Too Hot To Sleep At Night? Try These 5 Tips

The heat in Dubai is not for the fainthearted – it gives rise to many short term illnesses and makes getting through the day quite uncomfortable. You can combat it by being in an airconditioned environment, though this is not recommended for the long term. The heat is quite acute at night, just when you are trying to fall asleep.

But don’t let the heat ruin your sleep at night. This article presents 5 easy fixes for reclaiming your lost sleep, heatwave or no heatwave:

#1 Change your mattress.

With the heat outside making it difficult to fall asleep like you normally do, make sure your mattress does not contribute to the problem. Unknown to you, your mattress overheats during sleep – due to the weather conditions and also by absorbing your body heat all night – and contributes to broken, disturbed sleep. If you wake up in a sweat despite the fan being on, it simply means that that your mattress is causing more problems than you realised. Here’s an idea that will help not just during the heat wave, but also during the other times of the year – get a memory foam mattress. The most comfortable beds in Dubai are fitted with memory foam mattresses because they conform to the body shape instantly, and have air cooling abilities that disallow heat to be trapped inside the mattress for long.

#2 Drape yourself in a thin cotton sheet instead of a duvet.

Making a change to your bed starts with getting a memory foam mattress, and then ditching the blankets you have been using all along. It is all very well to use a thick duvet or blanket in the cold winter months. But when you are battling severe heat and disturbed sleep as a result of it, you need to ensure that your skin can breathe and not get too hot and sweaty. The simplest thing to do is keep your usual duvet or blanket aside and choose a thin cotton sheet to cover yourself in while you sleep. Cotton sheets allow air to pass in and out and your skin will feel relaxed at once.

#3 Pop your sheets in the fridge for 20 minutes.

An easy way to ensure that your bed does not overheat is to deal with the bed linen itself. You’ve already taken our tip about using a thin cotton sheet on board. Now go one step ahead and take the bed sheets off your bed. Fold them and pop them in the refrigerator for about 20 to 30 minutes (10 minutes should be fine if you pop them in the freezer). Tuck the cold sheets in just before bed and wait for a minute before lying down on them. Having a cool and comfortable bed to lay down on makes dealing with the heat much easier.

#4 Cool yourself before bed.

Apart from cooling your bed linen, consider cooling down your skin as well. Have a cool water shower just before going to bed – it should literally be the last thing you do before the sheets. Cool water brings down the surface temperature of your skin, and gives you a general feeling of relaxation and wellbeing. Your heart rate will slow down, your skin will feel cool and clean, and your body will relax completely before you fall asleep.

#5 Turn off the lights.

An unknown culprit disturbing your sleep is the artificial light in your room or near your bed. Incandescent bulbs give off heat when in use, and this contributes to the overall heat already trapped inside the room. Switch to cool LED bulbs or lamps – these emit ‘cold’ light, which means that the light does not have a heat component. Also, whether you use incandescent lights or not, always switch off the light source near your sleeping area at least one hour before bed, so that your brain can switch off and start sending sleep signals. The same applies to your gadgets like mobile phone, laptop, e-book reader and gaming console – the light emanating from these devices keeps the brain awake for longer, thus disturbing your sleep patterns.