Hot sleepless summer nights

Top tips for sleeping in the heat. The main aim is to prevent excessive heat build-up in your house during the day as a hot room is not an ideal setting in which to get a good night’s sleep. To get a good night’s sleep you need to release your sleepy hormone melatonin.To optimise the release of your ‘sleepy hormones’  you need to trick your body into cooling down.

• Try taking a warm shower before bed, as water is a great cooling agent
• Use a damp flannel to cool yourself down
• Sleep on a silk pillowcase to keep you cool http://www.thegoodsleepexpert.com
• Wear light cotton PJs (or maybe none at all) to keep from getting overheated
• Have a fan in your bedroom (not directed at you)  to help keep you cool
• Remove your duvet from its cover, and sleep under just the sheet
• Drink lots of cool fluids and eat smaller, more frequent meals

 

Wool duvet

A wool duvet is both light and warm. Its heat regulating qualities boasts the luxury of keeping you nice and warm in the winter, whilst cool in the summer, without you having to buy another duvet. Easily adaptable and great for allergy sufferers too.

Broken pillow test

What you need to do is get your pillow and fluff it up quite nicely. Then fold it in half and take something equivalent to the weight of a trainer and put it on top of the folded pillow. If the pillow springs back when you let go of the trainer, the pillow is in good condition. If there is little or no spring back when you let go, then your pillow is broken and it is time for you to acquire a new one.

Check out this video for further information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t_xq9Ac-X0

Sleeping positions

When sleeping on your back, do make sure your head is supported in the mid-line position, by ensuring your pillow is nicely supporting your neck so it is not too cricked forward or backwards. Just make sure your head is in the mid-line comfortably. In order to off-load your lower back, so it is neither too arched nor too flexed, try placing a pillow under your knees; this will hold your spine in the mid-line position, giving you a great night’s sleep when lying on your back.
Lying on your front is not the ideal position to sleep in, but if you insist, the best way to do so is as follows. Make sure your head is kept in mid-line position when possible; not turned to one side which will cause neck strain. Keeping your head in the mid-line will be easier if you place a pillow underneath your chest, as well as your stomach, which will off-load the arch in your lower back, particularly if your bed is soft. However, what will allow you to have the best night’s sleep when lying on your front is by placing an additional pillow beneath your knees, ensuring your back is not even minimally arched. Again, lying on your front is not the ideal position to sleep in.
Most sleep on their side. As with any sleeping position, you need to make sure your head is held in the mid-line position. Your head needs to be supported correctly; not cricked up with too many pillows, causing a strain in your neck. Sleeping with not too many pillows is the key to a good night’s sleep on your side. You may also feel more comfy when sleeping with a pillow under your side, particularly if you have an hourglass figure. An additional pillow underneath your knees will secure you in a comfortable position, so you don’t move out of position once asleep.

Ambisleep

It is crucial to get a decent night’s sleep in order to: look good; feel good; and perform well during the day. One of the main reasons why we are struggling to get a decent night’s sleep is simply because we are either too hot or too cold in the bed.
The incredible solution is a mattress topper with climate control. It is called ‘ambi-sleep’ and it works like so: There is a unit, akin to a meter, which sits neatly at the end of your bed and has ‘pipes’ leading up to your mattress topper. It is managed by a user-friendly remote control and if you share a bed with your partner, you can have different control settings to suit both your needs.
You can place your sheet on top of the mattress topper if you prefer to hide its visibility. The remote control allows you to increase the temperature if you are too cold. Likewise, if you are too hot you can reduce the temperature, which will help you release your sleepy hormones – melatonin – to get you off to sleep.

Pillow speakers

You may be nodding in assent when I point out that getting off to sleep can make you feel like tearing your hair out! When you discover the wonders of the ‘pillow speakers’, you may find yourself transforming your nightmares into something more akin to leisure. Listening to your favourite audio book or music with the pillow speakers sounds like an idea. Unlike ordinary speakers, which I personally find uncomfortable when lying on my side in which they consistently fall out, the pillow speakers are flat. You simply slide them under your pillow – and it won’t disturb your partner either, allowing you to drift off to sleep – guilt-free!

Butterfly pillow

To make a butterfly pillow: get your pillow, shake it up – nice and fluffy – shake all the contents to the bottom of your pillow. Then, chop it in half as best as you can. Take a piece of string/ribbon/elastic band (whatever is handy will do). Tie a knot, or put it around the pillow so you’re chopping the pillow in half as you do so. This will give you a nice comfy feel for your neck, particularly if your neck is not in great shape. Place the pillow behind your neck. However, do make sure that in order to make a decent butterfly pillow, you’re using, a good supportive pillow. To test whether your pillow is suitable, see above what I say under the ‘broken pillow test’.

Yantra mat

A decent night’s sleep is fundamental for: making you look good, feel good and improving your performance during the day. In order to ensure you get one, you need to minimise stresses and strains, aches and pains. One way to go about this is by using the Yantra Mat.
This is a device that has got a lot of different acupressure points on it. Lying on it for 20 minutes a day can alleviate your aches and pains, and reduce your stress levels, so I really recommend this for all the stressed, hard workers out there.
Initially it may prove to be uncomfortable. Don’t forget the no pain, no gain motto here! Make sure you’re wearing your clothes, lie on it for 20 minutes a day, and hopefully that will facilitate the falling asleep process.

Top tips to Sleep during the hot summer

Summer is finally here. The days are beautiful long and warm. The hot nights are a real challenge.

Just because the sun is out, it doesn’t lessen your need for sleep.

But sleeping when it’s hot can be a real challenge. For your sleepy hormone to be release your body does need to cool down to help induce sleep. The ideal temperature for sleep is 16-18 degrees cetntigrade.

So here are my top tips to help you cool down and sleep during this hot spell.

1. Pulling down blinds and keeping windows closed to prevent the heat building up
2. If you can, set your bedroom up in the north west side of the house. (cooler and darker)
3. Wear light cotton bed clothes night or even none at all
4. Take a warm shower or bath before bedtime. When you exit from the shower your body will cool down and so help the sleep inducing hormones.
5. Use a fan in your bedroom to help keep the air moving.
6. Get rid of your duvet from its cover and sleep under just the sheet
7. Drink lots of cool fluids and eat smaller, more frequent meals
8. Consider the following purchases-chillow (cooling pillow), cool sheets.

Trouble sleeping? Check out some ‘sleep truths’ from NOW magazine 7/1/2013