How to Sleep in the Heat: Summer Sleeping Guide

Your most common question about bedding is how to get a good sleep in hot weather. We may not have a straightforward answer, but we have got lots of tried and tested tips and tricks for summer snoozing for you. 

As much as we love the long, lazy sunny days, the warm evenings can make nodding off to sleep tricky and uncomfortable. We know how annoying it is to get tangled in sweat-soaked bedsheets, constantly turn your pillow to the cold side, or throw off the covers (and clothes) completely - but it’s not all nightmare news.

Our Summer Sleep Guide is packed with advice and tips so you can sleep peacefully, come heatwave or humidity. Read on for:

• How to make your bed for the summer
• Preparing for a hot night’s sleep
• Tips on how to sleep in the heat

Sound summer sleeping starts here…

First things first, let’s take it back to basics and look at how you make your bed for summer nights. The ambience of your room affects how well you sleep, with studies showing people sleep better in a  bedroom environment  that’s optimised for comfort.

A sound sleeping setup starts with the  bed linen set  you’re falling asleep in. While some people sleep without any covers to keep cool, many of us like the comfort that comes from a lightweight duvet. 

 What tog is a light summer duvet? 

When the clocks go forward, it’s time to start thinking about swapping out your thick, marshmallow-like duvet for a lighter alternative. We’d suggest switching to a lower tog duvet, which means less warmth (ideal for hot summer evenings). 

Tog ratings have nothing to do with the quality of your duvet - they’re purely a measurement of warmth. For summer, we recommend a light 4.5 tog duvet to avoid a sweaty night’s sleep. If you’re a naturally hot sleeper regardless of the weather, try a super light 2.5 tog duvet for an even lighter touch over the summer.

 Is an all seasons duvet suitable for the summer?  

Alternatively, your all seasons duvet is designed so you can sleep comfortably all year round. It comes with two separate  duvets : a light 4.5 tog for the summer months and a heavier 9 tog for both spring and autumn. Layer the two together and you’ve got yourself a 13.5 tog duvet, perfect for keeping you warm and snug during chilly  winter  nights. All  Secret Linen Store   duvet fillings  come with all seasons options, too, so you're spoilt for choice come rain or shine.

For more advice about choosing the right duvet tog for you, head to our guide:  What is Duvet Tog? A Guide to Tog Ratings .

When it comes to choosing cool bedding for summer, bed sheets and  duvet covers  made from natural fibres will help regulate your temperature much better than manmade poly-cotton. We really mean it when we say there's nothing better than sleeping under crisp 100%  cotton bedding  or light linen bed sheets, particularly when the sun’s been beating down.

 Cotton bedding for summer 

Cotton is a natural material many of us favour for sleeping because it’s so breathable. Cool air easily passes through its fibres, making it both comfortable and durable even on the hottest summer night.

If you’d like the comfort of a duvet between June and August but would like to minimise the chance of ending up stuck to it,  cotton bedding  is ideal. Thanks to feeling light against your skin, they’ll keep you cool, calm, and collected as you drift off into sunny summer dreams.

 Summer linen bedding 

100%  linen bedding  is also prime for making sure you get lots of shuteye during even the hottest evenings. Linen fabric is super absorbent and can take up to a fifth of its weight before feeling damp. So if you’re a particularly sweaty sleeper, linen bedding should be your go-to for wicking away any perspiration to keep your body comfortable. 

The weave of  bed linen  fabric is slightly different to cotton, too, and allows air to flow more freely around your body. It’s also stiffer, so your linen duvet cover or  pillowcases  are even less likely to cling to your body.

The bedding you sleep in or the bed you sleep on are two core factors in getting a good night’s sleep in the summer. But there’s also something else to take into account: the position of your bed in your bedroom. 

Feng Sui for Bedrooms

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art which follows numerous principles that optimise the layout of objects in a room. For instance, a good bedroom Feng Shui involves placing the bed in a commanding position so it faces the door, but isn’t directly in line with it. Many believe this practice has positive impacts on health, wellbeing, comfort, and more.

 Try Sleeping As Per Vastu Shastra 

Similarly, you might have heard of sleeping ‘as per Vastu shastra’. Like Feng Shui, Vastu shastra is a collection of design and layout principles which originated in ancient India. They advise placing your head towards the east while sleeping so you wake with positive energy from the morning sun. According to Vastu shastra, laying your head north or west is to be avoided because you’re more likely to experience disturbed sleep.

In recent years, it’s become more popular to find beautiful cotton bedsheets and linen pillowcases chilling next to fruit and veg in people’s fridges and freezers. More people feel it’s one of the best techniques for getting a good night’s sleep during the summer, thanks to lying on cold rather than warm  fitted sheets  and  pillows .

The effect is temporary, of course. But as long as you wrap your sheets in a bag and avoid doing it on nights where you have smelly leftovers, it could be worth a go for those muggy nights.

One of our simplest but most effective tips for keeping cool in bed over the summer is to keep your bedroom curtains or blinds closed during the day. This prevents the scorching sun from steadily warming your room and turning it into a claustrophobic greenhouse.

