Too warm to sleep? 9 common mistakes that keep you awake in the heat

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 you find it too hot to sleep, it could also be due to some common mistakes that you can avoid in the future.

1. Heavy exercise late in the evening

Just before going to bed, you shouldn’t stimulate your circulation too much. So it’s best not to do any heavy sports. However, light physical activity is recommended – 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 are at least two hours between exercise and a night’s sleep.

2. Incorrect ventilation makes it harder for you to sleep in the heat

It is usually easier to sleep in cool temperatures than in hot temperatures. Therefore, make sure that your bedroom does not get too warm. Many people leave their windows completely closed when it’s hot so that it doesn’t get inside. But that’s not always the right way, as it can get 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. However, it is particularly important to ventilate thoroughly in the morning and at night. More about this:

3. Poor indoor climate is bad for your sleep

A good indoor climate is also important. Depending on the room, the humidity should be around 40 to 60 percent, writes the consumer advice center. Air that is too dry can irritate the mucous membranes.

If you feel like the humidity is too low, you can place 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.

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. It’s better not to take a shower that’s too cold, as it tends to make you sweat: the cold water causes your body temperature to drop, which the body then tries to compensate for. So it increases the temperature again and “warms” you up. Sports scientist Ingo Froböse recommends to the RND that you take a lukewarm shower instead.

5. Alcohol disrupts sleep – not just in hot weather

You should also avoid alcohol as it can cause restless sleep. By the way, this doesn’t just apply in hot summer temperatures: Alcohol disrupts the phases of sleep, writes the Federal Institute for Public Health. As a result, you sleep more restlessly and wake up more often at night.

6. Dinner can be heavy on the stomach

Dinner also has an impact on your sleep – and you can do a lot of things wrong in the heat: Make sure you don’t eat meals that are difficult to digest in the evening. Eating 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. With synthetic fiber pajamas it quickly becomes too warm to sleep

Wearing the wrong clothes at night can make you feel like it’s too warm to sleep. Pajamas made of polyester fibers, for example, are not recommended because the textiles can become charged and stick to the body – not particularly pleasant when it is already hot. In addition, the synthetic fiber often absorbs sweat poorly. Clothes made of cotton or linen are more comfortable in the heat – the fabrics absorb moisture and have a slightly cooling effect.

8. The wrong duvet for sleeping in the heat

What applies to clothing naturally applies even more to duvets and bed linen. Here too, it can help to avoid synthetic fibers. When temperatures are high, your bed sheet is sufficient instead of the usual blanket. Just leave them out and see if the pure sheet is more comfortable for you to fall asleep in the heat.

Alternatively, you can find tips for cooling duvets in our summer blanket guide:

9. Your psyche is keeping you from sleeping

A restful sleep also depends on your own attitude. Anyone who complains in the morning about not being able to sleep again in the evening because of the heat will definitely not get a good night’s sleep in the evening, says sleep specialist Uwe Fremder. “This is a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said the head of the Interdisciplinary Center for Sleep Medicine in Hofheim to the FAZ. Basically, being outside and the bright and longer light in summer ensures a good mood and activity, which is reflected in better sleep.

What also helps: cool bed linen & cool bottle

If it is still too hot to sleep despite airing, taking a lukewarm shower and the other tips, you can also take a little cooling down with you to bed: put the bed linen in a bag before going to bed and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. Then take it out again and quickly snuggle up in the cool sheets. The effect doesn’t last too long, but it does cool you down for a few minutes.

Another trick that might make it easier to fall asleep: Fill a hot water bottle with cold water and put it in the fridge for a while. You can then place the hot water bottle at the end of the bed and cool your feet.

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