At temperatures soar getting a good night's sleep can be an elusive thing. Instead of snuggling down under your duvet and nodding off you can be left with a broken night of tossing and turning just trying to find a cool spot to get comfortable.
Many have already been struggling to get their shut-eye over recent days thanks to the sunny weather and high night temperatures that have covered much of the country. And with a UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) heat warning in place until Monday June 19 there is little sign of a let up.
But while a look around online reveals a host of tips and ideas to help with the nighttime temperatures do any of them really work? With everything from dumping the quilt to stripping off there are plenty of recommendations to try out.
The Manchester Evening News has spoken to sleep expert Abbas Kanani, a superintendent pharmacist at Chemist Click Online Pharmacy to check out some of the suggestions. And it seems some of the most obvious might not be the best idea.
For many sleeping naked is a popular choice - but according to Kanani not completely ditching nightwear could work better. Kanani said: "Sweat collects on the body and remains there when we have no clothes on. Although having less layers on the body can help you to feel more comfortable in the heat, wearing lightweight nightwear made from breathable fabrics helps draw sweat away from your body and makes you feel a lot cooler and more comfortable.”
So what should you wear at night to keep cool? “Clothing made from natural fabrics like cotton or linen are breathable and absorbent,” says Kanani. “They will soak the sweat up off your skin and they let air through, which cools you down.”
There are plenty of other things you can do to make nighttime easier in the heat.
Keep the room dark during the day
Keeping the curtains shut during the day will stop the sun from heating up the room. The sun beaming on the windows creates a greenhouse effect so keeping them closed means that when bedtime comes around the room is a lot cooler than what it would be otherwise.
Frozen water bottle in front of your fan
To make a fan more effective when it's really hot, put a large bottle of water (1.5l or 2l plastic bottle) in the freezer until completely frozen. When bedtime rolls around, place the frozen water bottle in front of the fan. This will cool the air the fan is blowing, making the room more comfortable during those unbearably hot nights.
Keep windows closed in the day
Generally, when it is really hot outside it is a good idea to keep windows closed during the daytime, as you don’t want the hot external air to come into the house warming it up. However, after the sun goes down, the outside air will start to cool down.
At this point, it is a great idea to open the windows to let in a breeze of cool external air into the bedroom, helping cool the room and to provide needed air circulation.
Use a water spray
If you have a clean water spray gun or mister (like the kind you use to spray plants or when ironing), you could gently spray your covers, mattress and pillow with a light mist of water. This will help keep your covers cool.
You could also keep the spray by your bed and use it as a cooling spray for your face, neck and wrists during the night when you get too hot. Don’t forget to stay internally hydrated too by drinking plenty of water and keeping a cool bottle of water by the bed.
Take a cool shower
Right before you both go to bed, reduce your body temperature by having a cool shower. Your body temperature needs to drop when you go to sleep, giving it a helping hand by cooling off in a cool shower should help you get to sleep faster.
Note, the shower should be cool or lukewarm. If it is too cold you might wake yourself up, and if too hot you might struggle to cool down in time to sleep.
Ditch your duvet
If you are someone that needs to sleep under the covers at night, instead of your duvet (no matter how low the tog) opt for a straight cotton bedsheet or quilt cotton cover instead - and if there are two of you, have one each. This will ensure moisture wicks away from each individual and bed-sharers don’t end up sticking to each other.
If you can bear it, sleep with your feet outside of the covers as well. We lose heat from our head and feet, by covering them you are trapping the heat. Set those toes free and feel cooler as a result.
Sleep alone
If the heat is really too much you may have to sleep apart. The good news is that heat rises, so the person banished to the sofa for the sweaty evening is likely to have a cooler night’s sleep.
If your sofa is made of a synthetic material like velvet or a heavy material like leather, make sure you put a cotton sheet over to protect the surface from sweat and to ensure you are as cool as possible.
If you both want to sleep downstairs due to it being cooler, take it in turns with or invest in a blow up bed and decide who gets to sleep on that and who gets the sofa.
Freeze hot water bottles
Prep your bed with frozen hot water bottles. About 10 minutes before you plan to go to bed, or while you brush your teeth and take your cold shower, place the frozen hot water bottles in your bed. This will cool your sheets and covers, make sure you remove them from the bed before sleeping as bare skin contact with the hot water bottles while frozen could cause ice burn. Don't reuse these hot water bottles for hot water after freezing as the material may have been compromised.
