Tips for a Restful Night's Sleep: How to Stay Cool in Bed
Posted on - 9th May 2024
Many people experience overheating or night sweats and wake up during the night. Broken sleep can lead to feeling groggy or irritated the following day. Here, we list the best tips to help you stay cool in bed and get a restful night’s sleep.
As summer approaches, many people experience overheating or night sweats and wake up during the night. Broken sleep can lead to feeling groggy or irritated the following day. Overheating or night sweats can be caused by several factors - menopause, low blood sugar, anxiety, medicines, disorders, or simply due to natural body temperature changes. During sleep, the core body temperature drops by 1°C or 2°C and the skin temperature rises due to our circadian rhythm which causes some people to feel too hot at night.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to minimise overheating and night sweating. Continue reading as we list the best tips to help you stay cool in bed and get a restful night’s sleep.
1. Switch To Lighter Bedding
Many people hang one of their legs out of the bed covers while sleeping to help them cool down. While this can be effective, there are other ways to cool down the entire body instead of just one leg. Your bedding could be causing you to overheat, so you need to swap out your heavy duvet for a lighter one. Look for a duvet made from breathable materials like cotton or linen to prevent overheating. Hot sleepers should have a duvet with a tog rating between 2.5 and 4.5 in summer or between 10.5 and 12.5 in winter.
2. Increase Your Bedroom’s Air Circulation
Alongside lighter bedding, you need to keep your bedroom as cool as possible. Increase air circulation by leaving a window open before bedtime. Most British households don’t have air conditioning, so turning on a cooling fan can help if you prefer to keep your window closed at night. If your bedroom faces the sun, it tends to get hot during the day. In this case, blackout curtains block out the sunshine and reflect the heat. A dehumidifier can also maintain a cool room temperature by removing excess humidity. The ideal room temperature for sleeping should be between 15°C and 19°C.
3. Fill a Hot Water Bottle With Ice-Cold Water
A hot water bottle is often used on cold nights to stay warm. However, you can use it like an ice pack to keep your bed cool. Fill a hot water bottle as normal with cold water or ice-cold water and crushed ice. Leave it in the freezer for no longer than 20 minutes. Freezing a hot water bottle for any longer may damage the rubber and cause it to leak or tear. For this reason, it’s vital to use a separate hot water bottle for cold water and another one for hot water.
Place the ice-cold hot water bottle underneath your bedsheets or over your pillow before you get into bed. Once you are ready to hit the hay, your bed should be nice and cool! This hack is ideal for those who want to keep their energy bills low. After all, running a fan every night can be expensive.
4. Make Lifestyle Changes
You can also make some lifestyle changes to help you stay cool. Firstly, avoid alcohol, caffeine and excessive screen time before bed as these can keep you awake. Secondly, drink cold water and take cold showers before bed to help cool down your body. Lastly, exercise in the morning rather than the evening to help you wind down properly for bed. With that said, some people can argue that exercising in the evenings helps them with sleep, so this depends on your personal preference and what works best for you. These small lifestyle changes can add up to achieving restful and cool sleep.
5. Consider a Slatted Bed Frame and a Cooling Mattress
Do you prefer a cool bed all year round? It might be worth looking at the type of bed and mattress they have already. Consider a slatted bed frame, instead of a divan base. The slats support your mattress while allowing for better airflow, making it slightly cooler. In addition, invest in a cooling mattress or a gel-infused memory foam mattress topper for your existing mattress. These are designed to provide cool and comfortable sleep.
Shop Our Range of Cooling Mattresses
We hope these tips help you achieve the restful sleep you deserve. Here at Dial-A-Mattress, we understand what struggles hot sleepers experience, which is why we offer a range of cooling mattresses from leading manufacturers. For instance, our Latex Pearl mattress is gel-infused with 1200 encapsulated nested pocket springs to regulate your body temperature and provide support while you sleep. This mattress is also made from latex, which naturally facilitates airflow and dissipates heat. Meanwhile, our Sensacool 1500 mattress is made from cool blue memory foam to relieve pressure relief and offers a cooling sleep effect.
Shop our cooling mattresses online or visit our showroom in Shrewsbury today. We also offer same-day and next-day delivery nationwide. Our team can even dispose of your old mattress for you!
