Studies have found that the best bedroom temperatures for sleeping are between 16 to 19 degrees Celsius.
Most people regard summer as the best season. For starters, it’s a break from winter’s grey and melancholic mood. You can now organize that barbecue event for your friends and family with the sun out. The kids get a chance to play outside on the beach and roll in the hot sand as adults catch up with other adults. Alternatively, if you prefer more family time, summer is a great time to go hiking, camping, and picnicking.
However, summer isn’t always a bed of roses. It has its cons, such as difficulty when sleeping for both children and parents. Since most adults have adjusted to summer’s hot and humid nature, the children’s sleeping condition is the biggest concern.
The hot temperatures of summer can cause sleeplessness in children. This is because, as human beings fall asleep, the body temperature decreases up to two degrees, shedding heat into the bed. If the sleeping conditions aren’t cool, your child might complain, “I can’t sleep!”. They’ll also be sweaty and restless.
This article will expound more on the relationship between summer and lack of proper sleep. It’ll also give you tips on how to cool the temperatures, for example, by using the Cooling Pillow and many other hacks. Keep reading to learn more.
How Does Summer Affect Sleep In Children?
Studies have found that the best bedroom temperatures for sleeping are between 16 to 19 degrees Celsius. When the temperatures are anything beyond this, your child may begin to experience difficulty falling asleep. As mentioned above, for a human body to initiate sleep, it has to lose its temperature. The body may gain a degree and not lose one with the hot temperatures. This, therefore, creates a challenge for your child to sleep.
In the unlikely event that your child sleeps despite the high temperatures, they’re likely to experience disruptions such as nightmares, restlessness, and waking up in the middle of the night. This is because when our body is in a Rapid Eye Movement sleep (REM sleep), which is considered one of the deepest states of sleeping, we’re less able to regulate body temperatures. Therefore, your child may experience disrupted sleep due to the high temperatures.
Although the inability to fall asleep or sleep disruption may look like a light situation, overheating may lead to more complicated health conditions. According to research, hot temperatures during sleeping have been linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) among children. Hot temperatures during sleep have also been linked to:
- Heat exhaustion and
- Heatstroke, especially among adults.
Other than high temperatures, summers also have longer daylight hours. Such light during nap time can be distractive to your child’s sleep. Since your child or toddler can’t communicate their needs, it’s better to prevent overheating than dealing with a distressed child or, sometimes, heat-related illnesses.
One of the ways you can prevent overheating for your child is by using cooling pillows.
A cooling pillow is made from a cooling gel that absorbs temperatures from your body and releases the temperature through the pillow.
Cooling Pillows
In a bid to provide comfort in your sleep, experts have come up with new technology in manufacturing pillows, which you can watch in this video to know more.
A cooling pillow is made from a cooling gel that absorbs temperatures from your body and releases the temperature through the pillow.
Assuming your child’s room temperature is hot, the pillow will work by absorbing some of the heat from the child’s head, neck, and shoulder area. Studies have proven that cooling your head is among the fastest ways to help you fall asleep. When the pillow absorbs heat from the body parts mentioned, the body cools down, increasing the chances of falling asleep.
Besides that, this new pillow technology also works by absorbing moisture occurring from sweat. As discussed before, sweating is one of the factors that cause restlessness during sleep. Therefore, if you’re prone to sweating in your sleep, either due to high temperatures or other causes, a cooling pillow can absorb moisture around your head, helping you sleep more comfortably.
Here’re tips on how you can use a cooling pillow for your child during summer:
Utilize A Breathable Cooling Pillow
A breathable cooling pillow works by ensuring the absorbed heat isn’t retained in the pillow. This is possible since the pillow is made from breathable material that allows ventilation. As such, the absorbed heat is distributed throughout the pillow, ensuring that the child’s body remains cool throughout their sleep. The ventilation feature of the cooling pillow also works to prevent dust and particles from being trapped in the pillow. When trapped, these dust particles may cause respiratory-related diseases or allergies to your child.
When purchasing a breathable pillow, go for the down pillow made from a bird’s belly feathers. Alternatively, a buckwheat pillow can work as well. Buckwheat pillows are made from the buckwheat seed’s hard outer shell, hence their name. The hulls of the seed don’t retain or reflect heat. It’s this feature that makes them a better alternative to using feathers and foam for your cooling pillow. The only backside of a buckwheat pillow is that it’s heavy.
A lighter alternative to the buckwheat cooling pillow is the microbead pillow. This type of pillow is filled with small polystyrene beads. The microbeads allow proper ventilation, making them a great material for breathable pillows.
The three materials discussed above are the natural options for cooling pillows.
Studies have proven that cooling your head is among the fastest ways to help you fall asleep.
Use A Gel Memory Foam Cooling Pillow
This type of pillow resembles the regular foam pillow, except it has an added gel layer to create the cooling effect. It’s the most common type of colling pillow. As described above, the gel memory foam works by absorbing the heat from the child’s head, shoulder and neck and dissipating it throughout the pillow.
Purchase A Combination of Cooling Pillows
Well, since there’s no knowing what works for your child, you may as well go for the combined cooling pillow technology. This type of pillow combines breathable and gel memory form technology to produce one of the most sophisticated and efficient cooling pillows.
