Five ways to sleep better during a heat wave without blasting the AC
If youre tossing and turning trying to fall asleep on a hot summer night, youre not alone. Sleep experts say a cool environment helps you drift off and stay asleep . But in many places around the world, nights have warmed faster than daytime temperatures and research suggests the heat could be leading people to lose hours of shut-eye. One recent study, for instance, estimated that people are losing an average of 44 hours of sleep per year . On nights above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, people slept about 14 minutes less on average. We may not feel as restored in the morning as we should, said Mathias Basner, a psychiatry professor in the Division of Sleep and Chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. While air conditioning might seem like a simple solution to this problem, experts say its not the answer. High temperatures tax air conditioners , which guzzle energy and can place additional strain on the electricity grid, and there are people who dont have access to it. Here are five tips to help you sleep better on hot nights. You dont have to run your air conditioner 24 hours a day. Heres what to do. The process of falling asleep and your bodys core internal temperature are connected, experts say. When its time to sleep, the body begins cooling down by dissipating heat, which is largely lost through your head, arms, hands, legs and feet. Lowering your bodys temperature is necessary for your brain to transition to sleep, Basner said. If the bedroom is so hot that theres not a big difference between skin and room temperature, then it gets harder just to dump temperature quickly, he said. To keep your space cool: What not to eat when its hot out Although you might be tempted to go without any covering on a hot night, your body temperature changes while youre asleep, so some experts recommend opting for a lighter blanket or just a sheet on hot nights. Oftentimes when youre lying for a while, you actually then do start to feel cool, so its good to have something to cover you up with, Basner said. A cool shower could help, but make sure the water isnt too cold, experts say. You dont want to be uncomfortable, said Rafael Pelayo, a clinical professor and sleep medicine specialist at Stanford Universitys School of Medicine. You dont want anything to make your heart race. Leaving your hair and skin damp can help you feel cooler, he added. You can also try to target areas where the most heat is lost, Pelayo said. He recommends placing cool washcloths on your forehead, hands and feet. If youre sharing a bed with someone who is warm or sweats in their sleep, try sleeping apart from them, Pelayo said. Consider sleeping on the floor, which is often cooler, he said. It may also help to move to a cooler spot in your home, such as a basement if you have one, said Kathryn Reid, a neurology professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine who studies sleep medicine. On hot nights when it might be difficult to achieve the ideal temperature for sleeping, experts recommend focusing on doing other things to promote sleep , such as creating a dark and quiet environment, preparing for bed by unplugging from screens and winding down with relaxing activities. It certainly cant hurt to weigh the different factors in your favor, Reid said. Kasha Patel contributed to this report.