How to sleep in a heatwave

With the warmer weather finally starting to make an appearance, we’re approaching the time of year when the hot and short nights make it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. Thankfully, Chief Sleep Officer at Sealy UK, Neil Robinson, has shared his top tips for getting a good night’s rest throughout the summer months.

1. Sleep separately

One in ten Brits already opt to sleep separately from their partner, and it seems that they may have the right idea – especially in the hotter weather. Not only are partners more likely to disturb you in the night, the extra body heat can make it even harder to get to sleep in the summer months.

Sleeping in separate beds also means that you’re able to stretch out, rather than curl up, which helps body heat to escape.

2. Avoid exercising in the evening

Exercising too close to bedtime can not only leave you with a sudden surge of energy, but also raises the body’s core temperature, both of which makes sleeping in hot weather even more difficult. Instead, opt for exercise first thing in the morning to kick start your metabolism throughout the day, and leave you feeling ready to rest in the evening.

3. Use cotton sheets

It’s common knowledge that cotton clothes help to keep you cool in the summer due to the material’s breathability, and the same can be said about cotton bed sheets. The natural fibres help allow air to move freely and circulate through the fabric, which help to keep you cooler through the night. If your bedroom is especially hot, opt for a light cotton sheet rather than a duvet to allow even more circulation.

4. Leave your feet out

While it may leave you at the mercy of the monster under the bed, sleeping with your feet out of the duvet or bed sheet will help to keep you cool. While many believe that we lose most of our heat through our head, this is not the case. In fact, our hands and feet are key to keeping cool, so keeping them out of the bed sheets will help to ensure a cooler night’s rest.

5. Check the TOG rating

An adult can lose up to a litre of sweat in one night and the thicker winter duvets that you enjoy in the colder months provide a completely different experience to lighter summer duvets. Despite common belief, the Tog is a scale of warmth in a duvet – NOT its thickness, ranging from 1 Tog to 15 Tog. A duvet that traps and provides heat in winter (13.5 Tog plus), is likely to make you overheat in summer, so it’s important to have different products so that you can adapt between the seasons.

6. Invest in a cooling mattress

Many may not think it, but the mattress you sleep on can affect your temperature throughout the night. Investing in a high-quality mattress that features Smart Fibres, and more specifically Purotex and Tencel fibres, can help to keep you cool at night, as these have excellent cooling properties and prevent your body overheating during your sleep.

For more information on Sealy and its range of cooling mattress technologies, visit www.sealy.co.uk