With the heat blasting across the UK this week, many will have desperately sought any means of cooling down when trying to get to sleep.
The sticky humidity of the British heat doesn’t make for a comfortable night, especially if, like most, you lack air conditioning or a strong enough fan.
In such cases, many of his will look for opt for easier remedies such as the a la birthday suit method – ditching PJs in the hopes of a cooler night.
Speaking to Women’s Health, sleep expert, Sophie Bostock, warned that while a tempting solution, sleeping naked can prevent individuals from getting the best quality of sleep possible in a heatwave, and should be avoided.
Sophie noted several bodies of research that show the population gets fewer hours of sleep restful on balmy nights, much like the ones the UK has just encountered.
Stock image. Sleep expert, Sophie Bostock, warned that while a tempting solution, sleeping naked can prevent individuals from getting the best quality of sleep possible, and should be avoided
We miss out on 17 hours of sleep per month during the summer according to a recent survey of 2,017 Brits.
Though over a third of us remain unaffected by soaring temperatures, over half of British adults sleep for six hours or less in the summer, compared to just 39 per cent in winter.
The research even revealed a quarter of those surveyed have had to take days off work because they feel too tired to come in. With that in mind, The Sleep Charity’s Deputy CEO, Lisa Artis, revealed ten top tips to combat the hotter nights.
The reason that sleep is so impacted by the weather is because light, stress, and temperatures, are huge players in the circadian rhythm – the natural body clock that determines when we need to be aware or asleep.
This is mainly because the body temperature needs to reach a decreased temperature before rest as sleep-promoting melatonin levels rise.
An earlier study agreed that the duration of sleep duration tends to lower when the temperature of the body is still high.
This is because it is harder for the body for the body to regulate its temperature so toasty sleepers are more likely to wave up during then night, instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Rebecca Robbins, told Fortune.
As most of us will know, a disturbed night of sleep is never a good night of sleep, and tends to make individuals feel groggy and sleep deprived the following morning – hence making the heat unlikely to grant a refreshing rest.
We miss out on 17 hours of sleep per month during the summer according to a recent survey of 2,017 Brits
It’s therefore a decrease in temperature that’s needed for us to get to sleep – a not so easy task in the midst of a UK heatwave.
Despite some advising individuals to skip PJs on steamy nights to avoid the inevitable nighttime overheating, sleep expert Sophie said this could end up causing more damage in the long run, even if it’s not the most comfortbale.
She told Women’s Health: ‘This isn’t super helpful as what you can actually find is if collects on the body, and isn’t whipped away by a moisture-wicking surface – like you get from clothing – then it doesn’t help you cool.’
Instead, she suggested opting for a light pair of jammies that can help keep the sweat patches at bay.
‘So wearing cotton pyjamas, or anything that takes sweat away from the body, may be better than being completely starkers,’ she recommended.
The NHS recommend Brits get seven to nine hours sleep each night, meaning that we are losing out on an average of over two night’s worth of sleep over the course of the summer.
The advice from Sophie comes after the advice from one British holidaymaker to avoid sleeping with the aircon on, after they were hospitalised for severe tonsillitis.
Liana Foster, from North London, travelled to Antalya in Turkey on a family holiday earlier in this month.
But just two days later, the 24-year-old says she woke up ‘groggy’ and noticed white spots on her tonsils.
After rushing to hospital, medics diagnosed her with a ‘really bad case’ of tonsillitis, which occurs when the tonsils, small glands in the back of throat, are inflamed.
Ms Foster, content creator and biomedical scientist was put on an IV drip, and said medics told her that her condition was ‘likely’ triggered by the ‘mouldy air’ from her hotel room’s aircon.’
She said: ‘The first night we had it [the air con] on really low in the room.
‘I think I sleep through my mouth more. It made me ill.’
‘The doctor said it was most likely from the aircon. They say it can be mouldy air.
‘I couldn’t consume oral antibiotics so I had to get injections for three days and twice a day. I was in a lot of pain.’
The tonsils — two lumps of tissue at the back of the mouth — form part of the immune system’s first line of defence against bacteria and viruses that enter through the mouth, which means they can be easily infected themselves
‘I’ve had tonsillitis before but it has never been that bad,’ she said.
‘If bacteria travels down the throat it can get to her heart and other organs.’
Liana now wants to warn others to think twice about sleeping with the aircon on – unless they know it is regularly maintained.