However, before picking a cooling pillow for your child, consider factors such as its weight, size, and material. Choose a size that suits the shape of their head. Moreover, some breathable down pillows are made from feathers that may cause an allergy to your child. Therefore, if you’re concerned about the health safety of your child’s cooling pillow, you can consult your home doctor or a paediatrician.
Use A Breathable Pillow Case
Although most cooling pillows come with their own covers, it’s good to have an extra pillowcase to replace when you wash the other one. When purchasing a pillowcase for the cooling pillow, go for the 100% natural cotton pillowcase. This type of case will allow ventilation for your cooling pillow. Otherwise, your cooling pillow will be useless if you cover it with an unbreathable cover.
Clean Your Cooling Pillow regularly
Experts recommend that you clean your cooling pillow at least twice a year. It helps to keep the pillow properly aired, making them function better.
Additionally, replace the cooling pillow after every two years for the optimum results for your child’s sleep.
Now that you’ve read the tips on using a cooling pillow, here are other tips that you can use to ensure better sleep for your child during summer:
Choose a size that suits the shape of their head. Moreover, some breathable down pillows are made from feathers that may cause an allergy to your child.
Use Blackout Blinds
As aforementioned, another reason why your child hardly falls asleep fast during summer is due to daylight savings. To start, some people can’t sleep in a room with lights. If they do, they become restless, and they often wake up in their sleep.
Other than the destructive nature of light to sleep, the more light sips into your child’s room, the warmer the room gets. Since you’re working to cool the room’s temperatures, you might as well shut out the natural lights.
One of the best ways to do this is by using blackout blinds. These blinds don’t allow any light in so that your child’s room remains dark and cool for the best sleeping conditions.
Invest In A Room Thermometer
Babies are very delicate. The last thing you want is to overestimate the temperatures in your baby’s room and end up over cooling them. Since you want to operate from a place of accuracy, it’ll help if you vest in a room thermometer.
The thermometer will update you on the prevailing temperatures so that you can know when to take action if the room is too hot. With the guesswork out of the way, you won’t second guess every move aimed at improving the quality of your baby’s sleep.
Keep Track Of The Outdoor Temperature
Another hack you can use is monitoring the air temperatures outside. If you keep a record of when the temperatures outside begin to peak and fall, you’ll soon notice a pattern.
In summer, air temperatures begin to fall outside at around 6 p.m. During this time, the temperatures inside the house start to peak. With such information, you now know when to open the windows of your child’s room to circulate air and let the cool breeze in. By the time the child retires to bed, the room is suitable for sleeping.
Change The Beddings
This is arguably the first thing you should do when the season changes to summer. It’s time to switch up the heavy blankets and replace them with a low tog rating duvet.
Additionally, it would be best if you used cotton bedsheets for your child. The bedsheets will help absorb the sweat due to high temperatures, and the baby can sleep comfortably.
Dress Your Toddler Appropriately
Once you have confirmed the room temperatures from the thermometer, you can know how to dress your baby for bedtime. When the temperatures are over 25 degrees Celsius, dress them in a thin cotton vest and a nappy. This helps keep the baby cool. If the temperatures are slightly lower than 20-23 degrees Celsius, you might want to add a pair of shorts and socks or a sleep sack. Add a light cloth that can keep the baby warmer.
Freeze The Pillow Case
While some people recommend freezing the pillow, freezing the pillowcase works best. This is because sometimes, the pillow’s material may absorb a lot of moisture during freezing such that when your child sleeps on the pillow, they might breathe in the dampness and get sick.
When freezing the pillowcase, put it into the fridge a few hours before bedtime. You can also freeze the baby’s favourite toy or doll. As such, when it’s time to sleep, the frozen pillowcase will draw heat from the baby’s head, luring them to sleep.
The same applies to the toy. When the child holds on to a frozen toy while sleeping, it helps keep them cool and fall asleep faster.
Place Some Ice Cubs In Cup
For some, it’s a common habit to wake up in the middle of the night to take some water. During summer, the need to hydrate doubles. Since you’re trying to maintain your child’s temperatures at cool, you shouldn’t just provide them with water. Put ice cubes in a cup and place them by the bedstand. By the time your child wakes up to hydrate, the ice cubes will have melted to water, and the water will be at cool temperatures, which work in favour of the child.
While some people recommend freezing the pillow, freezing the pillowcase works best.
Use A Fan
For those extremely hot days, a fan will come in handy in allowing proper air circulation hence cooling the room. Place the fan by the window to blow outside air into the room for the best results. Moreover, keep the fan on low setting and switch it off when your child falls asleep as a safety measure.
Let The Child Have Cool Shower
In place of the regular warm bath your child has before bed, use a cooler shower. The water should preferably be lukewarm. This helps to cool them right before going to bed. However, don’t let them overstay in the cool shower to prevent catching a cold.
To Sum IT Up
One of the most efficient ways to ensure quality sleep for your children during summer is by using cooling pillows. If you have been wondering how to hack it, the tips above can be beneficial. Additionally, if you still need more tips to cool your child’s room, consider using the other nine tips discussed. All the best with your summer naps!
