Trying to sleep in the heat can be difficult, as your bedroom should be about 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit for the best sleep. When you sleep, your body temperature decreases. If you’re in a cooler room, that helps your body get to a lower temperature faster. It’s easier to sleep at night when it’s cool, and temperatures that are too hot can make you feel restless and affect the quality of your deep sleep.
Summertime, especially, can be a tough time to sleep. The days are longer and your body may naturally want to go to sleep later. But another major factor is the heat. Feeling overheated at night may not offer you very restful sleep.
Keeping Your Bedroom Cool
Even if the rest of your house is warm in the summer, keeping your bedroom cool can help you get the sleep you need. Try these tips for cooling down your bedroom.
- Set your thermostat lower at night. If you keep your home’s temperature fairly warm during the day, don’t forget to turn it down at night so you can sleep comfortably. Use your thermostat’s settings to program a lower temperature just before you go to sleep so you can get to bed in a cooler environment.
- Sleep on cool bedding. Sometimes, mattresses, sheets, and other bedding sleep hot. Memory foam mattresses in particular can retain heat, and synthetic sheets may not be as absorbent as cotton ones. When choosing bedding, look for a mattress that sleeps cool, or top it with a 100 percent cotton mattress cover that will be more breathable. Cotton or bamboo sheets can also sleep cooler with more breathability and better management of nighttime sweat.
- Cool down before bed. Take a cool bath or shower just before bed to reduce your body temperature before you go to sleep. Being in cooler water can help you feel less hot, and the moisture on your body can offer a cooling effect.
- Open your windows and doors. Better airflow can make your room feel cooler. Ventilation from open windows and doors can offer more airflow and avoid stagnant air that can feel hotter. In addition to opening windows and doors, you can turn on a fan. A powerful overhead fan is best, but a standing pedestal or even a nightstand fan can be helpful.
- Block out light. During the day, the heat from the sun can make your room warmer. And that heat can stick around all night if you’re not careful. When you block out light, you can prevent heat from getting into your bedroom more than it already is. Use blackout curtains during the sunniest parts of the day to stop light from heating up your bedroom. Then, keep them closed at night to keep your bedroom dark and conducive to sleep.
- Reduce or eliminate electronic use. You may not think of electronics as heat producers, but computers, TVs, and other electronic devices do put out heat that can make your bedroom warmer at night. Additionally, the light emitted from the screens can interfere with your circadian rhythm, so it’s a good idea to avoid them, anyway. Turn off electronics at least an hour before bed to reduce the effects on heat and your circadian rhythm.
Heat can make sleeping well difficult, but it’s not impossible to sleep during the summer. Take steps to cool down your bedroom, especially at night, so you can get the rest you need.
