sleep in as it’s the only thing that keeps me cool. Also, swimming! I usually go late afternoon and it’s so refreshing. Thank you for sharing your suggestions 💖 xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
Thanks Bexa. I bet it’s really warm where you guys are!!
As a Texan in August, this is really valuable information.
[…] I have two recent posts packed full of tips to beat the heat – the first is 10 tips to keep your home cool in summer and the second is how to sleep in a heatwave. […]
These are great tips for me, right now! We are having a muggy summer here in British Columbia.
I hope they help – I also have tips to keep your home cool too which I know have helped a lot of people.
Thank you for the great tips!
These are wonderful tips!!
Thank you 😊
I love how practical and well written these tips are. Some I’ve never even though about before, and I live in the tropics, ha!
Thank you – I hope some of them can help you too!
Thank you for sharing this Rachael. We have just had a very warm spell for the last 2-3 weeks. Fortunately its a bit cooler at the moment, but with all the fires here in BC we now have the heavy smoke hanging over us. I will share on FB and tweet this
We’ve had some really bad grass and field fires over here. The heat has made so much of the land so dry any small flame just ignited massive fires. Hopefully it’ll return to normal soon!
An evening jog is a great idea 🙂 We had a heatwave earlier this summer and, yikes, it was tough to sleep sometimes. I’m happy to get these tips in case the heatwave returns!
The heatwave seems to have calmed down over here but these tips will come in handy I’m sure!
We’re fighting the heat wave in southern California also. We haven’t had a break for five weeks straight of upper 99F. Yes, we try to open the doors and leave the screen doors open early in the morning when it’s in 70sF, as soon as the heat goes up, we close all the doors and windows. I think we’ll survive. Many of your tips are very helpful. 🙂
That is hot! Hope some of these tips might help you 🙂
I love this! This is especially helpful this time around when it’s unexpectedly scorching even when we’re nearing Ber months like whattt 😩
I absolutely agree with having the best bedding! Nothing is more comfy than cotton bedsheets and pillowcases on a hot night 💕
I totally agree thanks 🙂
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Ugh the weather in the UK has been so unbearably hot recently with no air con! I have never thought of spritzing the curtains though that is such a great idea! x
londonsnewgirl.blog
Thanks for the tips! I always struggle with the heat and there’s some stuff I’ve never tried here. I’ll have to give them a go when it starts to get even warmer.
My husband definitely needs to read this! I can sleep like a log under my duvet in this weather, but he will be up all night. I’ve never thought of spritzing the curtains – that is a great idea!