Stay cool in bed this summer.
It’s hot out there at the moment. Summer is officially happening; the parks are full of workers getting some rays, ice cream sales are buoyant and (if you don’t have to travel on overcrowded hot trains every day) the living is good.
But when you go to bed, the heat – hanging around in your home from the day – can make bedrooms and beds problematic places, especially for sleeping. This is when putting a bit of thought into how, in what, and on what you sleep can make everything more comfortable. And can help you get enough sleep whatever the weather.
Here are our top tips to stay cool in bed and tackle these uncomfortably hot nights.
1. Pick your bed threads carefully
Of course we are a bedding company, so this is number one on our list. When choosing bedding, obviously buy the best you can. And opt for natural materials such as cotton and linen. Not only are they lovely against your skin (if the linen is around 600 thread count, as all our bedding is) and beautiful to look at, but natural materials are very airy, and moisture absorbent.
And Egyptian cotton bedding is naturally much more porous than any other cotton, which allows you to stay warm without trapping heat – so aiding much needed circulation of air around your body. This is especially important for those who have difficulty sleeping or suffer from nighttime sweats, or both.
2. Cool aid
This may seem topsy-turvy but get a hot water bottle, fill it with water and stick it in the freezer until it’s time to sleep. Then wrap your overheated parts around the blissful cool. Cooling your feet first, where your have a lot of pulse points, can be a great way to quickly lower your temperature so you can slip into sleep.
3. Make like Mr Darcy
Sleeping in a light loose cotton shirt is a great way to keep air circulating around your body, drying moisture and making you altogether more comfortable. It might be tempting to throw everything off and sleep naked, but then moisture won’t evaporate between your skin and your bedding. If possible, always wear breathable materials to sleep in during summer. You’ll be drier, smell better and sleep the sleep of the smug.
Obviously loose cotton shirts can be useful and attractive when taking a dip in the lake outside your Georgian country house, too.
4. Warm your cockles
Take a warm shower to feel cooler. Taking a cold shower might seem like a good thing to do to cool off. But actually it provides only temporary relief. We will initially feel cooler after a cold shower because of decreased blood flow to the skin. But our core will get then get warmer as it tries to counteract that reduced skin blood flow. But warm water on the skin
leads to increased blood flow to the skin, so increasing heat loss from the body.
We know this sounds quirky but after a warm-ish shower you’ll be slipping between your linen bed sheets and happily asleep in no time.
5. Sleep like an Egyptian.
Not the song by the Bangles, but an ancient cure for problems sleeping in hot weather. As explained on WikiHow: wet a sheet or bath towel that is large enough to cover you with cool or cold water, and wring it or run it through the spin cycle on a washing machine until the sheet is quite damp but not dripping wet. Place a dry towel or sheet on your bed underneath your body and use the wet sheet as your blanket. The damp blanket will keep you cool.
6. Dive under a summer duvet
Using a summer weight duvet will ensure your covers feel super light even on the hottest night. Because ours is filled with all natural goose feather and down, it feels cool, soft and absorbs moisture, helping stay cool in bed. If you really can’t bear a duvet, a linen sheet will work – the fabric again making sure the moisture you generate whilst in bed is whisked away, cooling you down.
Other simple measures for keeping cooler include closing curtains and blinds during the day to lower the temperature in your bedroom. And if you have one, a fan placed in a corner of your bedroom with the door open will circulate air and make it all a bit more bearable in your bedroom whilst you are sleeping.
