I love the sunshine, I love the heat. BUT at night when I'm trying to sleep and there's a heatwave, it's sooooo difficult to sleep!

So here I have put together some suggestions to help us cool down and get the rest we want and need.

Let's assume bedtime is around 10pm-11pm.

About an hour or so before going to bed, if it's possible, open the window, even if it's very hot and very little air flowing, it's still good to get some air circulating and let the day's stale air out. Heat rises, so upstairs will be the hottest area. If you've cooked during the evening, the food smells will probably have crept upstairs and are lingering. Bear this in mind if opening a window, as you don't want flies paying a visit! Think about a fly screen, or a net curtain will help, and maybe only half open the window, not fully. If you can't open a window wide for any reason, such as having a curious cat (?), at least try to open it on the latch to allow a trickle of air in. If all else fails, maybe use a fan for about 10 minutes to circulate the air - but if you're like me- you wouldn't want the noise of the fan operating while you're trying to sleep. On that note, if you're not used to sleeping with the window open, you won't be accustomed to the outside noises, these can be quite disrupting, but after a few nights, you'll probably get used to it, and it also depends on where you live, as to what sounds you will hear and when.

Now it's bed time. If you can, I suggest you take a cool to lukewarm bath or shower. To save water, the bath doesn't need to be deep as you can splash the water over yourself. It's best to have the water tepid, so that it feels fresh and not cold. The bath needn't be a long soak, a few minutes of splashing it all over will do! This will help cool your body down before getting into bed. If you can sleep without any covering, that's great, but I like to have at least a sheet nearby, as when I cool down during the night, I want to be able to crawl under something.

Getting into bed: if you are prone to sweating, perspiring, melting, call it what you may, it can be darn annoying lying in a damp bed. This is where I have found that sleeping on a large towel and having a hand towel over my pillow helps. They will soak up the sweat and keep you bed fresher! It can take a night or two to get used to the feel of the towel you are lying on, but you'll soon not notice it, and in the UK, a heatwave doesn't usually last too long! I suggest wearing as little to bed as you're comfortable (hey- naked if you can!), but keep a t-shirt or some nightwear nearby for later in the night when you may feel a bit cooled. Our body temperature typically dips in the early hours of the morning and if you disturb, you will feel the chill. When you get into (onto?) bed, it can help to lie flat on your back in a starfish position. This way, any cool air coming from outside will circulate around you and over you and if you can lie still you will actually feel the cooler air. It feels lush- like an invisible soft cooling blanket. After about 5 minutes of lying like this, the cooler air combined with the lying still will help you adjust to a comfortable temperature and in turn, help you sleep. Maybe as you feel yourself adjusted to the temperature and are no longer sweating, you could change your position to whatever way you normally sleep. And before you drop off to sleep, if the sweating returns, repeat the starfish and stillness, noticing the cooler air coming from outside, and this will help cool you down. It's only a slight reduction in temperature, but when I can't sleep due to the heat, it can make a huge difference.

This might seem like a 'faff' to carry out before bedtime, but if you get into a routine of doing it, it doesn't take long, and if it helps you sleep better, it's a few minutes well invested.

A few tips:

Puffing and tossing and turning due to the heat will only make you hotter.

Consider putting bottles of water in the freezer, and keep one on your bedside table (if you have one) with a flannel, or dish underneath as the heat will cause condensation on the outside of the bottle. Not only will the presence of the ice cool the air, but if you want you can have a little sip of the ice cold water if you like. Just remember that frozen water expands, so don't fill the bottle to the top before putting it in the freezer.

If it really gets too much, you can always pop back to the shower/bath and re-dip in the cool water and start the process again.