How to sleep well and rest at night in heat and high temperatures?

Brazil is, once again, going through another heat wave and temperatures can reach more than 40ºC in some regions. This disrupts our daily lives in several aspects: eating, exercising and also resting. After all, how is it possible to sleep well at night in this heat?

During sleep, our body enters a state of relaxation. But for this to happen, the brain needs to understand that we are safe. Which almost doesn't happen in the heat.

In an interview with G1, the neurologist and sleep doctor at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Leticia Azevedo Sister, explained:

“We call this behavioral essence, which is that calm behavior that characterizes sleep. To do this, we need to be in a situation where our body, and especially our brain, feels protected”, says Soster”.

According to her, in conditions of extreme heat or extreme cold, our body activates some defense mechanisms. It's as if he keeps us on alert. That's why it's so hard to sleep.

Vasodilation is the key to business

In situations of very hot or very cold, something that makes our night's sleep very difficult is vasodilation – that is, when our blood vessels “open” so that more blood passes through them.

It is the one that directly impacts brain functions to keep us alert. And, in addition to making it difficult to fall asleep, it leaves it completely fragmented. In other words, we wake up several times during the night and don't get a restful night's sleep.

How to get a good night's sleep in the heat?

There are some things you can do to try to mitigate the effects of heat on the body and have a pleasant night's sleep – at least on the most critical days.

• Sleep with open windows and keep the room as airy as possible;
• Wear light clothes to sleep;
• Use appropriate bedding – avoid synthetic fabrics that do not “breathe”;
• Take a cold shower before bed – it will help reduce your temperature and mitigate vasodilation;
• Wash your nose with saline solution;
• Sleep when the temperature is cooler (if possible);
• Drink a lot of water.

Graduated in Social Communication from the Federal University of Goiás. Passionate about digital media, pop culture, technology, politics and psychoanalysis.