Don't get us wrong, us Brits love soaking up the Vitamin D on rare sunny days. But with recent heatwave temperatures reaching 30 degrees in some places across the UK, we're more aware than ever that we're a tad unequipped to cope with these Mediterranean temperatures - especially when it comes to bedtime.
Sleeping in a heatwave is tough. The result? A nation of sweaty and stressed starfish sleepers, struggling with noisy fans and the right blanket to body ratio.
And with some more scorchers set to be coming our way, those knitted jumpers can stay packed away for a long, long time.
If you have yet to run to Argos and panic buy yourself a large fan for your bedside, SleepyPeople.com have some tricks on how you can beat the heat and stay cool all through the night.
1. Make a cold water bottle
Who said you couldn't have the best of both worlds? Flip the conventions of the hot water bottle and make it a multi-seasonal treat! Fill up your hot water bottle with cold water, put it in the freezer for a few hours, pop the cover back on and take it to bed with you. It'll last for at least a couple of hours, leaving you with enough time to drift off to sleep in the cool.
2.Freeze your pyjamas
If you feel like you could cook an egg on you (to quote Harry Styles), then it might be time to get creative with your cooling techniques. Putting your pyjamas in a carrier bag and popping them into the freezer for 20 minutes or so before bedtime might just do the trick.
3. Freeze your sheets
Similarly, putting your bed sheets into a carrier bag and freezing them for a while will work wonders for lowering your temperature in bed. If you're sharing bed with a cold-blooded sleeper, try freezing a blanket you can use instead. (Top tip: A frozen blanket can also work wonders for keeping your four-legged friends cool in this heat too!)
4. Cotton sheets
Ditch the satin, silk, or polyester sheets, instead opting for lighter cotton or linen bedding. They’re more breathable materials, offering you more ventilation as you sleep!
5. Kick your partner out
Sharing the bed with a partner simply may not be worth it on warm nights; you don’t need that extra body heat and you’ll be getting hot and sweaty in all the wrong ways. Sleeping apart may be the best option for the both of you, so try to make use of your spare room or sofa.
6. Turn off as many sockets as possible
Electric plugs generate a surprising amount of heat, so turn off as many as feasibly possible - you’ll be shocked at how much cooler your room will be.
7. Sleep low down
It’s a well-known fact that heat rises, so sleeping as low down as possible is the best place for you in the heat. If it's time for drastic measures, whip out the airbed or sleep in a lower down room in the house.
8. Take extra naps
If you’re not getting enough sleep in the hot weather, you’ll likely be racking up what’s known as sleep debt. This is the accumulative amount of sleep which you’ve missed out on, and it can cause some serious health problems when it comes to long-term. Try having an afternoon siesta whenever you can to catch up on your sleep. It's all the rage in Spain...
9. Spray lavender
Struggling to drift off? Try ease your way into sleep by filling up a spray bottle with cold water and lavender, before spraying on your bedding until your heart's content. Not only does the scent of lavender promote sleep, but the water solution will act as a cooling agent.
10. Eat earlier in the day
Digesting food raises your body temperature, so don’t eat a large meal in the hours before you go to bed. Instead, try having a bigger lunch and having a lighter snack in the evening.
11. Up the ante
We all know that having a fan in your bedroom helps to cool you when you’re trying to sleep, but why not up the ante? Place a bucket of iced water or ice near the fan so that it blows even cooler air around the room.
12. Camp in the garden
If you have a safe area outside where you can camp, make use of it by setting up a bedroom outside using a tent or a simple hammock. Not only is camping a novelty and more than a little bit fun, but you’ll be endlessly cooler than inside - just be sure to protect yourself against insect bites.
13. Exercise earlier in the day
Evening gym-goers, listen up. Be sure to engage in any exercise earlier than usual, as it takes your body a while to cool down after strenuous activity. This could leave you feeling hot and sticky in bed, so keep the running, walking, and sports to daylight hours.
14. Close the curtains during the day
Keeping your curtains or blinds drawn during the day ensures that as little warmth as possible gets into your home (and means you'll be walking into a much cooler room at the end of the day.
15. Decrease your body temperature
When your body is preparing to sleep, your temperature drops slightly - so why not hack your own body? When it’s hot outside, you can signal to your body that it’s time to go to sleep by cooling off with a cold shower. Even if you can’t handle a freezing cold shower, a lukewarm one will still help you to drift off quicker.
16. Avoid alcohol
People generally drink more alcohol in warm weather because of the increase in social events (barbecues and work drinks, we're looking at you.) Although alcohol allows you to fall asleep quickly, it actually disturbs the quality of sleep that you get - which is just as important. Try to avoid it in the hours before bedtime to make sure you wake up feeling fully refreshed.
READ MORE: 9 Things You Only Know If You Commute To Work In A Heatwave
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