The temperatures are rising, and although lovely in the day, for many, it proves difficult to get a good night’s sleep. Right in time to help, Mary Love, Head of Product & Innovation at sustainable sleep-tech firm Simba has shared her top tips when it comes to getting a quality night’s sleep during a heatwave.
Make your own air-con
Air-con units in homes across England are hard to come by… not to mention expensive. So why not create your own? Put some ice in a shallow baking tray, pan, or bowl and place it in front of a high-quality fan. As the ice begins to melt, the breeze will pick up the moisture and disperse a cooling mist across the room. This will make a huge difference on those stuffy nights!
Keep your curtains closed
Instead of opening your curtains in the morning, keeping your curtains closed throughout the day will block the sunlight from coming in and heating up your room. You can open them back up when the sun sets, and it isn’t shining brightly into your room.
Wear cotton
What you wear to bed has a huge effect on how well you sleep. Loose-fitting, well-ventilated cotton pajamas are the best option. Avoid synthetic materials that will cling to you at night. Cotton has moisture-absorbing properties that will help keep the sweat from your body and ultimately, allow for an improved level of comfort.
Ice packs at the ready
Have ice packs ready to help cool your body temperature in an instant. When we find ourselves awake sweating in the middle of the night, tossing and turning to get comfortable, we can often make ourselves hotter as we stress about not getting any sleep! This is the time to turn to your ice packs. Place them on your wrists or forehead for a few minutes and relax as your body temperature quickly begins to drop. No ice packs? Use a flannel or cut up an old towel instead.
Flip Your Pillow
Everyone loves that feeling of flipping your pillow over to the cool side. When the heat is unbearable and you’re getting a little clammy, don’t forget to flip over and enjoy that momentary respite from the heat. Or, invest in a pillow specifically designed to keep you cool, such as the Simba Hybrid Pillow, which promises a restful slumber thanks to its adjustable height and firmness, and its fabric technology inspired by astronaut space suits called Stratos®; it’s a phase change technology applied to soft cotton, it absorbs and transports heat away from the body, so you always stay at the perfect temperature.
Each pillow comes with hundreds of open-cell foam Nanocubes® that can be added or removed to tailor the height and firmness of the pillow, and the mesh border has been designed for maximum airflow, keeping you cool on even the hottest of nights. Blue piping side = the cool side!
Keep the bedroom well ventilated
If there’s a nice breeze in the air, then open your windows to allow fresh air to circulate in your room. If it seems like it’s hotter outside than it is inside though, I’d recommend keeping your windows shut – you don’t want the hot, stuffy air outside to heat up your room! If you’re unsure, take a step outside for a few minutes and decide what’s best for you.
Invest in a Fan
With fans, you get what you pay for. If you don’t mind that constant hum sound, then head down to your local shop and pick up a cheap one. But, if you want to invest a bit more money, we’d recommend The Dyson Pure Cool™ TP00 purifying fan. It helps to keep you cool in summer and it’s also a purifier to circulate clean air – an ideal addition to the bedroom.
Invest in a mattress engineered for cool comfort
Pairing innovation and indulgence, the Simba Hybrid® Luxe features eleven layers of refined and data-driven design and incorporates state-of-the-art technology. Excelling in climate control, each layer in the sumptuous mattress works cohesively to promote airflow and cooling comfort – providing the most sought-after slumber yet.
Take a cool shower before bed
Taking a refreshing, cool shower before bedtime can help lower your body temperature and make it easier to fall asleep. Avoid hot showers as they can make you feel… well… hot!
Stay hydrated
An obvious tip for hot weather no matter what is to drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated. We lose water in our bodies more in the heat from sweating, so it’s important to keep the level of fluids in our bodies up. The recommended amount of water to drink per day when it’s hot is three liters, so sticking to that can also help come bedtime.
Avoid using electronics before bed
As hard as it may be for some, it’s time to stop scrolling on TikTok in bed. Using your phone in bed – especially whilst it’s on charge – can generate heat and make you feel hotter. Likewise with a laptop, if you’re watching a film on a laptop in bed, this can generate heat as well!
So it’s best to avoid, or try to limit your use of electronic devices before bedtime to prevent unwanted heat build-up in your bed!
This story originally appeared on Upscalelivingmag
