How to sleep in hot weather

Nobody likes sleeping during a heat wave!

There are two main issues people have with sleeping in the heat. One, is that it’s just uncomfortable, which can keep you up. And two, sleep is controlled by your internal body clock, known as the circadian rhythm, and the transition from the wake-phase of that cycle to the sleep-phase is marked by a drop in your core body temperature, and so sleeping in a warm environment can make that transition into sleep a bit more difficult to make.

Below is some top advice on how to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep when the summer temperatures soar.

Cool the house

Start this process early in the day. If you have a side of your house or flat that gets a lot of sun then make sure you keep the curtains drawn to prevent the greenhouse-affect warming your house up throughout the day. Trying to keep lights off where possible will also reduce the temperature.

Windows and fans

When you come to sleep, having your window open, especially if you can get hold of a fan, can help circulate air and exchange stuffy bedroom air, for cooler outside air.

Bed covers

Think about changing your bed covers – sleeping without any cover at all can feel a bit unnatural, but taking the duvet out and using just the duvet cover, can keep you a bit cooler but still retain that feeling of familiarity. 

Some people advise dampening your bed cover – this can help transfer heat away from your body, particularly during the first part of the night, but don’t get the sheet too wet as this may make the room very humid.

Warm showers

Some people try to cool themselves down with a cold shower before they get into bed, but have a short, warm shower, rather than a cold one. Why? A cold shower is quite bracing experience, and probably not what you want when you’re about to try and sleep. And a short warm shower will trick your body into thinking it’s hot, and so will divert more blood to your skin, so your skin will be flushed, and this is your body’s natural way of cooling yourself down.

Napping

You can feel quite lethargic in the heat, but try to avoid taking a nap. This is because, when you’re awake, you’re always building something called ‘sleep pressure’, and when you have a nap, you reduce that sleep pressure. But you really want that pressure as high as possible, so that when you come to sleep at night, you’re much more likely to drop straight off.

Look after yourself!

Do look after yourself during the day – stay well hydrated and avoid too much sun if you can. You don’t want to be trying to sleep when you’re dehydrated or have sun-stroke. Also, while it can be great having a tipple when the sun is out, try not to drink too much alcohol, as this can lead to fragmented and poor-quality sleep as well as dehydration

And the most important thing, is…

if you can’t sleep – don’t try to! Just get up, get out of the bedroom and find a relaxing, distracting activity like reading, and wait for the urge to sleep to naturally return.

We have lots more advice on how you can sleep better in our sleep hygiene page.