Heatwave: Tips for sleeping in the heat

With temperatures well over 20C late into the night, getting a good night's sleep has become something of a challenge.

Luckily there are some creative ways to beat the heat.

We asked our readers and scoured the internet for the best tips for keeping cool at night.

1. Freeze your bedding

By far the most popular tip we received was to put your pillowcase in the freezer.

You could go one further and freeze your whole duvet!

Doing this will keep your body temperature low and hopefully helps send you off to an early night.

Also try using lighter materials, such as cotton.

2. Hot water bottles

Before you panic, the tip here is to fill a hot water bottle with cold water and put it in the freezer.

If freezing your bedding isn’t enough then having a frozen pillow is sure to help and if you don’t have a hot water bottle at hand you can always use a damp flannel or towel.

3. Close the curtains

It sounds simple but keeping your curtains closed is a great step to keeping the bedroom cool.

This stops the sun from getting in and ensures your room doesn’t get too stuffy.

If you forget to do this you could always try sleeping on lower ground as heat rises.

4. Hot drinks

This one takes some bravery as a hot drink is probably the last thing you want when the temperatures are so high but apparently, it works.

According to a study by the University of Ottawa in 2012 drinking hot drinks makes you sweat more, which if allowed to evaporate, keeps the body cool.

5. Avoid cold showers

Unless you have a pool at hand, a cold shower is probably the quickest way to cool down but this isn’t actually the best idea.

Instead, you should have a warm shower.

This is because a cold shower closes your pores, so while it may offer a quick fix, in the long run you’ll end up feeling hotter as the body has no natural way of releasing the heat.