Can’t sleep in the heat? These 8 tricks could save your night
As UK summers become hotter, experts are offering passive cooling strategies to help people sleep better during heatwaves. The advice focuses on reducing solar gain through shading and ventilation, as mechanical cooling like air conditioning remains expensive for many households.
Why it matters
Rising global temperatures are creating new challenges for public health and home comfort, necessitating accessible and energy-efficient cooling solutions.
When temperatures rise, sleep often suffers. Hot nights can make it harder to fall asleep, increase waking during the night and leave people feeling less rested the next day.
One reason is thermoregulation , the body's ability to keep its internal temperature within a safe range. Sleep is closely linked to body temperature: to fall asleep and stay asleep, the body usually needs to lose some heat. Hot bedrooms make that harder.
And UK summers are becoming hotter. The Met Office has reported that the chance of exceeding 40 C in the UK is now more than 20 times higher than it was in the 1960s, with a 50% chance of another 40 C day in the next 12 years.
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