The Best Tips to Stay Cool at Night

Is your body temperature keeping you awake at night? Suffering through a heatwave, dealing with menopause, PMS, certain medications or medical conditions among other things can naturally affect your body temperature when it’s time for bed. But there are ways we can make changes in our lifestyles and environments that can help us cool down and sleep better.

For example, many people don’t know that the recommended room temperature for sleeping is between 15.5℃ to 20℃. Most of us don’t even touch the thermostat at night. There is even more we can do to have a cooler night, no matter what is causing our night sweats.

If you have trouble sleeping because of overheating at night, read on, this article will give you the tips you need to stay cool at night so you can get more sleep.

Sleep and Body Temperature

Our circadian rhythms are tied to our body temperature. When we reach REM sleep, which is vital to getting a good night’s sleep, our body temperature goes down. Research is starting to show that reduced body temperature can induce sleep. This makes our environment just as important as our bodies in regulating a hot flash or night sweats.

Just as we should focus on ways we can help our health in regulating body temperature, we also need to focus on our room temperature, materials surrounding us, sleeping on a cooling mattress, using our freezer and fans and even taking warm baths or showers. Yes, warm baths. Body temperature is not as black and white as we think and that’s one of the reasons why we often run into trouble during a heatwave.

7 Tips for Sleeping Cooler This Summer

1. Choose the Right Pyjamas and Linens

It’s actually a good idea to sleep without clothes if you can but not everybody has that luxury as some of us share homes and bedrooms with people who aren’t intimate partners. But even if you can sleep nude, there’s still the issue of your sheets. There is one material that is superior in keeping you cool both in pyjamas and linens: cotton, cotton, cotton. You can’t go wrong with this light, breathable material.

The fit is also important both on your body and on your bed. Your pyjamas should be loose-fitting and comfortable while your linens should fit your bed. A cooling mattress will work much better with breathable sheets that fit your bed as you luxuriate in a loose-fitting pyjama that helps you feel the benefits of staying cool.

2. Buy a Cooling Mattress

From your pyjamas and linens to your mattress, the materials around you at night are more important than we know. Your mattress, especially, should be made of a breathable material but unfortunately, most are made with polyester, which radiates your body temperature back to you.

There are options, though. Nectar Sleep mattresses use adaptive cooling technology for the top of their cooling mattress to ensure that the mattress absorbs heat instead of radiating your body heat back to you. This is achieved with breathable microfiber that circulates air and doesn’t trap heat in the foam.

Simba mattresses take a different route with incredible miQro spring™ technology where they use tiny springs to hold up the top layers of foam so that air circulates around it as you move, providing a cooling effect. This is then topped off with a premium material covering the mattress that is highly breathable and cooling.

3. Take a Warm Shower

Surprisingly, a warm bath before bed can do wonders in keeping you cool. It sounds counterintuitive but hear us out on this one. We usually think that a warm bath warms us up but that’s not actually true. Studies have shown that a warm bath or shower brings blood to the surface and releases our core heat. It works best if you do it about an hour or two before bed. Bonus if you top it off by sleeping on a cooling mattress.

4. Keep Air Circulating

The more you can circulate the air, the cooler it will be. Windows can’t always be counted on as there are many humid days and nights without a breeze to be felt. Speaking of windows, make sure that you have good curtains or blinds that keep the sunlight out during the day. That way your room won’t be heating up like an oven all day. Maintaining a cooler temperature in your bedroom throughout the day is important. When you have a fan and a room that has been kept dark all day combined, you are in much better shape.

5. Eat Light Meals

There are a few ways diet can impact your body temperature before sleep. During a heatwave, it’s always good to eat lighter and healthier but particularly for your body temperature. The heavier the food, the more your body has to work in digesting and metabolizing and this raises your body temperature. A big dinner equals more chances for a hot flash before bed.

6. Don’t Exercise Too Late

Exercise is also something to consider before bed. Mainly, don’t do it! Exercise is so good for us but when we try to get that workout in right before bed, we raise our body temperature and trick our brain into thinking it’s awake time. Make sure you get that exercise in for your health but do it earlier in the day if you don’t want to have trouble sleeping.

7. Leave Some Space

This is a tricky one. Sleeping next to your significant other is one of the things that adds intimacy to any relationship but if you’re having hot flashes and night sweats or trying to get through a heatwave, it might be time to take a break from the cuddling.

We know that one of the best ways to warm up on a cold night is to snuggle up next to our partner, body temperature from another body can warm ours up. This is great on a cold night but not so great if you can’t cool off. Agree to leave some space between you until those nights get cold again so you can both enjoy better sleep on your new cooling mattress.

Final Thoughts

Better sleep is linked to all kinds of benefits (we even discovered that sleep can improve your appearance). Unfortunately, hot temperatures can make it difficult to achieve. Improving your health and paying attention to your habits before bed makes a big difference. A huge impact will be made with light breathable materials. One of the biggest impacts is from a proper cooling mattress. Once you get a handle on these tips for staying cool at night, you may never have to fear a hot night again.