How To Keep Cool at Night

What are the best ways to keep cool at night?

Keeping cool at night doesn’t have to be a challenge. If you suffer from hot flushes at night, there are a few ways you can alleviate your symptoms when you’re in bed. First of all, it’s important to establish why you’re suffering from hot flushes at night. When it’s warm out, or even just a little humid, it’s normal to feel much warmer at night, which means you’ll often struggle to reach the right temperature for sleep. However, if you’re constantly too hot at night, even when the nights are cooler, you may be experiencing night sweats. These can be caused by a variety of factors, including the menopause, taking certain types of medication or even having certain medical conditions. Take a look at our specific advice on how to stop night sweats for more information.

If keeping cool at night is a struggle due to the soaring temperature outside, then take a look at our top tips for how to sleep in summer.
 

1. A cool stream of air

When thinking about how to keep cool at night, the most obvious place to start is your bedroom environment, and its temperature. Keeping a constant stream of cool air is an effective way to help you drift off peacefully without feeling too warm or stuffy. You can achieve this with a fan, though the noise may be distracting for some sleepers and they can make for a costly electricity bill. Opening a window is often just as good – if not better – as a substitute, for providing a clean circulation of cool air. If possible, try to open a window elsewhere in the house and leave your bedroom door open to create a cross breeze, which should start cooling you down instantly.
 

2. Wear the right clothing

Wearing the right clothing in bed can have a big effect on your body temperature, which is why it’s extra important to get your bedtime attire right if you’re experiencing hot flushes at night. Natural fibres like cotton, linen or silk are light and breathable, and can help to absorb moisture from sweating at night, keeping the body dry and cool. Synthetic fibres don’t have this ability, and are more likely to leave you feeling damp and uncomfortable. Most importantly, avoid wearing socks in bed. The blood vessels in your feet are closer to the skin’s surface, so wearing socks will warm the blood, making you feel hot all over.
 

3. Ditch the memory foam

Are you sleeping on a memory foam mattress? This may be adding to your summertime sleeping troubles. The synthetic materials used in a memory foam mattress mean that it’s not breathable, and doesn’t absorb moisture, leaving your body to overheat and sweat while in bed. In order to sculpt to your body, memory foam mattresses require your body heat to warm them up. This traps the heat and reflects it back onto your body, ultimately heating your body to temperatures of around 30°C while you rest – which is significantly above optimum temperatures for sleeping. Avoid a memory foam mattress if you want to stay cool while sleeping in the summer heat.
 

Top Tip:

If you’re looking for the best mattress for temperature regulation, you can’t go wrong with wool. With its magical temperature regulating properties, it’s the perfect material for keeping you cool in the heat, and warmer when the temperature drops in the winter months. Transform your sleep with a wool mattress today.
 

4. Make a cold water bottle

You probably use your hot water bottle to stay snug in winter – but did you know you can use it to keep cool at night too? Simply fill your hot water bottle with cold water and place it in the fridge or freezer (depending on just how cool you want it to be) a few hours before bed. Place your ice pack under the covers before you get into bed or even keep it with you through the night – it’s a great way of regulating your temperature when it’s too hot at night. If you find it’s a little too cold, simply wrap the case in an extra layer, such as a spare pillowcase.

If sleeping with an ice block all night isn’t for you, one of the fastest ways to achieve a drop in body temperature is to take a cold shower, which will leave you feeling cool and refreshed before bed. It should also help you to reach the optimum temperature for sleeping sooner, helping you to drift off when your head hits the pillow.
 

5. Choose the right bedding

Finding the best cooling pillow, mattress or duvet is made easy with wool. Wool is a light, breathable and moisture wicking fabric, which is proven to help regulate your body temperature and keep it cool even when it’s hot at night. Using wool bedding, including mattresses, mattress protectors, pillows and duvets is a smart way to harness the benefits of this fibre to keep you cool throughout the night. In fact, a recent study revealed that wool duvets are more effective than feather/down or polyester for getting a great night’s sleep.

Knowing how to keep cool at night is essential for getting a good night’s sleep on those summer nights. If you ever feel yourself getting too warm to sleep, use the tips above to keep cool, and let us know how they worked for you in the comments.