30 Ways To Stay Cool At Night
By Tom Pearson
1 year ago
No Pets
image source: Reddit
Sorry pets... This big ain't big enough for the both of us! I get it, everyone likes to snuggle up with their perfect little pooch or get kicked out of bed by the cat. In the winter time, sharing the bed with a four legged friend is great, they're a natural hot water bottle. Which is exactly why it sucks when they jump in to bed during the summer months!Lukewarm Shower
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A lukewarm, or very slightly cold shower is a great way to drop that body heat before you get under the sheets. It's important not to have a shower that is too cold, as the freezing water can actually stimulate us, thus making you more awake! Research has found that this is one of the best ways to stay cool on a warm night, so give this a try next time it's hot out.Frozen Washcloth
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Your head is an area of the body that generates the most heat. As the head is of course home to the brain, the body always sends blood here, which is great for function but bad for keeping you cool. During the day, put a clean, fresh washcloth into your freezer. When you get to bed, drape the cloth over your head and allow it to slowly defrost through the night.Small Meals
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A few hours before you go to bed, try and eat a smaller evening meal than you normally would. The earlier you can eat your meal before bed, the better. The size of the meal and time you eat it depend on how much digestion you need to do. Digestion is obviously a laborious process for the body, generating excess body heat, so unfortunately the midnight snack may have to go on the back burner.Ice Your Pulse Points
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Your ankles, wrists, the backs of your knees and temples are all what's known as pulse points. This is, as the name suggests, the place on your body where you can feel your heartbeat. By placing a frozen ice pack on your pulse points you will cool down rapidly, as the flow of cooler blood spreads around the rest of your body and cools you down quicker.Frozen Bottle
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Ice is obviously pretty cold, that's not new information. Stick your water bottle in the freezer before bed, and take it with you when you're ready for some rest. The frozen bottle will defrost throughout the night, and provide you with a steady flow of ice cold water to sip at all night. The bottle can even be placed under your pillow for an extra cool pillow.Close Your Blinds
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This next tip is already employed in hotter parts of the world all year round. Keep your blinds and curtains closed! Its best to open your blinds early in the morning if you can, maybe from around 5am to 8am, but after that keep them fully shut. This will trap the cool morning air in your room all day, and keep the baking afternoon sun out. A free but effective trick.Limit Alcohol
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Alcohol consumption causes the blood vessels to rise to the surface. Ever seen someone go really red in the face on a night out when they're a few beers deep? Yeah, this is why. Booze causes the blood vessels to dilate, which in turn causes your body temperature to rise, resulting in you sweating. Limiting alcohol long before bed time is a good way to keep nice and cool.Morning Workout
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Working out in the mornings comes with a whole load of benefits. It gets the metabolism going, making it easier to loose weight, its a great way to clear your mind for the day and it helps to increase your levels of restorative deep sleep. Working out at night rasies your core body temperature, meaning your body takes longer to cool down, making it harder to sleep.Sunshine
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No one likes sunburn, its uncomfortable and painful and it also raises your temperature. You may have even noticed how warm your skin gets when you get sunburnt. Limiting time in the sun and wearing plenty of sunscreen is the best way to keep your skin safe and unburnt. The sun is a great way to naturally wake up, but of course works in the reverse when going to bed.Cold Water
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Keeping a cold pint of water by your bed, topped up with ice, is the perfect way to quickly drop your body temperature. Its nice to sip an ice cold drink through the night, and this is the fastest way to bring your temperature down. Perfect if you wake up overheating and need something to cool down fast (keep it in a bottle if you're afraid of spillages).Fan
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Get your fan out! A fan is the best way to create an artificial breeze, and one of the most recognizable ways people think to keep cool during the hit summer months. A fan will keep the cool air circulating around the room all night, and can be positioned just right to keep you feeling fresh. The white noise a fan creates may also help you to drift off!Blackout Curtains
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So we all know that keeping your blinds shut is a good way to keep the harsh rays of the sun from your bedroom, but what if there was a better way to keep the sun out and keep the cool air in. Investing in some blackout blinds will keep your room darker and subsequently colder for longer. This is a great and fairly cheap way to keep your room super cool.Buckwheat Pillows
image source: Good Housekeeping
You would normally find buckwheat in your kitchen cupboards, but they can actually be a useful commodity in the bedroom. Buckwheat pillows are comfortable and crucially do not absorb heat in the same ways that cotton and down pillows do. You can also replace the buckwheat with rice, and on really hot nights try sticking the rice in the freezer before bed.Bamboo Mat
