Can’t Sleep In The Heat? Here’s How To Stay Cool At Night.

Who else is melting in this heat? The whole of the UK has been (mostly) enjoying a heatwave for the past couple of weeks, and it doesn’t look like we’re returning to cooler weather any time soon. It’s not that we’re complaining, it’s not often we can whinge about how warm it is in our wee part of the world after all. But come on, who can get to sleep properly when it’s so hot outside! 

If you’ve found yourself struggling to beat the heat you’re not the only one. Loads of people have flocked to social media and vented about struggling with getting to sleep and dealing with the high temperatures. Even we’re having a hard time, and we’re the experts. But since we want everyone to enjoy the rare warmth we’re getting, we’ve decided to collect our favourite ways to drift off during a heatwave and share them, you’re welcome.

Get Clever With Homemade Air-Conditioning

 

              Get Creative With Home-Grown Air Conditioning

In the UK one of the worst things about summertime (aside from all the midges) is the fact that hardly any houses are built with air conditioning built-in. Usually, the closest we get to the air-con is a handheld fan, opening all the windows and doors, or just hanging out in the fridge section of the supermarket for a bit too long. Luckily we have plenty of ideas on how to get that frozen veg aisle feeling at home:

Cross Ventilation

One way to get plenty of fresh air is with a little bit of clever adjusting of windows. To get a good bit of ventilation try opening windows and doors that are opposite each other with one opening a little bit smaller than the other. This improves the airflow in your house and makes a much breezier feel you’ll be grateful for come bedtime.

DIY Air Conditioning

Who needs a whole air conditioning unit when you can just get creative with a good old fashioned fan. It’s not a great idea to sleep with a fan on all night long since it can dry out your nose and make you feel like you have a cold which is the last thing you want. But for cooling your room before you sleep try placing a bowl of ice in front of an electric fan for homemade air-con

Invest In A Chill Pillow 

Take it from us, using the right pillow makes a huge difference to your sleep schedule. Of course, having the right mattress is a massive part of getting a great night’s sleep but a pillow makes more of a difference than you’d think, and that’s even without a boiling heatwave!

There are way more options out there than memory foam and feather pillows, and yes there are even options for drifting off. Flipping over the cool side of the pillow is a staple of every summer induced restless night but why not treat yourself to the best of both sides? 

 

The Nordic Snow Pillow features chill fabric that helps dissipate body heat up to ten times faster than regular old cotton and are cold to the touch, even through pillowcases. Or, the OTTY Cool Blue Pillow is a dream come true for regulating your temperature while you sleep.

Keep The Sun Out Of Your Space

We don’t get a lot of sunshine where we are, so it can be tempting to make the most of it when it is here. However, while it’s all fun and games during the day, heading to bed in a stiflingly hot room at night puts an end to any kind of summer fun pretty quickly. The good news is that there’s a pretty easy way to put a stop to that.

Throughout the day, close your curtains and blinds to keep the sun out and stop your bedroom from overheating throughout the day. Blackout blinds are a serious lifesaver this time of year with all those super early sunrises, and they’re also amazing for keeping the sun out of your room and helps to keep it cooler.

Switch Up Your Summer Bedding 

A lot of traditional cotton bedsheets aren’t exactly breathable, so it’s important to switch out your bedding for more seasonally appropriate options for summery temperatures. Everyone’s had the “too hot to sleep with covers, can’t sleep without covers” dilemma at some point during the summer, but you’d be surprised how much of a difference a good bit of breathable bedding can do. 

 

If you haven’t already swapped out your duvet for a lighter version we 100% recommend switching out, you won’t regret the change. A good mattress protector is an underrated must-have for every bed, and the Cool Mattress Protector (as in temperature but we think they’re the other kind of cool too) is a great way to regulate your temperature while you sleep.

Hydration, Hydration, Hydration

We know we know, telling you to drink plenty of water is stating the very obvious but it bears repeating! We don’t get warm weather too often so make the most of it and enjoy all the fun parts of summery weather. However, while you have fun in the fun it’s important to keep safe with suncream (who can sleep with a sunburn after all) and plenty of downtime in the shade. 

When it comes to your sleep it’s worth investing in cooling bed accessories like pillows and mattress protectors and ensuring you drink plenty of water and avoid exercising in the hot weather makes all the difference when it comes to riding the heatwave.