The week will be hot.
And falling asleep when the thermometer still reads 24°C outside at 11 p.m. can be a challenge.
The reason is simple: to sleep well, the body must cool down.
Here is why it is advisable to lie down in a bed and a cool room, so that the body regulates its temperature.
"To do this, he spends calories. By losing them, the temperature drops and he can fall asleep. When the environment is hot, the body does not lose heat and fails to cool down", explains the neurobiologist and research director at Inserm, Joëlle Adrien (1).
A few good gestures allow you to refresh yourself and find sleep.
Follow the leader.
Read also"
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Lighten up dinner
The rule obviously applies to the 365 days of the year.
A dinner aperitif with plenty of eggplant caviar, hummus and tuna mousse will require a lot of work from your digestive system and will increase your body temperature, which will make it difficult to sleep.
So no need to put a spoke in the wheels when the mercury rises.
Be careful to garnish the evening plates with starches, to make sure you don't end up in the kitchen in the middle of the night.
In general, avoid dinners high in protein (meats, eggs) and fat.
Drink an infusion at room temperature
The high temperatures do not really make you want to sip a hot drink.
But if the herbal tea reflex is an integral part of your evening routine, nothing forces you to give it up, on the contrary.
Like the lukewarm shower, drinking an infusion at room temperature allows the body to regulate and lower its thermometer.
Hawthorn, hops, or passionflower, take care with the choice of plants to optimize sleep.
Take a lukewarm shower
It is 9 p.m. and the thermometer proudly displays its 29°C.
To help the body to lower its temperature, we go under a lukewarm shower.
No need to go through the Scottish box.
On the contrary: "In reaction to too cold water, the body will produce heat", indicates Dr. Adrien.
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Dampen the sheets to cool the room
Take out your fogger and spray water on your sheets.
"By evaporating, the humidification produces cold", adds the neurobiologist.
Thus, the body does not lie down in hot sheets, it lowers its temperature and you fall asleep faster.
Of course, you can sleep naked.
But beware, during the night the body does not regulate its temperature.
Always keep a sheet to cover you in case of night chills.
Choose cotton over linen
Silk, synthetic fibers, cotton, linen... Which material to choose to avoid sweating blood and water lying on your sheets?
Stick to cotton.
Synthetic materials make you sweat and the air does not circulate well.
Linen is less absorbent than cotton.
Meditation and sophrology
The gentle way is more necessary than ever.
Give yourself less than ten minutes in your bed or on a carpet to disconnect from your day and the ambient heat.
Try sophrology with abdominal breathing, or some meditation exercises.
Sophrology, in particular by focusing on the breath and oxygenating the body and the brain, relieves the nervous system.
Meditation makes it possible to "calm things down" and calm down when the mind is not asleep.
(1) Joëlle Adrien is the author of
Better Sleep and Overcoming Insomnia.
The keys to reconciling with sleep
, Ed.
Larousse, published in May 2014, 160p., 12.90 euros.
This article, originally published in July 2018, has been updated.
