If you’re an avid CharTec blog reader, you know we’ve written about the negative side effects of not getting enough sleep. And if you missed it, the basic run down is this: if you don’t sleep well or long enough, your workday suffers. Badly.
So we decided to investigate the main reasons people aren’t getting a good night of rest, and being from the California desert, being too hot was a top contender. Here are some ways to cope with the heat when you need some shut-eye.
-
Close your curtains
The heat’s already got you grumpy as a troll. Why not create your own cave? Keeping curtains and blinds shut during the day prevents all that terrible sunlight from entering and accumulating in your lair. You don’t need to see outside anyway; after all, the ice cream truck has a jingle for that very reason. Invest in some blackout curtains and you’ll notice a difference.
-
De-muggify your space
The only thing worse than heat is damp heat. Humidity makes it harder for your body to cool itself down, thereby magnifying heat’s miserable effects. Air conditioning can remove a good amount of moisture from the air, but a small dehumidifier can also make a big difference. In Europe, for example, many wall A/C units have a dehumidify-only setting, and it makes a huge difference. Trust us. One of our very own CharTec employees lived in Italy for several years and she swears by dehumidifiers.
-
Chill your sheets
Leave folded linens in the fridge for a few hours in the evening. Just before it’s time to go to sleep, pop them on the bed, then fling yourself down and luxuriate in the goosebumps. The cold won’t last, but by the time it fades, you should already be conked out. It’s said the ancient Egyptians used to wet their linens and have them be slightly damp so that evaporation would keep them cool all night. Those smarties.
-
Go underground
Hopefully, we all know this science fact: hot air rises while cool air sinks. By nightfall, the upper floors of your house are stuffed with a day’s worth of heat. If you’ve got access to a basement, you’ve got your own walk-in sleep freezer. That’s why wine cellars are in the basement; they need to stay cool.
-
Bare your feet
It’s normal to feel like you need to be curled up in a blanket in order to sleep, but your toes don’t need to be covered up. Your hands and feet are filled with veins, so cooling your feet cools the blood within them. When that blood circulates, it can help reduce your total body temperature. Voila!
-
Fix your air flow
Most ceiling fans have two settings: counter-clockwise for summer, to push cool air downward, and clockwise for winter, to draw the cool air up. Just flip the switch on the fan body to get things moving in the right direction. And don’t feel bad if you didn’t realize that fans had different spin settings. It’s news to a lot of people.
-
Put ice packs on your pulse points
The good news is, you don’t need to submerge your entire body in an ice bath. Applying cold packs to the inside of your wrists, elbows, and knees, as well as the back of your neck and your forehead, will go a long way toward shedding some of that nasty heat. Unless you prefer ice baths. Then power to you.
