To sleep better during a heatwave when air conditioning is unavailable, you should apply unconventional cooling tricks (such as locally cooling your body or sheets) to help the body lower its temperature.

noli's read

The advice to optimize our thermal environment to sleep better during a heatwave is based on solid biological foundations. A systematic review published in *Sleep Medicine Reviews* in 2024 confirms that high ambient temperature significantly degrades the quality and overall duration of our sleep. To counter this, local cooling tricks, such as applying a cold mask to the forehead, are supported by research presented by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, showing that cooling this area accelerates the onset of sleep. Similarly, the use of natural materials (cotton, linen) or thermal regulation technologies is validated by expert opinion for promoting the dissipation of body heat. Conversely, more unusual methods such as freezing your sheets have not been the subject of formal evaluation studies. Nevertheless, they offer immediate and temporary relief that is entirely logical for helping the body cool down before turning out the lights.

the sources

1. 1Lan L, Tsuzuki K, Liu YF, Lian ZW. 2017
2. 2Brown TM et al. 2022