Most people are in denial about how important sleep is. The fact of the matter is that if you don’t get enough sleep, it will affect every aspect of your life – from your relationships to how well you perform at work. When summer rolls around and we have more daylight hours, our bodies often become confused with when they should be sleeping. This is totally natural and happens every year as the amount of light during the day increases. In this blog post, we will give you some tips on how to sleep better during summer as it gets hot!
How to sleep better during summer
Take a cold shower before bed
Taking a cold shower before bed is is one of the most popular tips for how to sleep better during summer. Imagine you are doing yardwork all day during 100-degree heat. This is likely to throw off your circadian rhythm and make it harder to produce melatonin, which is the hormone that makes us feel sleepy. Your body is also going to feel extremely hot and will be harder than normal to cool down.
By taking a cold shower before bed, you are tricking your body into thinking it’s time to go to sleep even though it might not be yet! The cool water will make you sleepy and help soothe sore muscles as well. You’ll also find that it’s easier to fall asleep quickly. This tactic can be used as a first or last resort, and it is likely to help you out either way.
Wear less clothing when it is very hot
Wearing less clothing can help you sleep better during the summer. You will be able to sweat a little bit more, and this sweat helps keep your body temperature cool no matter how hot it is outside. Since there’s not as much fabric around your bedding area, air currents are also going to flow through easier and dry out any damp bedding. This is a classic way that many people use to sleep cooler during the summer, although it may not work as well if your internal body temperature is too high. We recommend trying out some of our other tips before you crawl into bed with less clothing than normal.
Sleep further away from your partner
If you want to sleep better during the summer, it may be a good idea to place yourself further away from your partner. When you give yourself as much space as possible, you are less likely to be affected by your partner’s body heat and sweat. Luckily, you don’t have as much moisture around your body when you’re sleeping alone, and this helps keep cool air flowing over more of your skin’s surface area. We recommend communicating this with your partner so you are both on the same page, and maybe even sleeping separately if the heat is still too much to bear.
Turn off devices in your room before bed (at least 30 min before)
Turning off all devices in your room at least 30 minutes before bed is one of the biggest ways of how to sleep better during summer. The blue light that emanates from most screens will keep you alert, and impede melatonin production. You will likely find that you stay up a lot longer if you are watching TV or playing video games until right before you go to sleep.
The extra brightness of a screen may also be keeping us awake- not to mention how much heat it is generating. If you have a small bedroom that contains a lot of devices that are running, they can quickly heat the room up to an uncomfortable level that is hard to fall asleep in. Try this tip and you will see some good results once you get into the habit.
Drink herbal tea before bed
For our last tip, we suggest that you drink herbal tea before you go to sleep. Drinking herbal tea before bed can be relaxing and will make you feel sleepy. The best kind of herbal tea to drink is chamomile since it has a calming effect on the body and mind. It’s also good for your digestive system, so if you have any stomach issues during sleep time this could help with that as well! Consider checking out our recent blog post if you want more strategies for staying cool at night.
