Ah, summer - with its long days, warm evenings, and endless opportunities to hang out with friends and loved ones, what's not to love about the season? Well, other than the BLISTERING HEAT, of course.
Seriously, I get that most people enjoy the kind of weather that allows for barbecues and trips to outdoor pools, but does it have to be so painfully hot all the time? It just makes everything so much harder. Working becomes impossible, all forms of public transport turn into mass sweatboxes, and - hell - even walking for five minutes can be enough to work up a significant sweat.
And don't even get me started on how difficult it is to sleep comfortably.
Trying to snooze in summer is sort of like sleeping on an aeroplane: it's impossible to get comfortable, you wake up all the time, and - if you happen to have someone beside you - you try to avoid them as much as possible. Unlike being on a plane, however, catching some Zs in your own home in the summertime at least affords you the luxury of stripping down to your birthday suit.
As it turns out, though, that's probably not the best thing to do if you're trying to stay cool.
Dr Neil Stanley, an independent sleep expert, spoke to the Daily Mail about why it's actually better to sleep in your jammies when it's hot outside. "The pyjama fabric draws sweat away from your body," he explained, "and will make you feel a lot cooler and more comfortable."
There are a number of other things you can do to help you get some kip on a warm night, too.
Sleeping on your side instead of your back or front should help you feel a little cooler, as it exposes more of the surface area of your body to the air. This allows the sweat to evaporate off your body (and we sweat a lot at night, losing about a pint of liquid during an 8-hour kip).
You can also take a cool shower before climbing into bed. Make sure it isn't too cold, however, as this can actually make you more alert. Likewise, chilling your sheets by putting them in the fridge or freezer for a bit before bedtime can help cool you down. It might sound a bit mad, but it genuinely works.
Having a fan in your bedroom can also help alleviate the worst effects of the heatwave, but you shouldn't really fall asleep with it on. According to one expert, snoozing with the fan on can trigger reactions in people with particularly bad allergies, as dust that settles on the blades can get blown into your eyes and throat during the night.
So, when you get ready to go to bed tonight, make sure to cool yourself off with a quick shower beforehand, then wear some light pyjamas in order to keep most of the heat off you during the night. It won't guarantee you a perfect night's sleep, but it will at least up your chances of making it through to the morning without waking up in a hot sweat.
