You don't need us to tell you, but it's getting hot in here. Very, very hot in fact. And if you're finding that your sleep is suffering as a result of said heat, then fear not — we might be in the midst of a heatwave, but there are ways to make your chance of deep sleep more likely amid the stickiness of summer.
Body temperature plays a crucial role in regulating sleep cycles, with the body cooling during non-REM sleep and warming up during REM sleep, so maintaining an optimal sleeping temperature — experts have placed 65-67 degrees as the sweet spot sleeping temperature — can help facilitate these natural temperature fluctuations.
Now that temperatures have soared, whether you're a laissez-faire late night snoozer or a regimented sleep hygiene evangelist, here are five hacks that you can weave into your own routine to aid your sleep during the current heatwave (you can thank us later).
How to sleep during a heatwave
Have a warm bath or shower
It might seem antithetical, but when a heatwave takes hold, one of the best things you can do before bed is to have a warm bath or shower an hour or two before lights out to promote cooling.
Drinking a hot drink before bed is also a proven way to bio-hack your body into thinking it's cooler than it is, as it lowers the amount of heat stored inside your body. The premise is that the moment a hot liquid makes contact with the body’s temperature receptors, the brain tells the body to produce more sweat.
This sweat then cools on the surface of the skin, reducing the sensation of being too warm and ultimately, making us feel cooler (yes, really).
Ice up your fan
For those still debating the virtues of investing in a fan, now's your time. But it's no longer enough to just invest in a fan, there are ways to soup up the cooling experience offered by our faithful friends.
One heatwave-proof tip you may want to employ is that one whereby you place a bowl with ice cubes in front of your fan for extra cooling moisture (the idea being that the ice cubes melt before the fan circulates air, creating a fine, cooling mist).
Freeze your hot water bottle or pillow
If the key of staying cool at night is regulating your body's temperature, then many have posited filling a hot water bottle and freezing it as a means of cooling yourself down. Once the water in the bottle is frozen, simply wrap it in a towel or cloth and sleep with it touching your body, so that it can cool your body temperature.
If you don't have a hot water bottle, try freezing a pillow and allow that to work its magic.
Upgrade your summer bedding
Investing in specifically summer bedding for hotter weather is one of the best investments you can make. Opt for linen, bamboo or cotton sheets, all of which are natural fibres that will enable your skin to breathe properly throughout the night.
Close the curtains
To keep direct sunlight out of your home — in turn, minimising the amount of heat that enters your space — keep your curtains closed from the morning to the evening throughout the period of warmer weather to ensure that sunlight is prevented from unnecessarily heating up your home.
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Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.