Close the bedroom door, too, to keep heat from the rest of your home out. If it’s safe to leave the window open a crack, then that’s even better, as that allows a stream of cooler air to enter your room as the sun goes down and night falls. 

With your snooze space set up, we’re thinking about what you should do before you get in between your crisp cotton sheets for a peaceful night’s sleep.

Use Cold Compresses to Stay Cool

Did you know running cold water over your wrists is an effective way to cool your body temperature down? Do this on those uncomfortably hot nights and keep an ice pack on your bedside table to continue cooling your wrists and temples throughout the night. You could even repurpose your winter hot water bottle into a summer cold ice block.

 Get Rid of Gadgets for Distraction-Free Sleep 

If, like us, you’re guilty of scrolling in bed before you close your eyes, then you’re at risk of overstimulating your mind and making it tricky to dose off. Even charging your phone next to your bed will cause your room to get hotter, because charging generates heat energy. Get into the habit of turning your phone off when it’s time to wind down or leaving it outside your room for the best chance of nodding off quickly. 

 Should You Sleep Naked? 

As we discovered when we asked what the UK wears to bed, most people like to sleep in their birthday suits - and with good reason. Sleeping in the nude can reduce your body temperature, because you’re unencumbered by any additional layers. However, opinion on how far this technique works is split. 

Some experts believe wearing nightclothes can actually make you feel more comfortable as they draw sweat away from the body, like the linen fabrics we touched on earlier. Whether you wake up in your cool, linen PJ set or find it strewn on the floor when your alarm goes off, make sure you’re wearing high quality, lightweight nightwear for the best chance of getting a sound sleep.

 Block the Noise with Earplugs 

It’s so annoying to be woken up just as you slip into a deep sleep, especially in the summer heat when it takes longer than usual. From a noisy late night garden party or the heavy breathing of someone next to you, you need as much peace and quiet as you can get to drift into a dream. 

Earplugs block out noise, so you can nod off without excessive or unwanted noises keeping you awake. They’re also perfect if you fancy opening the window and letting air in without any sound. (Just make sure you get yourself an extra loud alarm clock so you can make the most of the sun come the morning)

Up Your Fan Game with Ice

It’s not the most revolutionary tip, but placing a bowl of ice in front of your fan while it’s running is. The fan will push ice cold rather than lukewarm air around the room, giving you a cool, tranquil temperature to sleep in.

Sleep on Your Side

The less body surface area you expose to air or your cotton  duvet , the better. That’s because there’s less skin to absorb the temperature and get hot and sticky. Side sleeping is the way forward for the summer, especially if you share a bed with someone else. Our bodies radiate lots of heat, particularly at nighttime, so a little distance between you both will also keep the temperature cooler than if you’re snuggled up together. 

With your cotton bedding plumped and earplugs ready to go, the last thing to think about is the bigger picture. In the lead up to a warm night, what you do in the daytime can hugely impact your quality of sleep.

 Prioritise Exercise  

Exercise in the sunshine sounds sweaty and uncomfortable, so why are we suggesting it? Well, keeping active tires you out, meaning your mind and body are both ready to rest come bedtime. Whether that’s an evening walk as the sun sets or a or a full workout in the air conned sanctuary of the gym, your body will thank you as it slips into a deep sleep with ease.

 Eat Light Foods 

Calories generate heat, so it’s a good idea to opt for lighter, earlier evening meals during the summer months. Come night time, your food will have digested and you can wind down, free of the bloat (or cheese induced nightmares).

 Take a Cool Shower  

If you can bear it, a cold shower will work a treat to cool your body temperature ahead of slipping in-between the sheets. When you shower, choose products that have sleep enhancing qualities. We love a lavender body wash followed by a chamomile  pillow  mist for a tranquil ambience as we close our eyes.

 Keep Water on Tap  

There's nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth. It’s an effort to get out of bed and head to the kitchen for a glass of water, so there’s an easy solution: keep a glass or bottle by your bedside. 

In the hotter months, it’s even more important than usual to drink lots of water and stay hydrated. But the downside is needing the loo more, so try to avoid downing pints of water or other drinks before bed. You can also pour water into a spray mister and spritz this over yourself if you wake up hot, too.

 And If All Else Fails…

 Sleep Downstairs 

Some summer nights, it’s simply impossible to nod off. Hot air rises, meaning our bedrooms are going to be some of the warmest rooms in the house, even with all these tips in mind. When you’ve exhausted all options, it’s time to resort to sleeping downstairs. Though we hope keeping your luxury linen sheets in the living room is more temporary than permanent, it’s a good idea to set up a proper ‘bedroom’ if the heat is set to stick for a while, during a heatwave for instance. 

 Your Tips for Sleeping in the Heat of the Summer 

There you have it, our summer sleeping guide with tips and tricks on how to sleep in the heat. We’re sure there’s lots of other techniques to keep cool out there, too, so please contact us with yours so we can add them to the list.