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Mattresses are designed to be super comfortable, and in order to achieve that they are stuffed with super soft and fluffy cotton or down. Cotton and down are naturally great at keeping us warm, so on warmer nights it's best to leave the mattress behind altogether. Why not try swapping the mattress for a more traditional straw or bamboo sleeping pad? They are more uncomfortable, but a lot cooler.Hog The Bed
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Sometimes, in the pursuit for a cool nights sleep, we need to be selfish. Apologize to your partner in the morning, because tonight, you're hogging the bed. By hogging the bed, you get to spread your arms and legs, increasing areas for a breeze to hit you. You also make your surface area bigger, meaning you can sweat more efficiently and dispose of excess heat.Keep The Oven OFF
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Sorry roast dinner fans, we're having salads. By keeping your oven turned off during the day, you're keeping the whole house, and subsequently your bedroom, a lot cooler. You don't need to just eat leafy greens and kale though, why not head into the garden for a BBQ and some beers with friends and family? Who says you need to sacrifice for a good sleep?Cotton Sheets
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Light colored bed sheets made of (preferably) Egyptian cotton are light, breathable and promote good airflow. Woolen sheets are good for the winter, but can get sweaty during hot nights. By switching to lighter fabrics, you will immediately feel the difference. Cotton and Egyptian cotton are great, but if the budget allows for it why not grab some silk sheets.The Wet Towel Trick
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The wet towel trick may sound like an old wives tale, but it really works. Its basically a form of natural air conditioning, and is perfect for keeping a room cool throughout the night. Get a large towel and drench it in cold water. Ring the towel out and sandwich it or hang it from an open window. As the towel dries, cool air will blow into your room.Hammock
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Hammocks are a great way to spend a night in the woods. What could be better than gently rocking to sleep cocooned in a hammock. A hammock is a great way to sleep in warm weather, as you don't need any form of blankets. If you get too warm, you can easily stick an arm or a leg outside the hammock. If it's really hot, maybe even consider putting the hammock up outside.Frozen Bed Sheets
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This might only get you an extra thirty minutes of coolness, but by sticking your sheets in the freezer you will be able to stay cold enough to drift off to sleep. This trick paired with some of the others makes for a fantastic combo. Try leaving your pillow cases in the freezer all day rather than your bedding sheets, that way you get cold side of the pillow times 10.Loose Clothing
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Sleeping in the nude is a perfect way to stay super cool, but it's not the most comfortable thing in the world mentally. What if there is an emergency and I need to spring from bed?! Wearing very loose fitting clothing like baggy shorts and an oversized t-shirt is a good way to keep the draft flowing. If you sleep in socks, definitely ditch them too!Cold Water Bottle
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A hot water bottle is a staple in everyone's home. But in summer or on a hot night, that's the last thing you need. Try filling the hot water bottle with ice cold water and leaving it under your pillow or tucked under your back. Hot water bottles are very well insulated to keep heat in, so they normally stay cold for most if not all of the night.Lights Off
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Summer nights tend to draw in later on, around nine or ten at night. This means that luckily we don't need to have the lights on much during the day, but it's worth remembering to keep them off whenever you can. Even the most eco friendly LED light bulbs emit some kind of heat as well as light, so the older style bulbs are pretty much tiny heat lamps.Get Lower
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Everyone knows that heat rises, so if you can, get nice and low. Of course, maybe don't go and sleep on the kitchen floor (or do, depending on how hot it is). If you decide to sleep on your bedroom floor, or move your mattress off the bed frame then it may be easier to get a restful sleep. Sleeping on a thinner mattress on the floor is an even better way to keep cooler.Sleep On A Towel
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Known commonly as the 'Egyptian Method' this technique involves sleeping on a couple of towels. The first towel goes directly on top of your mattress or other sleeping surface. Keep this towel dry. The second towel should be doused in cold water, then rung out to ensure you don't get soaked. Sleep on the wet towel and it will act as a form of AC for your back!Go Camping
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So when you go camping, it is really important to wrap up warm. Sleeping on the ground makes us really cold, and even during summer the outdoor air temperature can drop to only a few degrees above freezing. Sleeping outside in a tent is a great excuse to be at one with nature and as a bonus it keeps us cool. Camping is always best when its warm out anyway, so grab your tent!Unplug Electricals
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Electrical items like games consoles, mini fridges and televisions all need to keep themselves cool. They do this by using internal fans to suck in cool air. The side effect of electronic devices keeping themselves cool is that they literally steal all of the cold air. By unplugging the devices, they wont overheat and they wont warm up your room either.Tie Up Your Hair
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How irritating is it when you're almost asleep, but your hair keeps going in your face, twisting and knotting around you like a hairy anaconda. To keep your neck nice and cool, use a hair friendly, soft scrunchie to keep your hair off you neck and out of your face. The last thing you would want is to be woken up by your hair acting as a natural scarf!Light Pajamas
