1) Freeze yourself to sleep
Stick your sheets in a plastic bag inside the freezer for a few minutes before you go to bed. As we fall asleep our body temperature lowers, hence why it’s difficult to sleep on hot nights. No, they won’t keep you cool all night, but every little bit helps!
2) Cool down those piggy’s
There are heaps of pulse points in the feet and ankles. So, dunking your feet into cold water before hitting the hay can help to keep you cool (and clean!). Even better still, keep a bucket of cold water next to your bed so you can dunk at will in the middle of the night if you can’t sleep!
3) Eat spicy food
Yes, you read that right! Although this may be the last kind of food you fancy in hot weather, chilies and curries help to stimulate heat receptors in the mouth, enhance your circulation and cause you to sweat – a key feature of the body’s cooling mechanism.
4) DIY sea breeze
Fill a mixing bowl with ice or an ice pack, and position it in front of a fan at an angle. This way the air will whip off the ice’s cold surface and create a beautiful, cooling mist. Try it, you’ll never look back.
5) Embrace the stereotype
Time to go full Aussie and cook all meals on the barbie. Using the oven inside will create extra heat in the house, so as much as you can, try to cook your meals on the BBQ.
6) Just hang out
Hang a wet sheet in front of an open window, you’ll be amazed how this can cool down a whole room. Genius.
7) Bear Grylls -It
Set up a hammock inside or outside (watch out for creepy crawlies) to allow the airflow to cool you from all sides while you sleep.
8) Change direction
Many of you will already know, but for those that don’t, your ceiling fans should be adjusted seasonally. Set your fans to run counter-clockwise in the summer at a higher speed; this pulls hot air up as opposed to just swirling it around!
9) Sleep in the snow
While it may sound ridiculous, research has actually shown that picturing snow helps to cool you down as you head off to sleep (the picture is there for those of you that have never seen witnessed it!). The body reacts to these daydreams, helping to reduce its overall temperature.
10) Cuddly toys
Well not exactly that cuddly, but you know the hot water bottles that people across the pond use to keep warm in their winter time? Buy one of those and instead of filling it with hot water, fill it from the tap and stick it in the freezer to create a bed-friendly ice-pack!
11) Black-out time
Blackout blinds or curtains block sunlight very effectively, naturally insulating any room which they enclose.
12) Chrysanthemum tea
Whilst it’s a mouthful and a half to say, chrysanthemum is a cooling herb which helps to clear the head.
13) Fan fun
Try positioning a fan across from a window, so the wind from outside and the fan combine to create a sweet cross breeze. If you are lucky enough to have more than one fan, well, this is where the fun really starts…build a fan fortress with multiple fans to make the airflow in the room into a beautifully cooling wind storm!
14) Up your grains
Invest in a buckwheat pillow; it doesn’t absorb heat like cotton does. In addition, fill a sock with rice, tie it off, and stick it in the freezer for an hour! It’ll stay nice and chilled for 30 minutes or so, just enough time for you to nod off.
15) Go solo
Romance isn’t dead no, but in the hot weather, maybe so. Cuddling with a partner increases body heat, and let’s face it, no one likes cuddling a sweaty armpit. Sorry guys, but sleeping alone is a great way to help keep cool.