Have you just found your way and it has cooled down just enough to fall into a deep sleep, a mosquito buzzes past your ear. Hop, the big light on and on the hunt! That can only mean one thing:it's summer again. Research by Swiss Sense, a specialist in the field of sleep products, shows that we suffer massively from high temperatures in bed (54%). And as the temperature rises, the coziness in the bedroom decreases. We struggle to fall asleep (39%), regularly skip the act of love (41%) and many 18-34 year olds even sleep separately from their partner (25%).
Mosquitoes, heat and noise
When the temperature rises, it can present a lot of challenges in the bedroom. More than half of the Dutch (54%) find heat in the bedroom the biggest summer frustration. In a close second place for the unwanted night owls come the mosquitoes, which keep a third of the compatriots (35%) from sleeping. It is striking that more than half of the over-50s (57%) are not bothered by the stinging insects, while other age groups cannot sleep because of them. Noise from outside is also a summer irritation for many people (35%), especially those who live in a city (39%). It is striking that only one in five (22%) people say they have trouble sleeping because it is late dark and light early.
In summer, the cosiness in the bedroom is hard to find
As the temperature rises, the coziness in the bedroom seems to decrease. Not only do we sleep shorter in summer (49%) in summer and have more trouble falling asleep (39%), we also visit each other less quickly in the bedroom. Four in ten people (41%) indicate that they have less or no sex when it is hot. And a quarter (25%) of 18 to 34-year-olds sleep separately from their partner in the summer, the group that also say they suffer most from the heat radiated by their partner (32%). Yet in many cases we remain faithful to our own bed, because only one in ten people (11%) flee from the bedroom at high temperatures and only 9% sometimes choose to spend warm nights in the open air rather than in the bedroom. to bring.
Refreshing tips to keep your head cool at night
The research shows that the Dutch try to keep a cool head in the bedroom in various ways in the summer. This is what most Dutch people do when it's hot:
Sleeping at night with the window open (77%), with or without a screen in the frame
Darken the bedroom during the day by keeping the curtains closed (72%)
Without a blanket (52%) or sleeping without a duvet and only under a sheet
Sleeping naked (31%) or with less clothing than usual (64%)
Take a lukewarm (24%) or cold (14%) shower
Install an air conditioner (or have it installed) in the bedroom (22%)
However, not all of the above is recommended. If you want to sleep with the window open, make sure you open it as late as possible in the evening, as soon as it has cooled down outside. In addition, sleep in, but also under, breathable materials. Provide cotton or bamboo bedding and don't sleep naked. On the other hand, opt for a cotton shirt, which breathes and absorbs perspiration, so that you feel less sticky.
Cold shower is not recommended In addition, a cold shower is also not recommended. dr. Els van der Helm, sleep expert and co-founder of Shleep, explains:“One of the most well-known biological characteristics of a biorhythm is our body temperature. It fluctuates during the day, with peaks between 4 and 6 p.m. and dips during the evening. The gradual drop in our body temperature induces drowsiness. If you want to sleep well in the summer, it is important to lower your body temperature in the evening, for example by taking a warm shower. It temporarily raises your temperature, after which your body cools down faster. In addition, do not exercise too intensively just before going to bed and try to lose heat through your arms and legs by not covering them with a blanket.”
