How to sleep when it's really hot outside

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How to sleep when it's really hot outside By Jamie Ducharme Health Correspondent If you’re one of the millions of Americans living in areas under heat advisories this week, you’ve likely been urged to stay cool and hydrated to avoid heat stroke and exhaustion. But there’s another heat-related health risk that gets far less attention: difficulty with sleeping. Your body naturally cools down at night, but hot weather can throw off that internal process, making it harder to fall and stay asleep. With that in mind, I asked four sleep experts for their best hot-weather tips (other than cranking up the AC). Here’s what they said: Take a hot shower a couple hours before bed. This tricks your body into thinking it’s even hotter than it is, which in turn prompts it to lower its core temperature. Keep things dark during the day. Draw your bedroom shades—or, even better, blackout curtains—during the day to block sunlight and keep your room a little cooler. Get air circulating, even if it’s warm air. Do this by opening a window or running a fan, which also provides soothing white noise.  READ MORE Share This Story

What Else to Read What to Know About Locally Acquired Malaria Cases in the U.S.—the First in 20 Years By Anna Gordon The U.S. has reported five locally acquired malaria infections, four in Florida and one in Texas. These are the first such cases in 20 years. Read More » How Extreme Heat Is Proving a Major Challenge for Hajj By Armani Syed Thousands of people have been treated for heat and exhaustion in Mecca, as temperatures exceed 111°F this week. Read More » How to Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally By Markham Heid Changes focusing on what and how you eat, as well as your exercise habits, matter most. Read More » How Perfectionism Leads to Burnout—and What You Can Do About it By Jeffrey Kluger Burnout can affect anyone, but perfectionists—with their exceedingly high standards—are hit hardest. Read More » Here Are the 10 New Books You Should Read in July By Cady Lang Peak reading season has arrived. Read More »

AN EXPERT VOICE On legislation regarding abortion and contraception: "As far as doctors go, we're just trying to get through the day. If you look at what's been happening in health care even before COVID, and definitely after COVID, doctors and nurses and health care providers in general are short-staffed, and they are just trying to take care of their patients. They rarely have time for advocacy efforts to try to fight for this on a higher level. They're tired, and they just want to take care of their patients." —Dr. Kristin Lyerly, ob-gyn in Green Bay, Wisconsin and abortion care provider in Minnesota

If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here. Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and Haley Weiss, and edited by Oliver Staley.

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