Summer Sleep Tips & Get A Summer Ready Bedroom

The long hot days of summer can make it difficult to get the best sleep possible. The heat alone can make it uncomfortable enough to not get to sleep at night. Let alone the sun shining brightly into the evening hours. Which is why we have collected our top summer sleep tips. All so you can get great sleep throughout the summer season.

Have a hard time staying cool? Learn more about the causes of night sweats: What Causes Night Sweats? Tips To Sleep Cool

Take a Hot Bath/Shower Before Bed:

We know this sounds counter intuitive, but hear us out. When you take a hot shower or bath, you obviously begin to heat up. Your body also becomes flush, which is your body pushing blood up to the surface in an attempt to cool off your blood as quickly as possible.

When you get out of your extra warm bath or shower, two things happen. The surrounding air feels far cooler than before. You are also wet, which adds to the cooling sensation. The warm shower will help you relax for bed, while the quick drop in temperature afterword will help your body go into sleep mode.

You May Also Enjoy: Stress Free Nightly Routine

Black Out Curtains

You will be amazed how much of a difference using black out curtains can make on the temperature of your bedroom. If the sun likes to blast through your windows in the summer, block it out when you are not using your room.

By doing this, you are essentially insulating your room in order to keep it from being heated up by the rays of the sun. This is especially important if you get a lot of evening sun in your room. If you can, use curtains and blinds throughout the house in order to keep the entire home as cool as possible.

Ice Water & Wash Cloth

Keep a glass of ice water at your bedside. If you have an insulated tumbler that keeps your water extra cold, definitely use it. We also suggest keeping a wash cloth at your bedside as well.

This way if you wake up feeling warm throughout the night, you can take a sip of extra cold water to cool off. Wet the wash cloth and use it as a cool compress on your forehead hands and neck. This is a great way to cool yourself down in a hurry.

When you wash cloth warms up, give it a spin in the air. (Kind of like a cowboy and a lasso, but don’t let go.) This gets the cloth back to feeling nice and cool again.

Turn on The Cool Air

AC can get expensive, we understand this. However, if you can turn down the AC, absolutely do so. We sleep far better in cooler climates as we sleep. Overheating is a common reason for disrupted sleep.

Typically, we recommend keeping your bedroom around 67-70 degrees at night. Your home should be cooler in the evenings than you keep it throughout the day. This will help you stay awake throughout the day.

While cooling it down at night mimics natural temperature changes when the sun goes down, which helps to send signals to your brain that it is time to sleep and stay asleep.

Block Out the Light

Another benefit to your blackout curtains and blinds, is to use them in order to block out unwanted light. During those long summer days, the sun likes to stay out much later than during the winter months. Making it far more difficult to get to bed on time. Who needs sleep when the sun is still rockin’ and rollin’? At least, that is what our circadian rhythm thinks.

A few hours before you plan on going to dinner, shut all the curtains and turn down the lights in your home. In fact, shut off all of those blue light emitting devices like your TV, smartphones, and tablets as well. This way your brain has a fighting chance in creating its own melatonin.

Learn more about how blue light affects your sleeping habits in our post: Can Blue Light Blocking Glasses Help You Sleep?

Invest in High Tech Cooling Devices

There are so many cool and unique devices out there specifically made so you can adjust the temperature of your mattress or pillow as you sleep. These smart devices use different methods to ensure you get the optimal sleep temperature throughout the night.

This way you can sleep comfortably without having to heat or cool your entire home, or argue over the thermostat. These high-tech devices can also be great money savers.

While they can cost a pretty penny, they will more than make up for it in saved costs of pumping your AC to cool down your entire house, when all you really need is to quickly cool down your person in order to get great sleep.

Click HERE for our top favorite cooling devices for hot sleepers.

Wear Lightweight Pajamas

Lightweight, breezy, cool pajamas are a must in the summertime. There is no reason to wear clingy, fuzzy, warm pajamas when the weather is hot.

Most importantly we suggest looking into checking materials on your pajamas, breathable materials like linen or cotton are going to be a great pick for summer. The materials are naturally breathable and help to wick moisture away from the body. This way if you do sweat, you are not left in a sweaty puddle.

Not into pajamas? Go nude instead! You may want to wash your sheets more often if you skip the PJs. However, sleeping naked can be a great way to stay cool and comfortable during the summer.

