Summer sleeping

Ah Summer - long hot, sunny days and the time we all wished we had aircon!

Here are a few ideas on how to 'sleep cool' as the weather gets hotter if you have no air conditioning.

Cool Your Bedroom

- Close curtains or shutters during the day to keep the heat out of the room. External shutters are preferable as this will prevent the glass from warming up. Also try and keep the windows closed during the hottest part of the day. Open the windows in the evening when the air has cooled, try and get a breeze flowing through the house and use fans to help with this.

- Fill a spray bottle with water and squirt a few times into the air and this will help bring down the temperature.

- Freeze a plastic bottle of water during the day and at night time place it in front of a fan to blow cool air around the room.

- Is it possible to move to another room to sleep? Hot air rises, so if possible sleep on a lower floor or in a north facing room that will not heat up so much during the day

Cool Your Bed

- Use sheets made from natural fibres cotton or cotton mix and with a higher thread count. Sheets with a sateen finish or made of silk will also feel cooler.

- Lightly spray a top sheet with water so that as the water evaporates it will help cool you down. Please note the word 'lightly'!

- Turn your pillow during the night to keep your head cool.

Cool Yourself

- Wear light nightwear rather than noting as the fabric will allow perspiration to wick away.

- Keep a bottle of spray mineral water next to the bed to use on your arms and legs during the night.

- Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the evenings as these will raise your body temperatures by increasing your blood pressure.

- Stay well hydrated during the day to help stop you waking up because of thirst. However try to stop drinking fluids an hour before bed to help prevent night time toilet runs!

- Use an ice pack (the 1st aid ones) wrapped in flannel/washcloth, placed on your neck or forehead to help cool you down. Do not place directly on your skin or use for more than 10 minutes to avoid ice burn.

Hope this helps and the heatwave diminishes soon!

Sweet dreams.

To share or not to share?

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After last week's slightly tongue in cheek post about duvet stealing, this post is about ways to share a bed in comfort.

Historically people have always shared beds as beds, bedding and even extra bedrooms were expensive and prohibitive. It was only the super rich that could afford to have separate bedrooms. In the past if you were a single traveler you may well have shared a hotel bed with a total stranger. Siblings, if not whole families, would sleep together in the same bed.

There is also the simple fact is that as a general rule, humans do sleep better on their own. Everyone seems to have slightly different needs in terms of warmth, bed softness, space etc. Against this is the need to balance the need for intimacy in a relationship and studies have shown that sleeping separately can impact negatively on relationships.

So what to do if you do want to sleep in the same bed but have different needs?


Respect different body clocks
A night owl married to a morning lark is a nightmare combination for bedtimes, the good news is that the majority of the population are hummingbirds and can adapt to either. However some people do prefer early bedtimes while others would like to stay up an hour or so more. If this is your situation then have a discussion with your partner. Maybe they are not being lazy in the mornings but genuinely getting some restorative sleep? Perhaps it's not the lure of another TV show that is stopping them coming to bed with you but a real feeling that they are not tired. If you do opt for different bedtimes then make sure you have some shared bedtimes, perhaps at the weekend, to keep a level of intimacy within the relationship, as this allows for and respects different sleep needs.


Buy as large a bed as possible 
Though falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms seems the romantic thing, we actually need a lot of space when sleeping and a larger bed will help with this.
If you both like different levels of support from a mattress then it is possible to buy two different mattresses that zip together.
Although buying a new bed may seem like a huge investment, it is the place where you will spend a third of your life and can help reduce stress levels in a relationship. Is that not worth paying for?

Have two different duvets
Although I joked about this last week this is a very easy and practical solution if one person prefers warmer bedding and the other throws of heat (and the covers) during the night. It is also possible to buy different duvet weights that again zip together.

Technology
What to do if one person likes watching TV to fall asleep and the other prefers peace and quiet? As a general rule technology in the bedroom disturbs sleep rather than enhances it, so I do recommend taking out TV's and computers. How about listening to a podcast with earphones, or investing in a 'speaker pillow' that you can plug your mp3 player into. A little light than you can clip onto a book is less intrusive than a bedside light. Likewise eye masks and earplugs can help too. Discuss and compromise, one person should not be making all the sacrifices as this will cause resentment.

Pets
An area that needs discussion and agreement however pets have no understanding of respecting bed space and if they are disturbing your sleep, then they should not be allowed to sleep on the bed, hygiene issues aside, they simply take up to much space. If necessary then they can be trained to sleep on their own bed in your room.

These are just a few suggestions, I would love to hear from you any thing that you have found useful, please comment below.

Sweet dreams. 

Lessons in advanced duvet stealing

This is more than a master class in duvet hogging - achieving this level will put you in the top rank of worldwide duvet hoggers with a swift, no-nonsense move that will ensure that you have all the duvet to yourself.

Please note - before taking this class you must have achieved pass marks in all former classes -

The 'One good turn takes most of the duvet' lesson
The 'Inch by inch through the night' lesson
The 'Turning the duvet 45°' lesson

Equipment needed -

One double bed
Two occupants
Two single duvets
Three pillows (minimum)

1 - During the night quietly drop your own duvet on the floor

2 - While lying on your side (facing away from your partner adds insult to their 'injury') reach behind you with your top arm and completely remove the duvet in one swift movement

3 - Quickly wrap it around yourself and refuse to give back when they pull on it and complain about suddenly being cold

4 - If your partner persists in complaining and pointing out that it is 'their' duvet - reach behind you again, take a spare pillow and place it on the top of their back

5 - (this is the genius move) Pat the pillow reassuring while murmuring nonsense in a quiet but loving voice, as if you are letting them know everything is ok

Once you have achieved this ultimate duvet hogging move, you will have life long status as an extreme duvet hogger! Good luck and practice hard!

Additional note - in theory it is possible to achieve this with one double duvet and requires the combination of the 'Inch by inch through the night' followed at the appropriate moment by a swift 'One good turn' manoeuver. Skill is needed in the judgment of how much duvet you have acquired during the 'Inch by inch' manoeuver before commencing the 'One good turn'.

Disclaimer -
The author is providing this lesson for information only and readers undertake practicing this lesson at their own risk. The author is not responsible for any results from following this lesson such as black eyes, bruised shins, being kicked out of bed, being made to sleep on the sofa or the termination of any relationships (this list is not exhaustive)

Sweet dreams!