We would like to send you notifications

Enable notifications to get the best news on sales and special offers

Bedding
megaphone-icon

20/11/2024 Congratulations to Zelna Hibbert from Centurion for winning the Cloud Nine Ortho Spine Queen bed valued at R12199!

Save big on our best deals

Select Store

Create A Comfy and Cool room In 5 steps

Author imageThe Mattress Warehouse

Create A Comfy and Cool room In 5 steps

Did you know that creating a comfy and cool room in summer is exceedingly easy to do? Moreover, any effort is truly worth it. Summer can feel very long when you are overheating at night. In addition, being too hot to sleep is a big challenge for many during the hotter months since excessive heat disrupts sleep. As sleep is paramount to wellbeing, ensuring you have a comfy and cool room is vital. Firstly, let’s have a peep at some of the science behind why you must create a comfy and cool room.

Create A Comfy and Cool room In 5 steps
Create A Comfy and Cool room…

A spot of science

Circadian rhythms and thermoregulation

The right body temperature is crucial for a great sleep. Bedroom temperature, bedding and pyjamas impact how well you sleep. In addition, temperature governs your 24 hour circadian rhythm which dictates your body’s sleep-wake cycles. So, after 4 in the afternoon, there is a slight yet crucial drop in core temperature. This drop is essential for a good night of sleep. In order to cool the body in preparation for deep rest, superficial blood vessels expand and heat releases through the skin. Efficient thermo regulation is vital for your body to do what it needs to do at bedtime. Furthermore, cooling down leads to a slowing down of many functions. Consequent sleepiness, allows you the rest you need. However, when your room is too hot, your system is not able to keep itself cool enough.

Moreover, temperatures do not have to be extreme for it to be too hot to fall sleep quickly. Heat negatively impacts the ability to remain in deep enough of a slumber for the body to do what it needs to do.

Furthermore, a study by the Centres for Disease Control, states that minimal changes in temperature have huge impacts on the quality of your rest. An increase of a mere one degree Celsius reduces sleep quality. Naturally, sleep disturbances through heat are highest in summer. Therefore, a comfy and cool room is a must for restful slumbers.

Create A Comfy and Cool room In 5 steps
A comfy, cool room is essential for restful sleep!

Mellow Melatonin

Melatonin is the mellow sleep hormone, without which there is no rest. Several factors either increase or decrease melatonin levels in your body and incessant heat is one. Over-heating prohibits effective melatonin production. Insufficient Melatonin is largely the reason why you cannot sleep when you are too hot.

For the best slumbers, core temperature is lower before and during sleep. Additionally, lower body temperature causes processes and systems to slow down. Digestion, metabolism and heart rate are a few examples. Slowing down, prepares your body for rest and ushers sleep in the door.

Active adrenalin, cortisol and more

Heat de-activates melatonin and activates adrenalin and cortisol. These hormones start to wake your body up as if preparing it for the day. Which is all very well, unless it is 11 at night and you wake up in a pool of sweat. In addition, not being able to get back to sleep is only part of the problem. Lack of sleep night after over-heated night leads to many health issues. Mentally, emotionally and physically people rely on sleep to restore equilibrium and regenerate cells.

Without adequate sleep, your body is not able to recuperate. During sleep, your brain secretes hormones that restore your body. HGH, is one such hormone. Human growth hormone is responsible for growth in youngsters and for retaining youthfulness in adults. In addition, repairs to muscles and other tissues is one of its roles. In summer, to prevent chronic sleep deprivation, it is essential to create a comfy and cool room.

5 Simple steps to creating your comfy cool room


“You see, ceiling fans must turn anti-clockwise in summer…”

Step 1 – Change the direction of your fan

In school, children learn that warm air rises and cold air sinks. However, often as adults, people tend to forget this fact when it comes to their ceiling fans. They usually think that a fan is a fan. Believing that when it is on, the appropriate heating or cooling should  automatically happen.

The truth is, ceiling fans are adjustable and reversible for a reason. Furthermore, the appropriate switches are easily accessible on the motor. What many do not know, is that fans will either pull air upwards or move it downwards. Whether the room heats up or cools down, depends on the way you set the switch. You see, ceiling fans must turn anti clockwise in summer. When fans turn clockwise, at low speed, the motion pushes warm air down. Therefore, the secret to remaining cool is to change the direction in which your fan rotates. In addition, turn up the speed to increase the breeze. This way, you can create a comfy and cool room in minutes.

