Hey everyone!
I’ll cut straight to the chase: I’ve been living in the Netherlands these last couple years, and due to it being close to the sea and other factors it is usually quite windy and comfortably cool.
Cue one of the hottest summers we’ve had in a while and now my cold-seasoned self cannot get used to it being 27°C at night, and as such I find myself writing this at 3AM on a Sunday night.
I live in a shitty small apartment with no AC and my window barely opens, so I’m wondering if anyone has some tips for dealing with this (or if you don’t then you’re welcome to join me in complaining about the weather (I am very bored)).
Thanks and have a nice day !
Get those freezer ice packs for keeping lunch cold or a specialized gel pillow and put in the freezer, then wrap it in several blanket layers and place on your head when sleeping.
A fan can help too.
I hear putting something cold between your thighs can also help. Haven’t tried it myself yet though
I sleep with a fan right to my face. I also have no AC, and 27°C summer nights are normal where I am. It’s so uncomfortable!
On the hot hot hot days in summer I wet a cloth and lay it on me usually on my chest. It does dry out your skin a little over time/days but it’s worth being able to fall asleep imo.
Sorry for your situation. Trying to sleep when it’s too hot is no fun. I recommend getting as much air circulation as possible. It makes a big difference. Fans will be your best friend. And switching to lightweight sheets, blankets, and sleeping nude might help. Good luck!
As someone who grew up sleeping through hot and humid nights, I’d recommend a stand fan or any kind of fan that’s fairly strong and cotton sheets. Keep your window and door open to allow for good air circulation in your room so that it wouldn’t become humid and musty-feeling.
I usually have the fan’s back facing either the window or the door. I also prefer the cold air blowing on my feet because it makes me feel like my whole body’s being cooled down. Hope this helps!
edit: typo
I grew up in a part of the USA with cold, snowy winters and hot, humid summers in a house with no AC. The following are your new best friends in summertime:
- Put your fan in the window blowing out. This will pull cooler inside air through your room and out.
- Ice packs, the reusable kind. Always have one with you and one in the freezer. Apply to your ribs, armpits, inner thighs, and neck, wherever blood flows. Don’t overdo it, though, it can damage your skin in extended contact.
- If you can’t get ice packs, a wet towel on your head and neck helps a lot.
- Wearing light, breathable clothing is better for thermal regulation than being naked. Cotton shirts and certain polyester/spandex moisture-wicking shirts like sports jerseys and exercise clothes are great for staying cool.
- Ice water. I know it’s not too common over there, but trust me on this. Your goals are to continually lower your core body temperature and keep your hydration up, so get your water as cold as possible and drink 4L a day.
This might be basic, but a cold shower before bed is seriously helpful. Heck even a cold shower if you’re too hot to sleep at 3am. Wet skin + a fan and I’ll be cold even at 90F
What I found out when taking cold shower is that right after my body start to warm up again I get sweaty pretty fast. That may be counter intuitive but taking a hot shower makes me feel cooler when I get out of it.
Get a portable AC unit. They’re noisy but well worth it. Not evaporative cooler, portable AC. And take their suggested square meter cooling coverage and halve it when shopping.
Portable AC’s are super energy inefficient because the heat exchanging parts are inside of the house. This is why built in AC’s are usually hanging half out of the window/built in to the wall.
What if I want to get an AC but live in a rental apartment where I can’t build one into the wall?
Hello fellow overheated NL resident! It’s not been great the last couple days and why in earth is this country still so keen on pretending we don’t need AC?? Anyway thanks for making this thread I’ll be reading the tips as well.
I grew up in Australia, and my parents wouldn’t run the air conditioning at night. I would sleep with a fan on, a glass of water beside my bed to avoid dehydration and a mist spray bottle which I would spray myself with from time to time so that the fan would actually do cool me rather than just blow hot air around. You could try putting a damp towel on yourself also but combined with the fan you might get too cold
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Can’t you just run a fan?, personally I have a small honeywell fan. It does wonders!
Lmao. This is actually a thing.
It’s hot where I am too in a typically AC-less country.
I used to live on the Mediterranean in some chappy apartments with no AC and this is what we used to do to sleep well on hot nights:
- Go to bed later. If you know it’s gonna take a while to fall asleep, you might as well wear yourself out. This pairs nicely with a nap after work if you’re the napping type. My best sleeps were during the day because I’d be so exhausted from not sleeping enough at night.
- get rid of the duvet but keep the duvet sheet on the bed so at least you’re snug underneath something but it’s not as warm.
- I’m echoing the advice of everyone else here to get a fan. Those things are great.
- not specifically heat related, but if mosquitos are also keeping you up, get a cheap plug in repellant (you might be able to get them in the supermarket in NL?) so that a rare night’s sleep in the heat isn’t ruined by an insect bite.
Living in places that aren’t designed for any sort of weather is gas. Six months ago I was almost bankrupt heating my place because it’s not insulated properly. Now half the building is a sauna. We had a sweet spot in the middle for about six weeks I’d say.
Thanks for all the advice! My sleep schedule is already all over the place so I might as well try the naps during the day tactic. I was also considering removing my duvet but the main problem is that i wouldn’t have anywhere to store it, but I’ll find a way (until now i kind of balled it up at the end of the bed).
My condolences for the poorly designed house/apartment, stuff really sucks especially now that both winter and summer are getting more extreme
First look into more cooling bedding, bedding materials make a huge difference.
For example, in much of east Asia, summer bedding involves sleeping on bamboo or straw sheets. Some people even use woven pillows that are hollow.
I’m sure there are lots of other tropical and subtropical cultures with interesting sleeping habits we can learn from due to them routinely sleep in 30+C weather with 80%+ humidity.
