Summertime and restful sleep often can’t go hand-in-hand. Some are still good sleepers, nonetheless. But, there’s also the majority of individuals who still have those summer sleep blues. The temperature is too hot. The sun is up too late. There were too many activities done in the day, and more tomorrow; your excitement is high. The next thing you know, the supposed happiness you’ve been hoping to have during the summer months is replaced by tired mornings, all because you’ve had a hard time sleeping.
Fortunately, there are so many remedies to those feelings. Your sleep quality doesn’t have to get disrupted because of the changes in the weather. In fact, if anything, you can make the most out of the summer season to enjoy a night of better sleep. You can bid those nights of insomnia and uncomfortable night sweats a final and sweet farewell.
With that being said, let’s jump right into these handy tips to help keep you cool for better sleep this summer.
- Choose The Right Pillow
If you’ve previously been the type of person where you choose a random pillow when shopping for one, that habit has to change. Pillows aren’t all created the same. Yes, there are those which are more expensive than others. But, it’s not just the brand name that shapes the difference in the price. There are also other factors like the pillow’s quality, fill, and durability, to name a few.
Your pillow plays that all-important role of being that thing on which you rest your head-on. If it’s too soft, it won’t be able to provide support. It’ll be uncomfortable and too hot to sleep on if it’s too hard. When the temperatures rise, and it gets too hot, the last thing you’ll want is to have the back of your neck sweating profusely because of your warm pillow.
Sleeping on the right pillow shouldn’t be a pain in the neck (literally, at that). With that in mind, here are several important tips to keep in mind:
- Recognize When It’s The Right Time To Replace Your Pillow
They’re not meant to last forever. Ideally, you’ll want to replace your pillows once a year or once every two years. Better-quality ones may also last longer. But, once your pillow starts to get saggy and lumpy, that’s a telling sign for you to buy new ones.
- Decide On The Fill
Pillows are made out of different fills. Some still have synthetic fibers, while pillows are made of natural fills like buckwheat hulls. Each of those fills has its respective pros and cons, so it’s really your preference now who has the last call. Get one here if you’re interested in buckwheat pillows.
However, among the many different types of fills, buckwheat hulls can be ideal. Because they’re natural, they’re also hypoallergenic. Pillows made from buckwheat hulls are also great for those of you from warmer temperatures, as they have an outstanding ability to stay cool, despite the hot summer heat.
To give you a bird’s eye view of pillows made from buckwheat hulls, here’s a video for you to watch:
- Be Very Picky About The Firmness
Getting the right firmness for your pillow is a must, as it can contribute significantly to having good sleep quality. Don’t let the wrong firmness make you even more comfortable when the summer heat is already acting up. The fewer factors that contribute to bad sleep quality, the better.
To get the right firmness done, you can start by deciding what type of sleeper you are. Don’t shy away from asking the sales associate which pillow they think will suit you best. They can help you out with that. If the pillow company you’re buying from offers a free trial period, make use of that. It’s an advantage for you to be absolutely certain you have the right pillow.
- Consider Breathability
A good night’s rest will be nearly impossible to have when you’re feeling hot and sweaty in bed. It’s bad enough that the temperatures are high. Your pillow, along with your mattress and sheets, should have good breathability to sleep better.
- Open The Windows
If your room temperature is higher than the outside temperature, you can benefit from opening up your windows. You can bring a fresh breeze into your room, particularly at night when it tends to get cooler in the wee hours. When you have fresh air in your room, it improves more than just the temperature. Your sleep quality may also be better when you feel less stuffy. Opening your windows can also help you sleep better, with less likelihood of allergies.
Of course, you have to make sure that it’s safe within your area to leave your windows open. If you have grills and a screen layer in your window, this technique will be a good idea.
- Keep A Consistent Schedule
One of the main contributors to why sleeping better can be a lot harder during the summer months is many activities and distractions. The good weather makes it ideal for everyone to travel or stay out and up later than usual. Yes, you can also stay out and sleep later, but don’t let that hamper your sleep quality.
Keep as much consistency in your schedule as possible, so your body’s circadian rhythm doesn’t get disturbed. When your natural body clock functions as well as it should, it will be much easier to fall asleep quickly. Late nights are okay once in a while. But, don’t make it too frequently to change your body’s night clock. If you aren’t careful, you may be used to sleeping so late, such that even beyond summer, sleeping early will continue to be a challenge for you.
- Keep The Hot Hair Out
This next strategy is applicable if the temperature outside your room is still warmer than it is inside. If that’s the case, you’ll want to do everything you can to keep the hot air out. Don’t have a place for it inside your bedroom if you don’t want to find yourself feeling like a baked chicken in an oven.
