This past week, the UK has been hit by a huge heatwave. While most people are loving the sunshine, everyone starts to get a bit sick of the heat when it’s time to sleep.
To manage the heat at night, we’re all turning to the best fans and air conditioners. However, while they offer a relieving cold breeze throughout the day, they aren’t as effective at night and can actually make you feel worse the next day.
The main reason you shouldn’t sleep with a fan on is the cold, circulating air gets into your body which causes stiff muscles and aches and pains. But at the moment, it’s simply too hot not to sleep with a fan on, so I’ve looked into ways you can position your fan in your room to help you to sleep more comfortably in the UK heatwave.
Before I get into the three fan positions, you should never sleep with your fan directly pointing at yourself. This exacerbates body soreness, can dry out your skin and trigger allergies so it’s best to stick to these positions instead.
1. Near an open window
This might sound counterintuitive but placing your fan near an open window can make a world of difference to the temperature in your room. By positioning your fan like this, you can create a cross breeze as the fan pushes hot air outside while creating a vacuum to bring cool air inside. It’s surprisingly effective so don’t knock it until you try it.
2. At the opposite wall
Instead of pointing your fan towards the bed, try angling it at the opposite wall or even the ceiling. The airflow from your fan should bounce off the wall which helps the cool air to circulate around your room more evenly. This is ideal for whole room cooling rather than having an icy chill blasting at you.
3. At the end of your bed
If you really can’t do without a fan facing your bed, consider increasing the distance between it and yourself. Rather than having it by your bedside, place your fan at the end of your bed. This way, you’re still getting a direct cool breeze but the distance helps you avoid feeling too cold or muscle cramping.
