WITH the heatwave continuing in full force, so many Brits have found themselves unable to sleep thanks to the scorching temperatures.
And while when you’re up in the middle of the night it may feel as if you’ll never sleep again, there are a number of tips that can actually help you to sleep during a heatwave, including taking a warm bath.
Speaking to the Mirror, Hayley Thistelton, a sleep expert at SleepSeeker shared the dangers of not getting enough sleep, warning:
“When you don’t get enough sleep, it can impair your cognitive ability and increase your risk of conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and poor mental health."
Adding: "Core body temperature follows a 24-hour cycle linked with the sleep-wake rhythm.
"Body temperature decreases when asleep and rises during waking hours, meaning sleep is most likely to occur when core temperature decreases.”
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Extreme temperatures, such as a heatwave, can disturb this balance.
One tip Hayley gives that can help you get to sleep is to have a warm bath one to two hours before going to bed.
"Even though it might seem like the opposite of what you should be doing to keep cool… [it] helps your body temperature to decrease after you leave the bath and your body adapts to the cooler environment," she explained.
She also adds that while you may be tempted to sleep naked, thinking that this will cool you down, you may actually be better off wearing pyjamas as these can “"draw sweat away from your body.”
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Sleep expert Hayley explains that it’s also important to invest in the right duvet:
“Certain duvets and pillows can trap body heat causing you to feel excessively warm.
"Look out for summer duvets made of hollowfibre, which controls your temperature while you sleep.
"Of course, low tog duvets of around 4.5 tog are the best option when trying to keep cool.
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"You can now even get dual tog duvets, which have a cool 4.5 tog side and a warm 10.5 tog side."
She also recommends avoiding strenuous exercise in the 90 minutes before bed, and using fans and/or cold compresses at night to cool you down.
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