How to Sleep Better in Hot Weather, According to Sleep Experts

2023 was the most popular 12 months ever recorded, and 2024 is more likely to surpass it. Forecasters predict one other scorching summer across many of the United States with above-average temperatures.

Studies show that prime temperatures make it hard to go to sleep and stay asleep, which harms the immune system, cardiovascular system, cognitive performance, and mood.

“Sleep is essential for a lot of areas of our waking success. It allows us to get up and be refreshed and productive. It matters for our relationships, for a way we treat our family members, and our health in a lot of domains,” Rebecca Robbins, PhDa sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an assistant professor of medication at Harvard Medical School, told Verywell.

Throughout the night, the body cycles through different sleep stages. Because your body’s temperature regulation is less effective during certain stages, a hot room might wake you up in order that your body can resume thermoregulation, Robbins said.

“That’s why temperature is such a critical component of a healthy night’s sleep,” she added.

Robbins recommends keeping your bedroom temperature between 65 to 69 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal sleep, which isn’t at all times possible without air-con or increasing your electricity bills. Here are another strategies that can even make it easier to stay cool and sleep higher in hot weather.

Make Your Sleeping Environment Cooler

Thinking creatively about your sleeping arrangements might help, so try to seek out the place in your private home that’s the “coolest and has essentially the most airflow,” Robbins said.

Using shutters or curtains and opening windows through the day might help cool off your room before bedtime. Using a fan can even help improve airflow during hot summer nights.

“You can put ice behind a fan to blow some cooler air so that you just at the least get into the sleep higher,” said John Saito, MDa board-certified sleep medicine expert in Fountain Valley, California.

Try Breathable Pajamas and Cooling Pillows

Pajamas and beddings created from breathable fabrics like cotton and linen might help keep your body cool, based on Monica Kalra, DOa primary care physician at Memorial Hermann in Sugar Land, Texas.

Cooling mattress toppers or pillows may also help lower the temperature. “Cooling pillows contain gel overlays which absorb body heat and keep the pinnacle and neck cool throughout the night,” Kalra told Verywell in an email.

Putting an ice pack under your pillow isn’t the perfect option, but you possibly can keep ice in your bedside table to make use of as needed. Robbins suggested keeping a towel and ice nearby to chill off the hands and the brow before bed when you’re struggling to go to sleep.

Take a Not Too Warm Shower

While taking a chilly shower looks as if an obvious approach to cool down quickly, studies have shown that hot-water bathing just a few hours before bedtime before could make it easier to go to sleep.

However, the water shouldn’t be too hot, said Carl W. Bazil, MD, PhDa professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center.

“A warm shower will send your body into cooling mode, which we all know might help promote sleep as your body temperature normally falls through the night,” Bazil told Verywell in an email. “But if it’s too warm, it could just exacerbate sweating and discomfort in an excessively warm bedroom. In that case, a mildly cooling shower may very well be higher.”

Practice Good Sleep Hygiene

It’s not at all times possible to create the right sleep environment, especially in hot weather. Keeping a very good bedtime routine continues to be essential in the summertime, as stress and anxiety can reduce sleep quality.

Sleep experts say that general sleep hygiene habits—reminiscent of keeping a consistent bedtime and turning off your screens an hour before bed—can make it easier to sleep higher, even in hot weather.

“Avoid eating near bedtime, avoid alcohol, and likewise adding in time to loosen up and unwind before bedtime is sweet for all of us, but especially when you’re a bit bit concerned about sleep difficulties on account of temperature,” Robbins said.