Learn more about the many pros and cons to sleeping in the nude in our post: Pros & Cons to Sleeping Nude

Skip the Snuggles

It most cases we highly recommend snuggling before bed, being held and holding others that we love has an incredible calming effect. It can help reduce stress hormones and even help to induce sleep.

However, snuggling up against your partner is an easy way to become hot and sweaty very quickly. Instead spread out and give each other a bit of space. This will help to keep you both cool and comfortable.

Click HERE to learn more about the benefits of snuggling!

Invest in A Cool Sleeping Mattress for Summer

The mattress you sleep on can make a huge difference in how cool you sleep at night. The materials and overall build of the bed can either retain heat, or help heat dissipate in order to keep you, the sleeper, more comfortable.

Materials like dense foam, and memory foam tend to gold onto heat more. However, some combat this heat retention with cooling gels. While natural materials like cotton and wool actually help to regulate temperature and keep you cool. (Yes, wool! It keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer.)

Click HERE to learn more about our Top Picks for Cool Sleeping Mattresses!

Keep Your Sleep Schedule Consistent

Whenever we talk about habits that will help you to sleep well, consistency in schedule is always mentioned. This is because our bodies thrive on consistency, especially our circadian rhythms.

Keeping a consistent sleep schedule can become difficult during the summer months as the sun stays out longer. It can be easy to allow your bedtime to become later and later, especially if your kids are home for the summer break. However, keeping a consistent sleep schedule will help you get the best sleep possible all year round.

You May Also Enjoy: Tips for Kid’s Summer Sleep Routine

Chill Your Pillow Case

Looking for a bit of cooling relief right when you get into bed? Try putting your pillow cases in the freezer. Then when you are ready to go to bed, pop your nice and cool pillowcase onto your pillow and enjoy.

Not only does it feel great, but the freezing process can even kill off some bacteria that may be lingering in your pillowcase. While this is not a long-lasting solution to staying cool, it is inexpensive and feels fantastic when you hop into bed.

Curate Your Perfect Summer Bedroom

Changing your space to better suite your needs throughout different seasons is a great idea for getting better sleep. It is a great way to celebrate the changing of the seasons while also creating a space that will be comfortable in cooler or warmer weather. The following are our tips on how you can edit your bedroom to be the perfect sleep space during the summer months.

Lighter Layers:

For your bedding, choose light and breezy materials. Then create light layers of sheets, coverlets, and a lighter duvet. This way you can cover us if you like, or opt for a lighter layer if it is particularly warm. The light layers make it easier to adjust your comfort quickly and easily throughout the night.

Summer Scents:

Scents create such a strong sense of environment and mood. It is also an inexpensive and fun way to embrace the summer season in your room. Herbal and citrus scents are great for a summer bedroom.

Try to choose scents that are both light and relaxing, like a spa atmosphere. Keep the heavier scents for the colder seasons. Scents intensify in heat, which means sometimes all the scent you need in the summer is the smell of fresh linens.

Learn more about using scents in the bedroom in our post: Best Bedroom Fragrance & Safe Scents For Bedrooms

Clean Out Your Bedroom:

The spring and summertime is a great time to dive into some deep cleaning. Clutter and mess tend to add extra stress, which is terrible for your sleeping habits. If you have collected clutter throughout winter, then we suggest you schedule a clean out.

It is also a good season for doing the deep cleaning that often gets put on the back burner. Go ahead and dust all the little corners and get the carpets steam cleaned.

Have a hard time staying tidy? Check out our post: How A Clean Bedroom Means Better Sleep

Choose Light Colors:

Darker colors are great for the winter seasons, as they make your room feel warm and cozy. Whites and light colors are better making your space feel airy and cool. It is also believed that darker colors hold onto heat more than lighter colors.

While you would likely never actually feel a difference in temperature, the visual affect of a lighter color palette is beautiful for summer.

Want to learn more about what Feng Shui on home and bedroom decorating? Check out Guide To Bedroom Feng Shui for more.

Summer Sleep Tips – Final Thoughts:

Staying cool and comfortable is vital for getting great sleep. We hope these summer sleep tips help you to create the perfect summer bedroom so that you can sleep well. Whether you need to turn the AC on high, invest in some high-tech cooling gadgets, or simply upgrade to a mattress that disperses heat better. We hope you get great sleep this summer.

Have a question for us, or looking for product recommendations? Contact us and send a message. We would love to help out in any way we can.