Too warm to sleep? For many of us, hot summer nights mean sleepless nights and hours of tossing and turning in bed. But if you keep a few things in mind, you can sleep better in the heat. You should avoid the following mistakes.
Heat is not only exhausting and sweaty during the day, it often robs us of sleep on summer nights. If it’s too hot for you to sleep, it could be due to some common mistakes – which you can avoid in the future.
1. Heavy exercise late at night
You shouldn’t stimulate your circulation too much just before going to bed. It’s best not to do any strenuous exercise right before going to bed. Light physical activity is recommended, however – such as a short walk, gentle yoga or other stretching exercises. If you can’t or don’t want to do without your workout in the evening, make sure that there is at least a two-hour gap between exercise and going to bed.
2. Incorrect ventilation makes you sleep worse in hot weather
It is generally easier to sleep in cool temperatures than in hot weather. So make sure your bedroom does not get too warm. Many people leave their windows completely closed when it is hot so that the heat does not get inside. But that is not always the right approach, and it can still be too warm to sleep – and too stuffy. Depending on the position of the windows and the specific sunlight, you should also leave the windows open during the day. But it is especially important to ventilate thoroughly in the morning and at night. More on this:
3. Bad indoor climate is bad for your sleep
A good indoor climate is also important. The humidity in the bedroom should be around 40 to 60 percent. If you feel that the humidity is too low, you can put buckets or other containers with cold water in the bedroom. You can also hang a wet sheet in front of the open window at night. This also has a cooling effect.
4. Too warm to sleep? This could be due to incorrect cooling
Before going to sleep, you can take a quick shower to cool down in the heat – but it’s best to use lukewarm water. Avoid a shower that’s too cold, as it will just make you sweat: the cold water lowers your body temperature, which your body then tries to compensate for. It raises the temperature again and “warms” you up in the process. A shower with lukewarm water, on the other hand, will refresh you.
5. Alcohol disturbs sleep – not only in hot weather
You should also avoid alcohol, as it can cause restless sleep. This doesn’t just apply in hot summer temperatures: Regular alcohol consumption can even cause real sleep disorders in the long term.
6. Dinner can be heavy on the stomach
Dinner also affects your sleep – and there are a few things you can do wrong in hot weather: make sure you don’t eat anything difficult to digest in the evening. Eating something very hot is also not recommended and can make it difficult to fall asleep. Better alternatives are fruit and vegetables, (plant-based) quark and yoghurt dishes or a fresh salad.
7. Synthetic fiber pajamas quickly become too hot to sleep in
If you wear the wrong clothes at night, you may feel like it’s too warm to sleep. Pajamas made of polyester fibers, for example, are not recommended because the fabrics can become charged and stick to the body – not particularly comfortable when it’s already hot. In addition, the synthetic fibers often absorb sweat poorly. Clothing made of cotton or linen is more comfortable in hot weather – the fabrics absorb moisture and have a slightly cooling effect.
8. The wrong duvet for sleeping in hot weather
What applies to clothing is of course even more true for the duvet and bed linen. Here too, it can help to avoid synthetic fibres. In hot temperatures, your bed sheet is sufficient instead of the usual blanket. Just leave it off and see if you find the plain sheet more comfortable for falling asleep in the heat.
Alternatively, you can find tips for cooling duvets in our summer duvet guide:
9. Sleeping in hot weather without any clothes or blankets
Even if it is tempting, you don’t necessarily sleep better without clothes or a blanket. The reason: without textiles, sweat is not absorbed by the skin. But the body cannot always regulate its own temperature during dream sleep. Despite the heat, hypothermia can occur and thus lead to colds or summer flu.
10. Sleeping too high
As we all know, warm air rises – so the ideal place to sleep is actually near the floor. If it’s too warm for you to sleep, try sleeping on the floor, for example on a yoga mat or something similar.
11. Your psyche keeps you from sleeping
Your own attitude is also important for a restful sleep. Anyone who complains in the morning that they will definitely not be able to sleep again in the evening because of the heat will certainly not be able to get a restful night’s sleep, says sleep specialist Uwe Fremder. “It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” the head of the Interdisciplinary Center for Sleep Medicine in Hofheim told the FAZ. In general, however, being outside and the bright and longer light in summer ensure a good mood and activity, which translates into better sleep.
When nothing else helps
If it is still too hot to sleep despite airing the room, taking a lukewarm shower and following the other tips, you can take a little cooling down with you to bed: fill a hot water bottle with cold water and put it in the fridge for a while. You can then put the hot water bottle at the end of the bed to cool your feet.
And during the day: don’t forget sun protection!
Because sunburn is also hard to sleep with. And it is dangerous for your skin. Here you can find our best mineral organic sun creams:
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Read more on Techzle\.com:
- What helps better in hot weather: cold or warm drinks?
- 7 common mistakes you should avoid in hot weather
- Cooling your apartment without air conditioning – tips and tricks
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