During the day, you may want to keep the windows closed. Shut the curtains and blinds out as well. If you can make your bedroom feel cooler even before bedtime, you may be able to sleep faster – and better, too.
- Get A Fan
If you already have an electric fan in your bedroom, are you sure it’s still working as efficiently as when you first bought it? Now, more than ever, is the best time to have it checked. The last thing you’d want is to wake up to a broken fan in the middle of the night, all because you were negligent with its repairs and maintenance. Air conditioners are great, too. But, if you’re on a budget, electric fans can work well enough for you. They can be kept on the whole night to keep the air gently moving. Moreover, running your electric fan may also be an effective solution to drawing heat out of the room and pushing it out your open window.
- Learn How To Relax
People can become their own worst enemy. Despite already doing everything you can in your room to help improve your sleep quality, there may still be nights when you’ll find it hard to fall asleep. One of the reasons for that difficulty may be when your mind – and your body – isn’t relaxed.
Say, for instance, you have a lot of activities planned in the coming days. It’s normal to feel so excited that you’ll find it quite challenging to relax. Henceforth, it’s an important skill for you to learn how to relax at the end of every day.
Learning how to relax is often an underrated and underused skill. The fast-paced life and activity-filled days you have may contribute to that fact. Making it a habit to relax, through whatever form you please, is one of the best preludes to good sleep quality.
Find time for ‘me time’ to collect and gather your thoughts, even if it’s only a few minutes here and there. This is good practice to apply, even beyond the summer season. Taking that time to de-stress during the day to re-group and relax your thoughts can help you sleep better, as you aren’t overloaded by the time your head hits the pillow.
- Power Down
The sun is shining so bright at night, and you don’t have blackout curtains in place yet, with your curtains still thin. Don’t add up to any of the brightness your room now has during those months. Surely, you’ll have to replace those sheer curtains with blackout ones, but that’s not the only solution. You have to power it down too, come bedtime.
Perhaps it’s not just the summer season that’s making it hard to sleep. It can also be your continuous use of your gadgets, with its bright light keeping you awake. Note that the blue light emitted by your mobile devices interferes with the body’s melatonin production or that natural hormone that helps regulate the circadian rhythm. To avoid this, you have to put down your devices and avoid using gadgets at least an hour before bedtime.
- Drink More Water
Drinking more water throughout the day is important for good health. During the summer season, it’s also needed to keep your body cool and well hydrated.
Doctors will recommend at least 8 to 12 glasses of water a day. Beyond that, make it a habit to drink chilled water before bed. This can help get your body to stay hydrated and cool so that you can sleep at a better temperature at night.
This tip shouldn’t be a problem, especially for those who’ve already made it a habit to drink water more regularly. However, for those of you who aren’t natural water drinkers, you’ll have to be a bit more strategic with your approach.
Here’s how you can get yourself to drink more water:
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- Keep a water bottle by your bedside table at night, so you can still drink more water, especially when you start to feel thirsty;
- Choose water over carbonated or sugary drinks, which may only make you feel even hotter and thirstier than usual;
- Set reminders throughout the day to keep yourself reminded to drink more water regularly;
- Add flavor to your water if you don’t like the taste of bland water so that you can avoid feeling dehydrated.
- Use Lightweight Fabrics
Now’s not the time for you to wear that thick sweatshirt to bed. If the high temperatures bother you and make it harder for you to fall asleep, then you need to make your body feel cooler. Wrapping yourself with too much thick clothing will only make you feel even warmer. When you sleep with lightweight fabrics, moisture is wicked away from your body.
Apart from choosing lightweight fabrics, you may also want to consider using fabrics with a cooling effect. Bamboo silk and organic bamboo cotton, for instance, are known to have that cooling effect on the body.
- Know When To Exercise
Sure, you’d like to exercise to stay in shape for summer, but there’s a right and wrong time to exercise. Ideally, it’s better to get some exercise early in the morning. But, if you’re unable to do this, then anytime in the day will do. Just avoid exercising at least an hour before going to bed, or your body will still feel warm.
Likewise, the evening should be the time for your body to wind down. When you exercise, you may unknowingly be putting your body in a more active state.
Final Thoughts
While the summer season can be exciting, it’s also an undisputed reality that it can be a lot harder to fall asleep during the summer days. The disruption in your sleep quality certainly isn’t one of the things anyone ever looks forward to in the summer. This fact can be even truer, especially for those who come from warmer countries.
The summer temperature can be unforgiving. But, as the tips above would show, you don’t always have to suffer through those effects. Whether it’s the temperature disturbing you or the sun setting later at night, this summer doesn’t have to be like the last when you apply the techniques above.
