Keeping your cool during hot and humid summer nights

I AM writing this column with my study window open to enjoy a gentle breeze during this heat wave.

During such times many people find sleep to be difficult.

It is getting off to sleep that proves particularly hard when the bedroom is warm and the nights seem both humid and sticky.

It is hard to drop off to sleep when the body is hot.

Your core body temperature needs to drop slightly to achieve sleep.

So, in this hot weather it is an idea to try to cool down before you actually get into bed.

The first thing is to get the temperature of the bedroom right.

Having the window open is an obvious thing to do. The outer air will be cooling, so that is a start.

Yet it is also worth ensuring that the bedroom doesn’t get too hot throughout the day.

If the sun is shining through the window all day then the bed and bedsheets will get warm, as will the furniture in the bedroom.

It is therefore an idea to keep the curtains closed or have the blinds down during the day in order to keep the room cool in the evening.

Consider bedding. Do you really need a thick duvet at this time of year?

Get a summer duvet and use light bed sheets.

Although you think that it is easy to just push a duvet down if you get too hot, the double thickness that you create will potentially increase the heat around your feet. This can make you feel hotter.

Washing your feet with cold water before you get into bed is worth doing.

Similarly, running cold water over your wrists can be surprisingly effective.

This is because you cool down the blood over the pulses, which are the points on the body where the arteries are nearest the surface.

This is also why dampening your temples cools you, as it cools the areas round your temporal arteries.

Finally, but very importantly, make sure you are not dehydrated.

Dehydration causes your mouth and nasal passages to become dry.

This in turn can make you much more likely to experience snoring, which can disturb sleep overnight both for yourself and for your partner.

Even slight dehydration can also make you more prone to night cramps.

So, make sure you have an adequate fluid intake before you go to bed.