Todays’ guest post has some lovely ideas on how to get a good night’s sleep if the summer weather disturbs you. Enjoy!
Finding it tricky to get a good night’s sleep now the summer sun is doing its thing? You and a few million others, so rather than suffering in silence (or moaning like clockwork each morning), why not give the following ten tried and tested tips a try:
1 – Cool Things Down
They often say it’s a good idea to take a tip from bats and try keeping your bedroom a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house…sort of like a cave. Your body needs to cool a little for sleep to occur, so try giving it a helping hand.
2 – Ditch the Devices
Without getting bogged down in the science of it all, things like tablet PCs and smartphones emit a kind of light that wreaks havoc with the brain’s sleep centres. So if you want the best shot of falling asleep, ditch the devices an hour before bed.
3 – Go to Bed Earlier
An obvious point but an important one nonetheless, give yourself more time to fall asleep by going to bed earlier. This way, you’ve got a much bigger safety net to play with and less chance of waking up in a foul mood.
4 – Upgrade your Duvet
Duvet brands Otto Keller and Dickenbergh are amongst the coolest summer duvets you can buy and both are available from down duvet specialists downduvet.co.uk.
5 – Upgrade Your Pillows
On the subject of bedding, pillows are just as important as anything else and the wrong pillows will harm your sleep habits at any time of the year. But while you’re already struggling to nod off in the summer, you really should think about an upgrade.
6 – Blackout Blinds
If your bedroom is blindingly bright by 5:30am each day, this isn’t going to help you achieve long and comfortable sleeping patterns. So if necessary, invest in a cheap blackout blind for each window and shut the light out more effectively.
7 – Curb the Snacking
A small and healthy carb-based snack of around 200-calories has been found to be effective in assisting restful sleep if eaten just before bed. By contrast, things like chocolate, crisps, pizza and biscuits tend to have the exact opposite effect.
8 – Ease Off the Naps
Another good idea is to make sure that when the time comes to go to sleep, you’re well and truly ready for it. This can be done by cutting down on the number of naps you have during the day, if you’re prone to the odd snooze here and there.
9 – Clean Up
Nothing feels less satisfying than getting into bed when you’re already grubby and stinky. This counts double in the summer, so even if you plan on doing the same in the morning, have a good clean up and wash down before turning in.
10 – Strip Down
Last but not least, the health benefits of sleeping naked are well-documented and tend to come into their own in the summer months. After all – if you’re already too hot, why make things worse by wearing PJs?
Collaborative post
Images: Bedroom via Shutterstock || Down Duvet | Crumpets via Shutterstock
Jen Stanbrook is an interiors writer, blogger and presenter, with an insatiable love of all things home. 
Some great tips here, especially the tech one.
Good tips, I agree with them all! I wish I could switch off tech an hour before bed but I never do, but I do have an app on my laptop called F.lux which turns down your screen brightness according to time of day so goes into a more gentle light before bedtime, and I find this helps with winding down.
That’s a good idea Molly, I wasn’t aware of that app, I might give it a try. I’m terrible at working (or playing) late into the evening, and then wonder why I can’t get to sleep! x
Very relaxing photos! I didn’t know about the smell healthy snack before bed?? Really? Perhaps not for me lol Laura x
+1 one tip from me 🙂 Don’t eat heavy food at least 2 hours before bedtime!
You forgot to mention sleep in a different bed to your husband 🙂
A milky drink at night helps me go to sleep.
Well I eat bread with two scoops of peanut butter an hour before I sleep and slows my brain down. I read somewhere there’s something in the peanut butter.
It rarely fails for me.
Interesting tips for Good night sleeps.I wondered why they all agree! I like to switch off for an hour before bed technology.
Great advice, black out blinds are a must, makes such a difference.
Very interesting post Jen. I am just a culprit of most of the things you listed. I can be in bed while holding my phone in my hand. Sometimes I even sleep with the phone in my hand.I really need to make some of these changes you have listed to help me sleep better.
Once again thank you for sharing..
Great tips! I am guilty using tablets/phones before I sleep. I should try your tips right away!
Hi Jen,
I am actually reading all the article related to sleep because I am doing research to start a blog on sleeping disorders, this is really good information to take notes, having a cool room, changing the pillows, quitting smoking, leading healthy life will bring us good night sleep.
Thanks for sharing the information, see you soon.
I’m really struggling with this at the moment. The closer I get to holiday the less I sleep. I can’t say it’s because of stress, but my mind is busy and even though I fall asleep, I wake up after an hour or two and then I struggle to sleep again.
Ditch the devices? Nooooo… Hehe… it’s absolutely true though. We spend far too much time plugged in. Granted, I’m saying that laying in bed with a Macbook propped up on a pillow so I guess I need to practice this!
Nice post. Sometimes I take small snack just before sleep, it really works for me. But I also have a bad practice of using mobile phone in bed. I definitely try your tips from today!
Love it, especially because I live in a very hot country and number 1 on your list also happens to be my number 1 issue with sleeping well!!
I use air conditioning, but I find that it really dries out my nose and eyes which is equally tiring, so I will often just turn on the ac at the start of the night, then just before heading to sleep, I will turn it off.
Most of the the time I will just sleep right through the heat!