High angle view of attractive girl sleeping on pillow near open refrigeratorExperiencing the dreaded night sweats? Having difficulty sleeping at night because you feel too hot?

Whether you live in a hot and humid climate or you’re experiencing a summer heat wave, there’s really nothing more uncomfortable than being overheated while you’re trying to fall asleep.

On the other hand, fluctuating hormones, sleeping with a partner, lack of mattress breathability and higher body temperature are all potential culprits that make it hard to sleep soundly.

What is the best temperature for sleep?

The truth is, our bodies naturally prefer sleeping in a cooler space. This doesn’t necessarily mean sleeping in a freezer type environment. But our body temperature and room environment can make or break the quality of our sleep. If we’re too hot or too cold, it quickly robs us of quality sleep, according to this study.

Typically, our internal temperatures drop when we settle into bed. This signals to our brains that it’s time for sleep and enables our REM stage of sleep when our muscles are relaxed and we dream. As a result, it’s imperative to maintain a cooler environment and body temperature.

For this reason, most sleep experts recommend setting your thermostat to around 65°F (18.3°C).

Luckily, we’re here to help you stay cool at night, avoid overheating and have the restorative, comfortable snooze that you deserve. Continue reading to learn more about how you can keep your body, room and bed a lot cooler.

5 ways to cool yourself down before bed

1. Avoid exercising before bed

Of course, it’s important to exercise regularly as it helps to improve your sleep quality, not to mention your overall health. But doing intense exercise in the evening can re-energize you and increase your body’s temperature, making it difficult to cool down and unwind before bed.

2. Take a cool shower

Or at least, a warm shower. Somewhere in the middle of cool and warm will get the job done. You could also take a warm shower to wash your hair and body, then gradually cool it down towards the end. This is a quick and easy way to cool down and beat the heat before bed. And if you don’t mind going to bed with wet hair, this could significantly help cool yourself down.

3. Don’t eat heavy food

Once and awhile, we’re all going to have a late night meal because life can get hectic. But if you’re sleeping too hot and noticing a pattern of eating dinner later in the evening every night then it’s time to make a change. When we eat, our body temperatures rise, especially in the evening when our metabolism is slower. Essentially, our bodies are working harder to digest the meal at the same time that our body is getting ready for sleep mode. To avoid this confusion, stick to cooler snacks like fruit or lighter meals like salad or mixed vegetables.

4. Sleep in comfortable clothing

Put on your most comfortable, loose-fitting clothes that will help your body breathe. In this regard, wear lightweight cotton sleepwear instead of synthetic, satin, silk or polyester clothes. This will help cool your body temperature and promote airflow for optimal rest and relaxation. You can also opt for sleeping in your birthday suit—but that’s completely up to you!

5. Stay hydrated

Throughout your day and evening, keep drinking plenty of fluids.  If you’re not hydrated enough at any point, you might find the headaches start coming and you start to feel warm, making it hard to fall asleep. Furthermore, dehydration can potentially cause higher blood pressure, which forces your heart to pump harder, thereby increasing your internal body temperature. On that note, stay away from caffeine, sugary drinks and too much alcohol before bed.

5 ways to keep your bedroom cool

1. Run fans and AC at the same time

Of course, it’s important to exercise regularly as it helps to improve your sleep quality, not to mention your overall health. But doing intense exercise in the evening can re-energize you and increase your body’s temperature, making it difficult to cool down and unwind before bed.

2. Hack your fan with ice

Not everyone has AC. And sometimes it’s not always working or reliable. But If you have fans, you can maximize their impact by filling a bowl with ice cubes and placing it in front. The ice will melt as the fan gently blows cooler, mistier air into the atmosphere.

3. Switch off unnecessary appliances

You might be thinking, how does this make my bedroom cooler? Well, our technological devices generate heat. Plugged in electronics such as phones, tablets, laptops and lamps warm up a room more than you might suspect. Just one laptop generates around 50 watts of heat! Power down and unplug any devices that you don’t need before you go to sleep to achieve a cooler sleep environment.

4. Shut your blinds and curtains during the day

You can easily keep your bedroom cool at night by keeping it cool during the day, especially if you work in a hot and humid climate. Shut your blinds, close the curtains and turn the lights off so your room doesn’t heat up from those peak, warm, mid-afternoon sun rays.

5. Create a cross-breeze

Opening a window doesn’t always cut it. Keep air flowing by facing a fan towards an open window and your bed somewhere in between. If you have multiple fans—even better!

4 ways to make your bed cooler

1. Freeze the sheets

Of course, it’s important to exercise regularly as it helps to improve your sleep quality, not to mention your overall health. But doing intense exercise in the evening can re-energize you and increase your body’s temperature, making it difficult to cool down and unwind before bed.

2. Use cooling sleep technology

Sleep technology has come a long way. And with it has come pillows, mattress pads, mattress toppers and bed sheets that are made to regulate your body temperature and absorb heat from your body. Either through specialty materials, construction or gel technology, these products are designed to keep you cool while you’re sleeping. They are more expensive, so research products thoroughly and read through customer reviews.

Alternatively, you could invest in quality cotton, linen or wool bedding to wick away moisture and regulate the temperature.

3. Flip your pillow

Our heads radiate a lot of heat, so it’s not surprising if you feel overheated on your pillow. One of the simplest tricks in the book is to flip your pillow if you are waking up throughout the night. The other side of the pillow is generally the same temperature as the room, which means that it will feel particularly refreshing against your cheek.

4. Switch to a gel, innerspring or latex mattress

Your sleep surface is partly responsible for how hot you sleep. With this in mind, consider switching to a mattress that is known for being more breathable and cooling. Memory foam mattresses are notorious for retaining heat more than other mattresses.

So if you are ready to make a new mattress investment, we suggest going for either an innerspring, latex or gel mattress. Overall, the best type of mattress for hot sleepers is an innerspring mattress because air moves a lot more freely between the coils and they don’t have a dense layer like foam mattresses.

More sleeping, less sweating

It’s so important to get a good night’s sleep. But when we’re restless, sticking to our sheets and sweating from head to toe, then quality shuteye feels unattainable. There are plenty of ways to stay cool, whether you’re taking control of your environment, bed or body. Here’s to more sleeping and less sweating!