The best tips to help you sleep in the heat
Wow, it’s roasting hot out there! This weather is so gorgeous after the epically long winter we’ve all endured, but this makes it so hard to sleep doesn’t it?
To fall asleep, our bodies need to lose heat. This nocturnal heat loss stimulates the release of melatonin, the sleepy hormone.
Here are our tips to set us up for the best sleep possible during this very hot weather:
- Keep all curtains or blinds closed (especially those on the south-facing side of your home), but keep the windows just slightly open. Then open the windows wide in the evening time to let the cooler external air inside.
- If possible, get a fan and at bedtime, place it a few feet from your bed and near a window. Please be mindful of using a fan though if you suffer from allergies – just make sure that the fan isn’t pointing directly towards your face.
- Take a cool (though not a very cold!) shower before bed. If the shower temperature is too cold, this will stimulate your body to raise its core body temperature higher. So just have the shower temperature mildly cool instead of very cold.
- Consider investing in pyjamas and pillowcases/bedding made of natural fabrics or sweat-wicking fabrics.
- Try sticking your pyjamas/bed-clothes in the salad drawer of your fridge for a few minutes before bed!
Beyond these practical suggestions, our sleep behaviour and the way we think about our sleep at times like this is really important:
- Try not to lie in or go to bed extra early or nap to compensate if you’re sleeping badly – this can make you feel worse and if you get up and about even if you’ve slept badly, your body will increase the quality of your next night’s sleep.
- This is the most important tip of all: don’t worry. This hot phase will be gone before we know it. Just accept that your body will make sure it gets the sleep you need. Worrying and stressing will only make sleep more difficult… we encourage to accept and internalise that this sleep difficulty during the heat is just completely normal and temporary. Even sleep experts struggle to sleep in this hot weather! Focus on making plans and how best to enjoy the summer, rather than thinking about your sleep. Just relax and remember how ‘this too will pass’.
If you are struggling with sleeping please contact Dr Michelle Ni Raghallaigh via Email hello@the-sleep-space.com