Every year everyone in the world is looking forward to summer time. Warm weather, sunny days, spending time outdoors, going to the beach, playing sports or having picnics – there are so many exciting ways to spend long summer days. Unfortunately, the warm weather means one more thing: those long, hot and sleepless nights. Of course, you can deal with heat by turning on your air conditioning or other home appliances, but most people don’t know that there is are easier, cheaper and more effective ways to survive the heat, and you’re about to find out everything about them.
1. Use your fans to the max
Using a fan in a hot room is usually doing nothing but moving the hot air around. However, if you point the fan out of the window, it will transfer the hot air from your room outside, leaving you with a room full of cool and fresh air. And if you have a ceiling fan, adjust it to run in the opposite direction, creating the same effect of moving the hot air out.
2. Pair your fan with ice
Another way to turn your ordinary fan into an effective cooling device is to place a bowl of ice from your refrigerator in front of the fan. By blowing the cold from the ice, your fan will quickly and effectively cool down the air around you. And when the ice starts to melt down, your fan will start sending out a cool mist, making the room even more comfortable.
3. Try to sleep alone
Even if you are in a loving relationship, sleeping in separate beds is a great and budget-friendly way to survive the hottest summer nights. Extra body heat from your loved one in your bed means that your sleeping area becomes even hotter; and if you don’t want to deal with it, spend the warmest nights on the couch.
4. Keep yourself hydrated
One of the most important conditions for successfully going through summer heat is to constantly stay hydrated. When it’s hot both outside and inside, you lose a lot of water from your body, which leaves your exhausted and thirsty. Drink as much water as you can during the day, and you’ll wake up feeling fresh and cool every morning.
5. Use wet sheets
This genius trick helps thousands of people survive the heat all over the world without any air conditioning. Simply wet a sheet and hang it by an open window. As the breeze hits the sheet, your house will cool down faster than you expect. One wet sheet is usually enough to keep the room cool during the night, so you’ll get a healthy and refreshing sleep.
6. Unplug your devices for the night
You may not notice, but all the small appliances and gadgets, even mobile phones and tablets we use on a daily bases produce a lot of heat when they’re plugged in. Try unplugging those devices during night time and you’ll quickly notice that the heat created by them is significantly reduced.
7. Avoid using your stove
Another home appliance that produces huge amounts of heat is your ordinary stove. However, summer is the best time to reduce using the stove, especially in the evening. Instead of a hot meal, go for some cold treats, or even skip supper and only have some dessert. And if you can’t go to sleep without a delicious steak, cook it outside on an open fire.
8. Regularly take cool showers
It turns out that not only do showers keep us fresh and clean, but a cool shower in the evening can significantly lower our body temperature, giving us an opportunity to have a comfortable night’s sleep. Take an almost cold shower every night before sleep, and you’ll notice how easily and quickly you fall asleep.
9. Use cotton in every way
As one of the most famous materials in the world, cotton has lots of advantages for using in the summer heat. Cotton sheets are very light weight and breathe so much better than other types of sheets. Switch to cotton in the summer and you’ll instantly notice the difference. Another use for cotton during the heat is wearing loose cotton clothing. By cooling you down it will give you a great sleep at night.
10. Try cold water
Having a bucket of cold water by your bed is a great way to cool down whenever you need during the night. When you wake up in the middle of the night feeling too hot, stick your feet or hands into the water, and you’ll quickly feel the relief that will allow you to sleep better and wake up feeling more refreshed.
11. Get a new place to sleep
We’re not talking about buying a new bed here – instead you can try sleeping in a hammock to try and reduce the heat in your body at night. Or if there is no opportunity to hang a hammock in your house, simply take the mattress out of your bed and place it on the floor. As we all know, heat moves upwards, which means that the closer you are to the floor, the cooler you’ll stay. Sleeping on a mattress that lies on the floor will give you the comfort you need to have a good sleep.
12. Play with cross breeze
Your room can get significantly colder if you place a fan in the opposite wall directly across from a window. By combining a breath of fresh air from the window and the cool stream from the fan, you can create a nice breeze that will cool you down both during the day and night, making your sleep even more comfortable. And even if you still feel too hot in your house, don’t let that little setback spoil your whole summer!
