Quick Tip: Sleep Cool In Hot Weather

Charles Wilson says on July 17th, 2007 at 8:47 am

Wet feet? That is really strange. But it could make some sense in making you “feel” cooler.

Frank says on July 17th, 2007 at 9:07 am

Great, now where’s the hack for how to get to sleep with wet socks on?

Doug says on July 17th, 2007 at 10:39 am

Makes some sense with evaporation and all. I’d be worried I’d piss myself though… (think hand in a bowl of water)!

William Profet :: OneJobTwoSalaries.com says on July 17th, 2007 at 10:55 am

I’ll try it tonight :)
It is really a nice and funny hack.

Mike says on July 17th, 2007 at 1:15 pm

I guess this just shows how much useless and needless information is out on the web. Ever think of just buying an AC unit for the bedroom? Duh.

Heber says on July 17th, 2007 at 3:37 pm

I hardly disagree with Mike about useless and needless information on the web. The reason is simple, I’m living in Irak doing social work and we don’t have power all the day long as maybe Mike does in USA. For that reason this tip is worthy to try!
And we are experiencing 120 F degrees!
So yeah! is worthy
(I can submit another comment with the results if you want)

Adam says on July 17th, 2007 at 4:00 pm

It’s not just “feeling” cooler, as the blood flows through your feet, the evaporative cooling created something much like a radiator on a car. The military was actually experimenting with cooling units that could be integrated inside soldiers boots to extract heat form the body and allow them to go harder and faster for longer.

michael says on July 17th, 2007 at 5:37 pm

good article and i’m a big fan of the site, but we we stop calling these things ‘hacks’?

Steve says on July 17th, 2007 at 9:47 pm

michael: I doubt it, after all, look at the url.

As for anyone that says “Buy an air conditioner, you ignorant fool!”: I’m terribly sorry you have such a limited view of the universe, but you’re lucky that no one has taken that view or your extra money away from you by force.

Anyway, on topic… This sounds great if you can sleep with socks on. I can’t unless I’m completely exhausted. Ditto for the fan blowing across me.

Not a lot of blood flows through your feet when you’re asleep, saving the energy for your core. I use a trick from when I worked in an un-air-conditioned bakery (in 120 degree weather). Crushed ice and a little water double bagged in zip-loc. All of it in a fanny pack that you wear over a kidney.

IF you sleep on your back tie the double-bagged ice to your inner thighs with a towel. Yes, seriously, but not high enough to freeze anything important. A ton of blood flows close to the surface there.

Jen says on July 17th, 2007 at 10:56 pm

I’ve done this since I was a young-un. ‘Cept I didn’t think to use socks… I just used a wet towel. It definitely helps to get to sleep in hot hot weather. Great tip.

Kevin says on July 18th, 2007 at 12:07 am

Erm…I’d think this would be a quick way to catch a cold though… And it can’t be healthy? Create foot fungus or something?

Serrin says on July 18th, 2007 at 9:29 am

In many parts of the world it is very necessary to find ways to deal with nights with very high temperatures and no A/C. Over the course of a heat wave, the lack of sleep can add up to the level of exhaustion.

I usually find that the problem keeping me from sleeping is the buzz of mosquitoes. I find that just using earplugs helps with that if away from home. Some years I simply set up the mesh part of my tent in the living room and slept there, safe from mosquitoes.

matt says on July 18th, 2007 at 10:55 am

I can’t even sleep with dry socks on, let alone wet. It may be worth a shot, but for now, I place a bowl of ice cubes in front of the fan and blow it on my torso. That usually does the trick.

robbie says on July 18th, 2007 at 5:32 pm

That’s great if you live in an arid or semi-arid area where a swamp-cooler would work. I live in Georgia, USA and there is often just too much humidity for this to be very effective (barring droughts) and I suspect that anyone trying it here would risk ending up with a nasty case of trench-foot.

Sven Mate says on November 14th, 2007 at 3:36 am

What do you do if you have a fan at night but the air is just hot air and maked you feel like you’re being thawed?

well…what i do is i get a spray bottle and fill it up with water. I then lie in bed with the fan blowing down me from my feet and i spray the bottle of water on my feet so that the fan blows on your semi-wet skin and man it works a treat.

Happy sleeping
Sven Mate

Cora says on June 17th, 2008 at 4:24 am

I am unable to purchase an air conditioner and I have little to no control over the temp in my room. I work at night and sleep during the day. The morning/afternoon sun hits my windows while I sleep. I usually get about 3-4 hours of sleep before the heat takes over. If I open my windows, the sun keeps me awake and the heat still gets in. If I close them and cover them, the heat eventually wakes me up and the lack of air circulation. I prefer to keep them closed and look for ways to tolerate the heat.

I am very excite to see this idea and some of the other ideas people put in their comments! My sleep deprivation is really hurting my health. I am willing to try just about anything right now to allow me to get the sleep I need!

So… thank you very much!!! to all postings that actually had something helpful to offer. I found some ideas to try and a lot of criticism to ignore. I’m grateful for the ideas!!