As summer starts approaching, and temperatures start rising, we’ll soon start feeling the heat again.
Hot days are amazing. But hot nights? That’s a different story altogether!
One of the greatest challenges my family face over summer is staying cool at night. We have a quiet portable air conditioner and a few fans, but all of that can add up to one loud WHIRRR. Not helpful when we’re light sleepers. Especially when high temperatures are so bad for sleep.
So here are 5 quick ways I’ve found to help stay cool at night, without turning up the AC. I hope they help you this summer, because they’ve definitely helped me!
Use Light/White Accessories
We all know never to wear black on a hot summer day. But what about our bedrooms?
Just like with clothes, the colors of your furniture matter, too. The darker they are, the more heat they can absorb. The more heat they absorb, the hotter our bedroom when you come upstairs to rest.
I’m not saying strip everything down and redecorate! But be smart with it. Keep any dark objects away from the windows, and prioritize white accessories like bedside tables, lamps, and duvets.
Get the Right Fan.
One thing I didn’t realize is how important a quiet fan for sleeping is.
You’ll know as soon as you get one. Instead of a WHIRR it’s whisper-quiet. There’s no rattling, knocking, or clacking. Just a strong, silent breeze that helps keep your air flowing and fresh.
Do be aware that you should never direct the fan straight at you! It’s fine when we’re awake, but having air blown on us for hours when we sleep can dry out skin and cause itchiness.
Instead, have the fan target the whole room – helping to blow away the warm air and keep the room ventilated.
Use a Summer Mattress
Dense materials get hot. The air gets trapped in them, and so does any heat which can’t escape.
And there’s not many things denser than a big old mattress. (Flashbacks to struggling with them up the stairs, anyone?)
Thankfully, there’s a simple fix here. Lightweight summer mattresses are made of materials like bamboo or straw (bear with me). These have tons of room for air to flow through them, so they stay cool and let out any heat that passes through them.
Yes, they might not be the same as memory foam, but trust me – they’re lifesavers in hot weather! It’s actually the same reason why people in exotic places traditionally slept in hammocks. There’s no heat trap: they stay cool!
Switch the Ceiling Fan
I always used to wonder why people changed their ceiling fan directions. Turns out, it’s actually very important!
If you’re already familiar with this, skip ahead to the next tip. But I don’t want anyone to miss out like I did.
Basically, a ceiling fan will either push air quickly down (summer) or push air gently up (winter). Pushing the air up is meant to recycle hot air that gets stuck at the ceiling level – since hot air rises. But this isn’t much good in summer. You want to make sure you fan is set to blow the air downwards with some force – this helps add ventilation and cooling to your space.
It also means you will get much more out of the fan without needing to turn it up so high it may become a helicopter!
Keep Your Blinds Closed
If your bedroom receives direct sunlight in the daytime, just keep any blinds or curtains closed.
The sun shining through is one sure-fire way for the room to get roasted during the day. And sometimes cooling a room down can take hours – especially if the night’s going to be warm, too.
A bonus tip is to gently spray any blinds/curtains with water. This helps keep the surrounding air cool, and doesn’t heat up as easily.