Here’s what can be done to help you get a good night’s sleep during a heatwave, according to GQ.
Although our body temperature never fluctuates far from our average 37C, it does change slightly throughout the day and night. Typically our core body temperature decreases just before bedtime and this dip coincides with us falling asleep. Mess with our body temperature and you can mess with our sleep too. Because of this, adults are typically recommended to sleep in environments that are between 16-19C – which is not always possible during a heatwave.
The recent uncharacteristically good weather in the UK might have brought a memorable balmy summer, but the downside is that many of us have also struggled with restless nights. The link between temperature and sleep is well established in scientific studies, too, and one report of more than 750,000 participants found that above-average temperature at night was associated with poorer self-reports of insufficient sleep.
Some ways the folks in the south take care of hot sticky nights is to soak a sheet and hang it in the doorway. Then you run a fan in the hall blowing the air into the room. You would be surprised at how cool that makes it.
ALso Sleeping in a wet towel is another trick southerners use to stay cool.