Key TakeawaysHigh temperatures can disrupt your sleep, which in turn can harm your overall health.Breathable pajamas and cooling beddings might help keep your body cool at night.A warm shower can actually signal your body to cool off. But if it’s too warm, it may just exacerbate sweating and discomfort in a hot bedroom.

Key Takeaways

High temperatures can disrupt your sleep, which in turn can harm your overall health.Breathable pajamas and cooling beddings might help keep your body cool at night.A warm shower can actually signal your body to cool off. But if it’s too warm, it may just exacerbate sweating and discomfort in a hot bedroom.

2023 was the hottest year ever recorded, and 2024 is likely to surpass it.Forecasters predict another scorching summer across most of the United States with above-average temperatures.

Studies show that high temperatures make it hard to fall asleep and stay asleep, which harms the immune system, cardiovascular system, cognitive performance, andmood.

“Sleep is important for a number of areas of our waking success. It allows us to wake up and be refreshed and productive. It matters for our relationships, for how we treat our loved ones, and our health in a number of domains,”Rebecca Robbins, PhD, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told Verywell.

Throughout the night, the body cycles through different sleep stages.Because your body’s temperature regulation is less effective during certain stages, a hot room might wake you up so that your body can resume thermoregulation, Robbins said.

“That’s why temperature is such a critical component of a healthy night’s sleep,” she added.

Robbins recommends keeping your bedroom temperature between 65 to 69 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal sleep, which isn’t always possible without air conditioning or increasing your electricity bills. Here are some other strategies that can also help you stay cool and sleep better in hot weather.

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Make Your Sleeping Environment Cooler

Thinking creatively about your sleeping arrangements can help, so try to find the place in your home that is the “coolest and has the most airflow,” Robbins said.

Using shutters or curtains and opening windows during the day can help cool off your room before bedtime.Using a fan can also help improve airflow during hot summer nights.

“You can put ice behind a fan to blow some cooler air so that you at least get into the sleep better,” said John Saito, MD, a board-certified sleep medicine expert in Fountain Valley, California.

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Try Breathable Pajamas and Cooling Pillows

Pajamas and beddings made from breathable fabrics like cotton and linen can help keep your body cool, according toMonica Kalra, DO, a primary care physician at Memorial Hermann in Sugar Land, Texas.

Cooling mattress toppers or pillows might also help lower the temperature. “Cooling pillows contain gel overlays which absorb body heat and keep the head and neck cool throughout the night,” Kalra told Verywell in an email.

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Take a Not Too Warm Shower

While taking a cold shower seems like an obvious way to cool down quickly, studies have shown that hot-water bathing a few hours before bedtime before can make it easier to fall asleep.

However, the water shouldn’t be too hot, saidCarl W. Bazil, MD, PhD, a professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center.

“A warm shower will send your body into cooling mode, which we know can help promote sleep as your body temperature normally falls during the night,” Bazil told Verywell in an email. “But if it’s too warm, it may just exacerbate sweating and discomfort in an overly warm bedroom. In that case, a mildly cooling shower may actually be better.”

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Practice Good Sleep Hygiene

It’s not always possible to create the perfect sleep environment, especially in hot weather. Keeping a good bedtime routine is still essential in the summer, as stress and anxiety can reduce sleep quality.

Sleep experts say that general sleep hygiene habits—such as keeping a consistent bedtime and turning off your screens an hour before bed—can help you sleep better, even in hot weather.

“Avoid eating close to bedtime, avoid alcohol, and also adding in time to relax and unwind before bedtime is good for all of us, but especially if you’re a little bit concerned about sleep difficulties due to temperature,” Robbins said.

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What This Means For YouWith record-breaking temperatures becoming the norm, managing sleep quality is more important than ever. If air conditioning is not an option, open your windows for better air flow, opt for cooling pillows, or put ice behind your fan.

What This Means For You

With record-breaking temperatures becoming the norm, managing sleep quality is more important than ever. If air conditioning is not an option, open your windows for better air flow, opt for cooling pillows, or put ice behind your fan.

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.April 2024 was Earth’s warmest on record.

Zheng G, Li K, Wang Y.The effects of high-temperature weather on human sleep quality and appetite.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(2):270. doi:10.3390/ijerph16020270

Obradovich N, Migliorini R, Mednick SC, Fowler JH.Nighttime temperature and human sleep loss in a changing climate.Sci Adv. 2017;3(5):e1601555. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1601555

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Sleep phases and stages.

Nicol F.Temperature and sleep. Energy Build. 2019;204:109516. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.109516

Baranwal N, Yu PK, Siegel NS.Sleep physiology, pathophysiology, and sleep hygiene.Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2023;77:59-69. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2023.02.005

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