Nine fabulous ways to stay cool in bed on seriously hot nights
When the weather gets really sultry it’s much harder to sleep at night, although funnily enough, nodding off on your bed on a warm afternoon is very easy to do. I’ve never quite worked that one out!
These are my nine top tips for achieving quality sleep. Use them altogether as I do, or experiment with which work best for you.
1. Put a few drops of Peppermint aromatherapy oil in a bath of lukewarm water and mix well before you wallow
Peppermint cools the skin as it dries and leaves a chilled sensation which is rather gorgeous on a steamy night.
Put a couple of drops into a lukewarm bath and aim to get your entire body under the water.
A word of warning, although it might be tempting to overdo it, I’m serious about only using a couple of drops and then mixing them really well into the bathwater. Neat peppermint oil can burn the skin so use with caution.
2. Get a couple of large pet-sized gel mats for each bed
These really are a game changer, but don’t faff about with the silly little mats sold at exorbitant cost for humans. Instead head to your local pet-store and buy a couple (per person) of the biggest you can find. The reason for having at least two mats each is that you can interchange them through the night. Even when a room is warm, the ‘spare’ mat will quickly cool down ready to swap in if necessary.
3. Ditch the booze.
Alcohol interferes with sleep, so although you may feel really tired and almost pass out on the pillow, you’ll wake a few hours later feeling horrid. It’s so hard to get back to sleep after even a small amount of alcohol and you’ll wake up feeling groggy with puffy eyes and dark circles. I know it’s a natural thing to chill over a beer or spritzer, but give yourself two weeks without the booze and see if your sleep quality improves.
4. Drink herb teas with sleepy qualities - Camomile, lemon balm, lavender, valerian, passionflower, and lots of blends work wonders
It sometimes feels contradictory to drink something hot at bedtime, and if that’s the case for you, make your herb tea earlier in the evening and drink it cold. There are lots of sleepy tea blends available on the market, Pukka, Twinings, Clipper and Teapigs all have great options, but our current favourite is the Diplomat Relax Sleep with Vitamin B3 from Aldi which tastes divine.
5. Boost Magnesium in your diet with food or supplements
I was recommended Magnesium supplements for menopausal sleepless nights and leg cramps and it changed my experience straight away and probably stopped me murdering my other half.
There’s a tiny warning which comes with Magnesium supplements though which is that makes your bowel movements somewhat ‘loose’ while your body adjusts to having the balance of magnesium you need. So when you start using it, if you feel the urge, all I’m saying is GO!!
6. Sleep in a cotton t-shirt to absorb sweat and that sticky sensation
Yuk, that hot sweaty sticky night feeling isn’t great to try and sleep with. After years of restless sleeping in the buff, I tried a mansize t-shirt with great results.
If you have long hair as I do, you’ll automatically resolve the itchy back and neck sensation hair causes on hot nights and you’ll absorb sweat which can cause spots, discomfort and make you scratch when skin is damp.
7. Egyptian cotton or Bamboo sheets with high thread count keep you cooler in summer and warm in winter
I’m a huge fan of beautifully soft sheets and when they have the added bonus of keeping me cool too, I’m willing to hunt them down.
I team my 400+ thread count sheets with a silk filled pillow which is also superb for keeping a cool head.
8. Dab lavender oil on wrists and collarbones to ease you to sleep.
This multipurpose aromatherapy oil is a whizz for so many ailments and situations. For now though let’s focus on your sleep. Lavender oil is the only one which is safe to use neat on the skin, but even so, you don’t need very much. A couple of drops on the pulse point of your wrists or the collarbones/neck of your t-shirt are very beneficial. If you can reach the soles of your feet, a drop or two rubbed into the centre of your foot is very relaxing.
Headaches are often eased by putting a drop of lavender oil on the temples. For small children and babies, never use any oils neat. Instead put drops on a tissue and place it on the pillow.
9. Open windows in the bedroom and also elsewhere in the house to get a through-draught and keep the bedroom door propped open to feel it
We don’t all have the luxury of air conditioning, but even on really warm nights, you can create a similar effect by having windows open in the bedroom and another part of the house and leaving doors propped open to create a through-draught. There’s something very calming about having cool air wafting across your face and body.
