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Summer is my absolute favorite time of the year.
I love the warm weather, the longer days, all of the events, the baseball games, the pool, the beach, the picnics, the barbecue — you name it, I am here for it…
Except for the fact that it tends to have an adverse impact on my sleep.
If you experience the same thing too, keep reading. This blog post will explain to you why this happens and will give you practical tips to ensure you are still able to sleep well this summer.
Sleep Tips to Help You Snooze This Summer
There are two main reasons why sleep can be challenging in the summer:
1| Warmer Temperatures + 2| Longer Days
1
Warmer Temperatures
Warm temperatures can lead to a reduction in sleep
This is because our body temperature has to lower by about 2°F in order to synthesize melatonin (sleepy hormone) and suppress cortisol (alert hormone). This is a cue from our external environment that tells our body it's nighttime, so it’s time to sleep.
If you think about it, our ancestors evolved to sleep outside in caves; it’s pre-programmed in our DNA to have this residual physical understanding. What happens at night? The sun sets and the temperatures go down.
So in the summertime, it can be hard for our body to cool off if the environmental temperatures are warmer, thus making it harder for us to sleep.
Tip #1
Ensure Your Room is Nice and Cool
The ideal sleeping temperature is somewhere around 65°F. Now, I know that can be challenging to achieve in some houses, especially older houses (like mine). So what I do in the summer to make sure that my room temperature is ideal is I put a little window AC unit in our room and it helps tremendously. Also, a fan can help with air circulation, helping to bump hot air to the ceiling and cooler air towards the bed.
Tip #2
Cool Your BedDing
You can also try using a cooling mattress topper like the ChiliSleep cooling mattress pad and sleep system, which uses water to maintain your body temperature. Or you can invest in a wool mattress topper. I know it sounds like wool wouldn’t be a great thing to use in the summer, but it's actually very good for thermoregulation because it’s a natural fiber. (Read more about thermoregulation, wool and bedding in my blog post here: How to Control Temperature for Better Sleep→)
Tip #3
Sleep in “Cool” Clothing
Speaking of natural fibers, make sure that you sleep in plant- or animal-sourced materials to help your body temperature stay lower. Natural fibers (i.e. sustainable fibers produced by geological processes) help your body to breathe and they also wick moisture. The best materials for sleep in the summer include organic cotton, linen, bamboo, and tencel.
If you’d rather forego pajamas altogether: although there's not a lot of research to link better sleep with sleeping in the buff, research does show that sleeping nude can improve one's self-esteem — and if you feel good, your body should be producing more serotonin, which converts into melatonin. So I think it's safe to say that it could be worth a shot.
2
Longer Days
As I mentioned before, another reason why sleep can be more problematic in the summer is because of the longer days; the sun rises earlier and sets later.
Our eyes have a little neurons in them that collect data from the sun. When our eyes are exposed to sunlight, it tells our body that it's daytime and we should be awake. So in the summer with the longer days, our bodies produce more cortisol and suppress melatonin. This can make it more challenging to get to bed early.
You may also find yourself waking up with the sun. This is because in the morning, if a little bit of light gets into our sleep environment, our eyes can still detect it even with our eyelids shut.
Tip #1
Cover YOUR SUNLight Sources Fully
I recommend to my clients who have issues staying asleep when the sun rises and want to sleep a little later, that they actually cover their windows with material as opposed to just relying on blackout curtains.
Blackout curtains do a good job, but sometimes it's not enough because light can still get in through the sides and the tops of the curtains. With window covers, you block out all of the light.
You can DIY with garbage bags, aluminum foil, even black construction paper. My favorite product are the Blackout EZ Window Covers. They're big sheets of vinyl that you cut to the size of your window and you adhere them to your window with double-sided Velcro. They’re also very affordable! The nice thing about these window covers is you can easily take them on and off and get some sunlight into your room during the day.
Tip #2
Cover YOUR EYes
Another quick fix is to just wear an eye mask. I have so many eye masks and I find them to be really, really effective! I live in the city and we have a streetlight right outside my window, and no matter how much I try to cover my windows and prevent any light from leaking in, there's still a little bit of light that comes in, and I find that when I wear my sleep mask, I sleep better than when I don't. (PS: I love this eye mask by Mavogel.)
Tip #3
Don’t Forget to Cover the Little LED’s!
Another important thing to do is to make sure that you cover all those little LED lights on your electronics that indicate there's a power source. You can do it with black electrical tape, or purchase these little blackout stickers that come in different shapes and sizes.
Enjoy a Summer of Slumber
I hope these tips help you to get great sleep this summer, because if you're not sleeping well, you're not feeling well.
And I don't know about you, but I want to make sure that I enjoy every single moment of summer this year.
If you find you’re struggling this summer despite making significant changes to improve your sleep, I am here to help. You can schedule a discovery call right here and we can chat a little bit more about what you're experiencing. You deserve the rest you need to be your best.
Let’s Get You Sleeping
For more tips, you can check out my sleep blog for more articles and resources. I have a ton of great information to share with you.
Sweet Dreams
Kelly Murray is a certified sleep coach and an award-winning pediatric sleep consultant based in Chicago offering sleep coaching services nationwide.