Column: Dr's Casebook" Dr Keith Souter: Cool parts of your body to sleep better in a heatwave
The heatwaves have made sleep difficult for a lot of people. Getting off to sleep can be particularly hard when the bedroom is already warm and the nights seem humid and sticky. It is worth having some cooling strategies.
It is hard to drop off to sleep when the body is hot. Your core body needs to drop slightly to achieve sleep. So, in this hot weather it is an idea to try to cool down before you 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 in the day in order to keep the room cool in the evening.
Consider the 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.
Having a cool bath or shower before bed may not appeal, but cooling parts of the body can make a big difference. 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, making you more likely to experience snoring, which can disturb both yourself and your partner’s sleep. Even slight dehydration can also make you more prone to night cramps. So, make sure you have adequate fluid before bed.