Ways to Stay Cool in Bed During Summer Heat Waves
Summer is plenty of people’s favorite season for good reason, but when temperatures soar, sleeping can become a nightmare. There are plenty of ways to stay cool when sleeping during a heat wave. From airflow in your bedroom to sheet selection.
These tips are surefire ways to get sweat-free, comfortable sleep all summer long.
Start Running a Fan or an Air Conditioning Unit to Help Air Flow
Even if you like to keep your house frigid during hot months, serious heat waves can leave your room feeling hot and stuffy. One of the easiest ways to combat this is getting yourself a bedroom fan.
Sleeping with a fan may not be the best idea every night, but neither is tossing and turning in a pool of your own sweat. An oscillating fan can be a great way to increase airflow in your room and create a desperately needed cool breeze, but maybe don’t make it a year-round habit.
Close Your Bedroom Blinds to Keep Out Heat
Soaking in the sun and getting some sorely-needed vitamin D after a long winter is one of the greatest parts of summer. However, those bright rays of sunshine can become a nuisance in the morning or during a midday nap. Even worse, they can turn your room into a sauna.
To avoid an early wakeup call from mother nature or waking up in a room that feels like an oven, invest in a solid set of blinds. Decorative curtains look great, but they do little to keep the light out. If you really want to keep the light out, consider a pair of black-out curtains to ensure cool, pitch-black nights and early mornings.
Swap Out the Fuzzy Pajamas for Something Cooler
There’s nothing better than snuggling up in bed on a cold night wearing a pair of thick, fuzzy pajamas. However, the opposite is true in July. It may seem like a small step, but buying a pair of cooler, thin pajamas can do wonders when sleeping in the heat.
Consider looking for fabrics like cotton and linen, which offer a more breathable and lighter fit. If you really want to stay cool, look for moisture-wicking and sweat reducing fabrics that will ensure you sweat as little as possible throughout the night.
Keeping Your Mattress Cool
Now that you’ve done everything to keep your body cool at night, what can you do to keep your actual mattress cool? There are actually mattresses designed to stay cool throughout the night. When purchasing a brand new mattress, keep an eye out for beds that market themselves with the ability to sleep cool. Think of a new bed as the stepping soon to sleeping well and feeling cool as you drift away.
It's also important to consider the thickness and density of your mattress when looking for a summer sleep solution. A thinner mattress will generally provide better airflow, allowing heat to escape more easily. Additionally, a less dense mattress will have more air pockets, which can also help to keep you cooler during the night. A larger bed like a Wyoming King also has a larger area to distribute heat across. You can roll in the night and find a cooler spot than where you initially started.
One of the most important materials to look for in a summer mattress is natural latex. This material is known for its breathability, and it allows air to flow through the mattress. This will help keep you cool and comfortable throughout the night. Another option is a mattress with a gel-infused foam layer. This material absorbs heat and dissipates it away from your body, which can help to regulate your body temperature and prevent overheating.
The Right Custom Bedding is All-important in Keeping Cool
The bedding you choose plays an essential role in your quality of sleep. As the first point of contact between your body and the bed, bedding can make a significant difference in the level of comfort. It will help with the temperature regulation you experience while sleeping. This makes it crucial to choose the right bedding, especially during the warmest months of the year.
Seek out bed sheets and pillow cases that offer a breezy, soothing night’s sleep during the summer’s warmest months. A particularly great material to consider is long-stale Egyptian cotton, ideally at least 1,000 thread count. This material gets softer with every wash and will feel cool on the body so you don’t wake up sweating.
On that same note, the importance of a quality comforter cannot be ignored. It’s likely that even on the hottest of nights you spring for a blanket, either out of comfort or reflex. Seeing as a blanket will inherently make you hotter, you should find a duvet comforter that is light-weight and ideally made for those who sleep hot. One material that will leave you feeling cool is sateen, which is different than satin. A sateen duvet comforter is one that follows a pattern in which one yarn under is weaved over multiple threads.
Nobody likes sleeping in scorching hot heat. While these tips won’t make living without air conditioning in July a pain-free experience, they can make it a little less miserable.
