It’s difficult to fall asleep when you’re feeling hot and can lead to a frustrating and restless night. Instead of waking up refreshed and raring to go, you can feel tired and irritable. Not a great to start to the day!
But of course in summer it’s impossible to avoid these sultry nights. Fortunately, there are things you can do to help you stay cool and enjoy a quality night’s sleep. Here are some ways to help you wake up feeling recharged and ready for anything.
Silentnight Cotton Breeze Memory Foam Pillow
I hadn’t realised, until I tried one out recently, that some memory foam pillows (and even mattresses) are specially designed to keep you cool. I was sent a sample of the Silentnight Cotton Breeze Memory Foam pillow to try. This unique pillow has a cleverly designed, perforated memory foam shell, and mesh walls, allowing increased air movement around the pillow to maintain a cooler sleeping surface. In turn, this encourages a deeper, more restful night’s sleep. With its memory foam core wrapped in comfy hollowfibre, it’s an ideal adaptive pillow for back and side sleepers.
I had a good night’s sleep on it – I found it really comfortable and didn’t get hot and sweaty. With just the right firmness and support, it’s neither too thick and not too flat; I’m a one pillow sleeper and so for me it was just perfect. I particularly like the fact it also has a soft, breathable (and removable for washing) cotton cover, featuring a luxurious striped pattern. It is hypoallergenic too, so won’t trigger allergies with any of its materials – and better still, it comes with a two year guarantee.
This pillow will be on special offer for one day only on 8th July via QVC, so is definitely one sleep solution worth checking out.
Air conditioning units & fans
Sometimes having the windows open and a ceiling fan whirring, or just a floorstanding or table top fan (try placing a cooling jug of iced water in front of it!) is enough to circulate the air and make the bedroom more comfortable. However when it is very hot, sticky and humid, an air conditioning unit can be a great option. You can opt for a portable unit, as an alternative to having air con installed permanently. Consider the size of your bedroom and how powerful you need the unit to be. You may want extra features like a timer.
Natural fibres in bedding & nightwear
Your sheets and duvet cover should be made of 100% cotton or linen, as should your nightwear, as these are naturally cooling, better at allowing air to circulate and sweat to evaporate than some synthetic fibres. Also put away the winter duvet with a high tog rating and opt for a thin, lightweight summer duvet instead. The tog rating relates to how warm a duvet is, so a higher tog means a warmer duvet, a lower tag a cooler duvet. So in the summer a 2 to 7 tog rating is the range you should be looking at. For me a 4.5 tog is just about right.
Prepare the bedroom for sleep
According to The Sleep Council, our bodies reach peak temperature in the evening, which then drops down when we sleep. The ideal bedroom temperature is 16-18°C (60-65°F) so why not pop a thermometer in your bedroom. To try and regulate the heat, you should keep blinds and curtains closed during the day when the sun is out, so heat isn’t allowed to build up in the room. Then open them up in the evening, along with the windows, too, to let some fresh air in once it has got a little cooler.
Avoid having electrical items that give off heat switched on in the bedroom e.g. TV, laptop, hairdryer, hair straighteners etc.
Prepare your body for sleep
Staying hydrated is important in the heat so always take a glass of water to bed and avoid tea, coffee and alcohol in the evening as it will make you more dehydrated. Things like exercising and digesting a late meal raises your body temperature, so it’s best to avoid doing both later on in the evening. Try having a cool shower before bed – even a warm one will help before you go to sleep (your body temperature lowers when you step out of the shower). Then once you’re in bed, you could try sleeping with light clothing or none at all – and instead of a hot water bottle, take an iced water bottle to bed! A water mist bottle can be sprayed on the face, or a cool flannel on the forehead may help. Don’t overstimulate your brain by scrolling on your phone, instead read a few pages of a book to help you get sleepy and with all the other tips above, you’ll increase the chance of a much better night’s sleep!
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© Copyright 2019 Antonia, All rights Reserved. Written For: Tidylife
