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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz

Sleep expert shares one thing you should do an hour before bed during a heatwave

Parts of the UK are currently basking in a glorious heatwave, and while the temperatures are due to drop drastically soon, there's still at least one hot and sticky night ahead of us.

It's all well and good when it's sunny, 30 degrees and you're sipping a cocktail at the beach, but not when you're trying to sleep.

UK bedrooms are not built for hot weather, as air conditioning units aren't common, and most of the time the only thing we think of to try is a fan, which technically doesn't cool the room down.

Luckily, there are other sleeping hacks you could try to make yourself cool in order to give yourself the best chance of snoozing in the heat - all you need is a bit of pre-planning.

The UK is currently in the middle of a heatwave (stock image) (Getty Images)

Dr Hana Patel, resident sleep expert at Time4Sleep, recommends putting a cold hot water bottle in your bed an hour before sleep, which will help you feel cool as soon as you hit the hay.

While some people try freezing the hot water bottle to get it as cool as possible, Dr Patel recommends using cold water instead, which will still help keep your body temperature down.

She explained: "Rather than freezing a hot water bottle with cold water, as this could damage the hot water bottle material, fill it with very cold water and leave this in the bed for an hour before you go to sleep.

"Before drifting off be sure to remove the cold hot water bottle from the bed as contact with skin is likely to cause discomfort and at very low temperatures, possible skin damage."

The sleep expert recommends using a cold hot water bottle (stock image) (scu)

Another man tried a similar approach to making sure he was cool when getting into bed, but instead used a rather unusual item - originally meant for dogs.

The item in question was a £10 cooling mat from B&M, which is supposed to cool down as soon as a pet - or in this case human - lies down on it.

Once you're in bed, there are various positions that can help you fall asleep faster. According to experts, sleeping like a starfish, with your legs and arms out, is the perfect option for a heatwave.

This is because it increases the surface area for sweat to evaporate and cool you - but it's not ideal if you're sharing a bed with someone.

Do you have a story to share? Email us at yourmirror@mirror.co.uk

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