With temperatures on the rise and summer heatwaves setting in, staying cool is more important than ever.
Thankfully, an expert at EarthKind, a sustainable bedding company, has revealed four ‘easy steps’ to beat the heat this summer on @earthkinduk TikTok.
The footage – which racked up over 120,000 views – was captioned: ‘How to cool down in bed.’
The sleep expert advised that the best way to stay cool at night is to take a cold shower before going to bed.
She said: ‘Take a cold shower 15-20 minutes before you go to sleep to cool down your body temperature.’
Next, she shared how a wet flannel could be the answer to sleepless summer nights this year.
The expert explained : ‘Take a flannel and run it under some cold water – this can be used to dab your face throughout the night to cool you down or as a cold compress on your head.’
Another tip was to close your blinds during the day to ensure sunlight stays out of your home.
An expert at EarthKind, a sustainable bedding company, revealed four ‘easy steps to stay cool this summer’ on @earthkinduk TikTok
‘Make sure all your blinds are down so the sunlight does not warm up your bedroom,’ the expert stressed.
Finally, the EarthKind employee shared her ‘favourite’ piece of advice for keeping cool this summer.
‘Take your pillowcase and put them in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes and trust me, you will have the best night sleep with these hacks.’
Many took to the comments to share that they plan to try the hacks themselves – but others were sceptical.
One person said: ‘I’ll try it!’ Another added: ‘Showering before bed with cold water is bad as it makes u feel energised and increases adrenaline.’
If you can’t sleep in the heat, scientists may have a counterintuitive solution. Although it might seem bizarre, putting on a pair of socks before you head to bed could be the key to drifting off peacefully.
Studies have shown that this simple hack can help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and get a better night of rest.
Wearing socks has even been proven to be effective at bedroom temperatures up to 23°C. This strange trick works because our bodies’ sleep and temperature regulation systems are deeply linked.
Next, she shared how a wet flannel could be the answer to sleepless summer nights
Professor Eus van Someren, head of the Department of Sleep and Cognition at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, told MailOnline: ‘The brain not only regulates body temperature, but also reads out skin temperature. It may interpret warm feet as the right moment to fall asleep.’
Our core body temperature has a day-night rhythm, starting to drop in the evening to reach its lowest point around four in the morning. That means the best time to sleep is when the core body temperature is on its way down.
Normally, your body would cool itself close to bedtime by sending blood to the skin in a process called distal vasodilation, which makes the skin hot.
Professor van Someren says this is like ‘opening the radiator in the heating system in your home.’
When you put on socks, this increases the temperature of your skin and creates signals that your brain mistakes for the warming caused by vasodilation.
Your brain will then believe that it is time to fall asleep, and you will find it easier to drift off. But wearing socks also helps you get to sleep in a more counterintuitive way.
When our skin becomes hot, the brain’s temperature control system sends a signal to the body telling it to start venting heat by sending hot blood into veins near the surface.
This causes an increase in vasodilation, sending blood rushing to the skin and dropping the core body temperature down to safe levels.
Finally, the EarthKind employee shared her ‘favourite’ piece of advice for keeping cool this summer
Dr Michael Gradisar, head of sleep science and clinical psychologist and Sleep Cycle, says that wearing socks can trick the body into triggering vasodilation. This, in turn, causes the core body temperature to drop and helps you drift off to sleep.
Dr Gradisar says: ‘For people who need extra help warming their feet to assist their natural thermoregulation, socks can be helpful.’
That might be especially useful if you suffer from Raynaud’s phenomenon, poor circulation, or other conditions that interfere with blood flow to the extremities.
A study published in 2018 by researchers from Seoul National University found that wearing bed socks significantly improved sleep even when the room was a toasty 23°C.
Those who wore socks to bed fell asleep 7.5 minutes faster on average and woke up more than seven times less frequently during the night.
