Too hot to sleep? This Scandi approach could be the answer

2 hours ago 1

Summer is here, and along with the warmer weather come perks such as beach days and longer daylight hours. However, it also has downsides: uncomfortably hot nights, which the Bureau of Meteorology predicts will be even hotter than usual.

How does heat affect a person’s ability to get to sleep?

Dr Cathryn Hester, Royal Australasian College of GPs Queensland chair and principal GP at Colleges Crossing Family Practice, says poor sleep is one of the many ways that hot weather makes us all feel less than our best.

“Usually at night, as the body prepares to sleep, our core temperature slightly drops,” she says. “This doesn’t happen with high ambient temperatures and makes sleep initiation and maintenance much harder for the body.”

Sleeping through hot nights can be difficult. Running a fan can provide some relief, while being energy efficient.

It can affect some people more than others. Hester says that the impact of hot temperatures on our sleep is especially marked in older people and those who find it harder to regulate their body’s core temperature.

“This happens with young children since they have a relatively bigger surface area of skin-to-body volume ratio and a faster metabolism,” she says.

“For adults, there can be a variety of reasons – older age, medications, and quite a few medical conditions make people more vulnerable to heat. For example, there are some conditions where people don’t produce sweat well, so they miss out on the body’s natural air-conditioning.”

For these groups, Hester says that living conditions – having access to a cool environment, good hydration and being able to retreat from hot areas during the day – are critical.

How to sleep well when it is hot

Aside from following rapper Nelly’s sage advice for when it’s “hot in here” and taking off all your clothes, what else can we do when it’s too hot to get to sleep?

Dr Yorgi Mavros, of the University of Sydney and the Heat and Health Research Centre, says prevention is key.

“Think about getting blinds or shutters that block direct sunlight from entering the room, and keep them closed during the day,” he says. “If the temperature in your bedroom is lower than outside, keep your windows closed to prevent the hotter outside air from coming inside.”

At night, sometimes this situation reverses, and the outside temperature drops below our bedroom temperature.

“If that is the case, open your windows to let extra heat out,” Mavron says.

What we wear to bed and what bed linen we use can also affect how hot we feel, with lighter, even minimal, sleepwear and coverings the best option.

“It’s important to consider the material being used,” says Mavron. “Fabrics like cotton, linen and bamboo will feel cooler; they won’t trap heat and still allow sweat to evaporate. Other bedding materials like silk, flannel and polyester will trap heat and may not aid in the evaporation of sweat.”

Cotton, bamboo or linen sheets are better options for hot nights. Avoid synthetic materials, silk and flannel, which hold onto heat.

Using fans and air-conditioners is also effective, and there are ways to run them without forking out a fortune in energy costs.

“Instead of setting the temperature of the air-conditioner to 20 degrees, you could set it to 24 degrees and turn on your fan,” says Mavron. “The air-conditioner will use a lot less electricity to run, and adding the fan will make you feel just as comfortable as you would have had you set the air-conditioner to 20 degrees without the fan.”

Avoiding heavy meals, alcohol or strenuous exercise that will increase body temperature before bed is also helpful.

What happens if you wake up throughout the night and can’t get back to sleep because you’re too hot?

For those who drift off without any issues but wake up throughout the night for whatever reason and find the temperature too uncomfortable to fall back asleep, there are steps you can take that won’t have you tossing and turning for hours.

“Try not to get too stressed – stress will make sleep worse,” says Dr Linda Schachter, a sleep and respiratory physician from Vital Sleep Co.

Instead, Schachter suggests getting up, wetting a face washer with cool water, or taking a cool shower, and having a glass of water.

Adjusting your environment can also help.

“Open a window to get cool air, use air-conditioning to cool your environment, or use a fan to move air around,” Schachter says. “Aim for circulating air over your skin.”

And if your bed buddy isn’t on the same page temperature-wise? Well, Hester says you can adopt the Scandi approach.

“I recommend this approach for my patients who complain of having a different tolerance for heat and bedding,” she says. “Instead of having one sheet or blanket, use two smaller sets of sheets and blankets; that way, you can tailor the thickness and materials to your comfort level. You also avoid sheet theft in the middle of the night.”

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.