Warm temperatures delight heart and soul – during the day. At night, however, the heat can increase and cause sleep problems – nighttime recovery is impaired. Read how you can get a good night’s sleep despite the summer heat. We roll restlessly from one side to the other. There is no breeze in the room, we sweat and a good night’s sleep is impossible. This is what happens to many in summer temperatures. Because even if the temperatures drop below 20 degrees at night, that does not always help to noticeably cool down the room temperatures.
There is air in the bedroom, the body is sticky, sleep is out of the question. The optimal room temperature for sleeping is 16 to 19 degrees Celsius. During the summer months, it is often significantly warmer at night. What to do? The right conditions are required for a restful sleep.
We often suffer from sleeplessness due to the discomfort caused or because we feel hot. Sleeplessness is not at all good for health. You need to get sufficient rest to remain healthy as well as to carry on with your day-to-day activities. And this can be achieved only if you feel cool and relaxed. But how to stay cool at night? It involves steps at both physical and mental levels. Read on to know about the ways by which it can be achieved:
- Have Cooling Options at Home: The advancement of technology has given us a number of cooling options to lower the temperature of your bed-room. You may use an air-conditioner or even an electric cooler. Fans create breezes that cool bare skin, but they don’t cool the air by themselves as most people think. They just circulate the air. But when used strategically, fans can be used to force cold air into your room like an air conditioner. The easiest way is to place the fan near an open window. The outside temperature is cooler than the inside temperature at night, so the colder outside air can enter your bedroom. Position the fan head so that it is facing your body and you will have a cool outside breeze, even if it’s not windy outside. If you don’t have a suitable window in your bedroom to leave open all night, give it a try. Get a large bowl of water, fill it with as much ice as you can, and place it behind the head of your fan.
- Wear Light Clothes: You should always wear lighter clothes that will help you in keeping cool. Such clothes help in a better circulation of the air and give you a breezy feeling. The dress that you wear to bed should not only be made using a thinner material but should also be loose in fitting too.
- Tie Your Hair: If you have got long hair, tie it up irrespective of your gender. Untied hair will make you feel uncomfortable and will also not let you stay cool. So, it is better to tie it up neatly. However, do not tie it too tightly. This will not be of any use and will rather hamper your sleep. Also, do not try out any fashionable hair-style and do not use a lot of clips and bands. Try out something simple and clean.
- Keep the Windows Open: Let there be a proper circulation of air in your room. Let the air circulate. And if the external noise becomes a problem here, use earplugs to avoid the same.
- Take a Shower before Going to the Bed: Always have a refreshing shower (using lukewarm water) before you go off to sleep. You can even add a few drops of an essential oil to feel refreshed. Avoid this only if it is extremely cold or in case you are sick. When it is hot, many people want a cold shower. But the effect of the cold water only lasts for a short time. Rather, the cycle is stimulated and the newly produced heat has the opposite effect. A lukewarm shower before going to bed or a short, not too hot bath with bath products such as mint, lavender or lemon balm refresh the body much more effectively. If you only dry yourself off afterwards, you will be pleasantly cool to bed thanks to the moisture film.
- Have a Light Dinner: A heavy dinner before going to the sleep can lead to digestion problems and will not allow you to stay cool. Instead, sweating and other related problems may occur. So, it is advisable that you have a lighter dinner and drink water after that to ensure a healthy digestion.
- Do Not Use Thicker Coves and Blankets: Do not unnecessarily use covers or blankets which will make you feel hot. You must prefer the thinner Duvets that are easily available. These will prevent your body from getting heated up and help you to stay cool.We recommend bed linen made of linen or natural silk, breathable sleeping clothes and a thin blanket that transports moisture and warmth to the outside. In many cases, mattresses have two differently covered sides for summer and winter – don’t forget to turn them! Another «cool» tip: Cold compresses on the calves ensure a pleasant coolness. The reverse use hot water bottle can also help. Filled with cold water, it provides relaxing cooling. A room spray with essential oils can, thanks to its calming effect, ensure that you go to the land of dreams as quickly as possible.
- Cooling Your Home: If you are living in a place with extremely hot climatic conditions, you will be required to maintain the temperature of your room. This can be done by pouring water over the roof. So that the bedroom heats up as little as possible, the room should be darkened during the day and the windows should remain closed. In the early morning and late evening, it is advisable to ventilate intensively for around 10 minutes. The windows can remain tilted during the night – ideally they are fitted with insect screens. After all, the humming and humming shouldn’t also rob you of sleep.
- Listen to Light Music: Staying cool is not only about the temperature but also about your mental state. So, you need to calm down first. Listening to good music can be a good option here. It will help your nerve muscles to relax and allow you to soothe.
- Read a Book: Reading book is something for which we do not get the time in today’s digital world. Many of us lack the patience for the same. But reading a book has been traditionally used as a way to fall asleep faster. However, you should not read thrillers or detective novels. Read something light, simple and fun. If you are stressed out due to the activities of the day or are tensed about the next day and are distracted as a result, books are something that will help you.
- A Less-Noisy Environment: A noisy environment is unfavorable of sleep. You must ensure that people around you do not make much noise which will disturb your sleep. If you are sleeping in an environment where there is a lot of mixed noise, you may use white noise to nullify it and stay cool during sleep.
- Pacify Your Brain: Let your brain think of nothing else. Do not think about your worries, your pain and do not feel tensed about something. You should not get distracted with any random thoughts coming into your mind. This can be done by counting the numbers from 1 to 100 and back from 100 to 1.
- Turn off all electrical appliances. They also produce heat. So no more watching TV in bed or playing around on the laptop.
Quality not quantity
But even though we sleep less in summer, the quality of sleep can be even better than in the darker months of the year. People are more active, exercise more in the fresh air, and maintain regular social contacts. All of this makes you fall asleep faster. “In the summer we also have fewer inquiries for the sleep laboratory,” says expert Penzel.
Research confirms that the shorter the time you spend in bed, the deeper your sleep. Apparently, the positive influence of summer on mood and quality of life can partly compensate for the disadvantages caused by heat and light. “If you are all well, you sleep better,” says Spiegelhalder. Sleep disorders often occur as a result of depressive moods – and these are more common in winter than in summer.
Don’t exercise too late in the evening
However, there are a few typical behavior errors that can negate the positive effect of summer: If you still do sport late at night because of the more pleasant temperatures, you will be wide awake and lively for hours afterwards. And those who celebrate the sociable evening in the beer garden with a large portion of roast pork and two liters of beer need not be surprised about sleep disorders.
“You shouldn’t eat anything heavy in the evening,” says Penzel. If you drink a lot late at night, you also have to go out more often at night. Alcohol is popular as a sleep aid, but it interferes with sleeping through the night: “A few hours later you are awake again and can no longer fall asleep.” Especially when it is getting light and the birds are chirping.
In summer, sleep experts advise one thing: Stay cool! Because despite the shorter sleep duration, many people get out of bed better in summer and feel more rested and more productive during the day.
So do we need less sleep in summer? This is controversial among experts. When it is light for a long time, the body produces less sleep-promoting melatonin.
So, all these are the ways by means of which you can stay cool during sleep. Try to follow each of them and have a great night’s sleep.
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