Create A Comfy and Cool room In 5 steps
In summer your ceiling fan should turn anti-clockwise

Conversely, portable fans turn one way only. They do however, have the option of built in humidifiers. During a dry summer adding a little humidity makes things more bearable. Adequate humidity increases the depth of your slumbers. Humidifying can be the answer for a comfy and cool room for you.

Step 2

Make space

Clutter traps heat, so keep your bedroom clear at all times. Besides, clear spaces are calming to the mind and clearing is a good way to keep cortisol and adrenalin at the appropriate levels. Furthermore, keep the space underneath your bed open and clear for maximum airflow. Being successful in creating a cool and comfy room requires great circulation. Aside from that, the more open space you have, the cooler your room will be. Therefore, keep furnishings to a minimum and keep abundant pillow and fabric displays for winter time.

Step 3

Windows

Naturally, if opening your windows cools your room, open them. There is nothing quite like real fresh air, no matter how fantastic an air-conditioner you may have. Besides, open windows don’t cost anything to run. Save yourself copious amounts of money and make the planet a healthier place by opening windows instead of using air conditioners.

Create A Comfy and Cool room In 5 steps
Keep your windows open on those warm summer nights…

Moreover, as unhealthy as they are for the planet, they can be just as bad for your respiratory system. Air conditioners lead to dry nasal passages which makes you vulnerable to respiratory issues.Whereas fans with humidifiers moisten the air and benefit your health, air conditioners don’t.

Furthermore, if you do not maintain your device well, it can begin to harbour pathogens which causes respiratory weaknesses. Because they impact planetary health it’s a double whammy of negativity. Open windows and ceiling or portable fans are a better option all round for a comfy and cool room.

Step 4

Cooling Colours

Did you know that your colour choices make a difference to the temperature of your room? Colour can be cooling or heating since different colours absorb or reflect heat accordingly. Think about it! No one wants to spend much time in a white room in winter. It’s just too cold! Yet, everyone loves a white or lighter room in summer. Consequently, during summertime, whites and pastels are calming because they reflect heat. Whites are difficult to look at in the sun for this exact reason. In a manner of speaking, white pushes heat away. Therefore, to create a fresh atmosphere for your comfy and cool room, focus on using light colours.

Create A Comfy and Cool room In 5 steps
Keep it cool this summer…

Since the same applies to walls, arrange white all ’round. In addition, wall decor must be simple and light. Rather maintain an uncluttered appearance for added coolness. Besides, in winter you can exchange your wall decor for something in warming colours to match your winter bedding.

Step 5

Fabric choices

Fabric choice is most likely an obvious factor in keeping your room cool when the weather is hot. Just as you are not going to wear wool in summer, dressing your room with heavy fabrics in the heat will only make it hotter. So, run up a set of light summer curtains to match your wonderfully cool bamboo or organic cotton bedding. In winter you can replace your curtains with heavier ones and add duvets or quilts in rich colours to your bed.

Go natural

The same logic applies to pyjamas. For a cool and comfy room, all fabric should be natural since they are breathable. Synthetics will lock the heat in and make it almost impossible to create a comfy and cool room. The best fabrics are organic cotton, bamboo or a light hemp. All are breathable, although hemp and bamboo have some wonderful additional benefits. They are antibacterial, antifungal as well as anti dust mite. Furthermore, having excellent quality bedding helps tremendously with keeping cool. Warmth and moisture from your skin evaporates through the fabrics.

Create A Comfy and Cool room In 5 steps
Use natural fabrics like cotton in the bedroom.

Conversely, with synthetic fabrics the fuss and bother of skin itchy with trapped heat, will certainly not cool you down. Moreover, neither will respiratory allergies or dust mites (from which synthetics cannot protect you). For a beautifully cool bedroom, go natural.

And there you have it! A comfy and cool room.

Creating a comfy and cool room certainly takes more forethought and preparation. However, the steps to a deliciously cool bedroom are particularly easy to implement. Furthermore, ensuring your room remains refreshing, adds to the quality of your sleep and a cool, calm mind.

Select a Category
Select a Category

Loading