It's 30 degrees. Your bed feels like a sauna. You flip your pillow to the cool side, but after ten seconds that's warm too.
You spend half the night half awake. Sticky, sweaty, and a little frustrated.
Heat is one of the biggest sleep disruptors there is...
What happens in your body when you go to sleep
Your body needs a trick to fall asleep. Your core temperature needs to drop. Not a little, but one to two degrees lower than during the day.
That's not a luxury. It's a requirement. Without that temperature drop, you won't get into deep sleep. Your body stays stuck in a light, restless state.
Normally, your body handles this automatically. Blood flows to your hands and feet, heat is released, core temperature drops, and you drift off.
But if it's 28 degrees outside and your bedroom doesn't get cooler than 24 degrees at night, your body doesn't stand a chance. It tries to release heat, but the surroundings are too warm for that to work properly.
You know the result. Tossing and turning, sweating, lying awake, waking up too early.
What you can do about it tonight
Open your windows as soon as the outside temperature is lower than inside. During the day, keep them closed with the curtains shut. That keeps the heat out.
Cool your wrists and neck before sleeping. Cold water on your wrists, neck, and ankles lowers your body temperature quickly. No ice bath needed, just turn the tap cold for a moment.
Take a lukewarm shower before bed, not a cold one. This sounds counterintuitive, but a lukewarm shower helps your body release heat. An ice-cold shower does the opposite; your body actually starts holding on to heat in response.
Don't point a fan directly at your face. Air movement helps release heat, but direct airflow on your face dries out your nose and throat and leads to mouth breathing. Aim it at your feet or let it circulate the air around the room.
This week's habit
Close your curtains and windows during the day tonight. Open them as soon as the outside air is cooler than inside. Cool your wrists before sleeping with cold water.
Three things. Five minutes of work and a night that goes a lot better than the past few days.
Every Night 1% Better.
Guy Veeke
PS. Heat also causes more mouth breathing during sleep. Your breathing becomes faster and more restless, making it harder for your nose to keep up. Our nasal strips keep your nasal passages open so you keep breathing through your nose on warm nights too. Check them out here: https://snoozeless.nl/products/neusstrips
