Are You a Hot Sleeper?
Pam JohnsonDo you often throw the duvet covers off at night because you wake up sweaty?
Does it take you a while to cool down before you can even get to sleep?
If the answer to either of those questions is yes, you might be a ‘hot sleeper’.
We recently conducted a survey of 1000 people across the UK and found that 46% described themselves as a hot sleeper (a).
We decided to delve a little deeper into finding out what it’s like trying to get a good night’s sleep when you feel overheated and whether there is anything you can do to help cool off.
What is a hot sleeper?
For those of you lucky enough not to have not heard the term, a ‘hot sleeper’ refers to people who constantly feel hot when they’re in bed and struggle to cool down during the night. This can be incredibly frustrating and lead to a disruptive and uncomfortable night’s sleep.
Anyone of any age can experience feeling too hot to sleep; however, our survey data revealed that the younger demographic reported it the most, with over 62% of those aged 16 to 24 saying they would describe themselves as being a hot sleeper (b).
What increases your chances of being a hot sleeper?
While there is often no cause for why some people feel overheated at night, there are some factors that may increase our risk of feeling too warm to sleep. For example, pre-sleep activities, such as exercising too close to bedtime may impact your body temperature and take you a while to cool down (1).
What is the ideal temperature for falling asleep?
According to our resident sleep expert, Dr Sophie Bostock, “our body temperature cycles naturally every 24 hours, peaking at about 4pm and dipping at about 4am. A fall in body temperature of about 0.5 to 1C helps us to get into a deep sleep – which is why heatwaves or keeping the heating on all night in a well-insulated room, can cause havoc for sleep.”
Dr Bostock says, “there is lots of individual variation in preference for temperature at night, but a room temperature around 18C, slightly cooler than usual room temperature, will help the body to cool naturally.”
How does feeling hot affect your sleep?
We’ve all had nights where we may have struggled to get to sleep, whether that’s because of a warmer than usual summer evening or because someone didn’t turn the central heating off when they went to bed. But what if this is a regular occurrence for you?
We asked the 467 people who said they were hot sleepers what the most annoying thing about it was. The most common responses were that they find it incredibly frustrating that they cannot get to sleep in the first place, and when they do, they often struggle to stay asleep. Many people also said that not being able to get comfortable was another annoyance, along with making their bedsheets sweaty (c).
Having a disrupted and unsettled night’s sleep may leave you feeling more tired, sluggish and less alert the following day.
What helps you cool down?
We were interested to find out if the hot sleepers we surveyed had any tips or tricks they use to help them cool down and get a good night’s sleep. Here are some of their suggestions:
Use a fan
Sleeping with a ceiling fan or desk fan nearby was a popular recommendation.The cooling air may help bring the room temperature down and provide you with a gentle breeze to help you sleep.
In case you find fan air to be drying for your eyes, so it may be best to invest in a fan that automatically switches off after it reaches a certain temperature(2).
Open a window
Another top tip was to keep your bedroom window slightly open to maximise airflow and boost ventilation. Be careful though if you have allergies, as leaving windows open can allow more pollen and dust to circulate (2).
Wear fewer clothes
Many respondents said sleeping in lightweight pyjamas or no pyjamas at all helped to keep themselves cool. If you prefer to wear some clothing rather than none, choose loose-fitting, breathable fabrics such as silk or cotton. Some pyjamas even have moisture-wicking technology to help you feel fresh all night long (3).
Lower your tog or remove the covers completely
A popular suggestion was to either forgo your covers altogether, or check your duvet to ensure it has a low tog rating. A tog is a measurement of “thermal resistance”, or in other words, it is a measurement which defines how warm your duvet will be. Tog ratings usually start at 1.5 and can go up to 15. For the warmer summer months, a tog rating of 4.5 is generally advised to help you stay cool (4), so it might be worth trying a lower tog rating to see if that enables you to get a better night’s sleep.
Bedding solutions for hot sleepers
If you’ve tried all the tricks you can think of to get a good night’s sleep, but you still find yourself waking up feeling hot and uncomfortable, it might be time to invest in specialist bedding that may help regulate your skin temperature.
Duvet and pillows
At Bensons for Beds, we have a range of bedding solutions available that may help you get a more restful night’s sleep. Our Premium Climate Control duvet and pillow usesDacron®fibres to help regulate body temperature and wick away moisture to keep you feeling fresh all night long.
There’s also the iGel Perfect Partner pillow and mattress protector, which uses the eco-friendly and highly breathable natural fibre Tencel™to keep air circulating, making it an excellent choice for hot sleepers.
Mattresses
The iGel Advance range uses iGel™ Graphene technology, which works seven times faster than previous models by absorbing excess heat when you’re too hot and releasing heat when you’re too cold. The cover is also made from FreshNow™ moisture-wicking fabric to help you stay dry and comfy all through the night.
For high-performance thermal technology, Slumberland’s range of Clima Control mattresses uses a Smart Temp treatment which activates when you get too hot to lower your skin temperature and keeps moisture away when you need it most.
And if you’re a hot sleeper but your partner isn’t, why not consider an adjustable bed? You can have a mattress that’s right for you both, and we have plenty to choose from in a range of styles, fabrics, and colours.
If you’re looking for a bed that’s just right for you, why not try the Bensons for Beds Your Bed, Your Way® service. You can choose your ideal mattress size and type, add your preferred base, frame and headboard, and then choose the colour and fabrics that work for you. Learn more about our Your Bed, Your Way offering here.
Sources:
a)467 of 1000 people surveyed said ‘yes’ when asked ‘Do you consider yourself to be a hot sleeper?’
b) 82 of 131 people aged 16 to 24 we surveyed answered ‘yes’ when asked ‘Do you consider yourself to be a hot sleeper?’
c) When asked ‘What, if anything, is the most annoying thing about feeling too hot in bed?’ 252 of the 1000 people surveyed answered ‘not being able to get to sleep.’ 221 of 1000 people surveyed answered ‘not being able to get comfortable’. 181 of 1000 people surveyed answered ‘not being able to stay asleep’. 137 of 1000 people surveyed answered ‘making my bed sheets sweaty.’