8 Tips For A Cool Night’s Sleep (Without the AC!)

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After a collection of heat-wave-days getting a good night’s sleep can be almost impossible. Even if it cools down in the evenings, some homes remain infected with a lingering warmth, making dream time a bit of a nightmare. Here are a few tips I’ve picked up to help me cope, but please share your own —for the summer has only just begun!

Clearly, there is no A/C in my humble apartment, so scratch that from the list. What I have done to beat the heat is the following:

• Use 100% cotton bedding, preferably the crisp vintage kind.
• Wear loose cotton PJs, or none at all.
• Take a quick cool shower before bed.
• Fill a bucket of cold water to dip my (clean) feet into periodically throughout the night (and to water the garden with in the morning).
• Wet washcloths or hand towels with cold water and drape them over the hot spots. (Does anyone else’s lower back seem to emit an inordinate amount of heat?) Recharge the cloths in that bedside bucket of water.
• Keep widows open and unobstructed. I will sacrifice the privacy of curtains for max air flow on the hottest nights.
• Bring on the fans. I actually subbed out an overhead light in the bedroom for a simple stainless steel fan. As hard as it is to navigate the room in the PM, I certainly do not regret the decision!
• Floor-fan fort: Okay, this is a bit ridiculous, but on one of the hottest days last year we rigged a floor fan at the foot of the bed and clothes-pegged the sheet to the top of it, creating a billowing bedding wind-tunnel. Not entirely practical, though the cats rather enjoyed this approach!

How do you deal with the worst of the warm weather?