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From: The Lifestyle Blogger UK
Finally, here in the UK we’ve had a few days of sunshine and blue skies. The air is getting warmer and we can finally start to put away our winter coats and thermal undies! However, the warmer days also mean it’s so much harder to stay cool, especially at night. Here in the UK we don’t really have things like air conditioning. Most of us have thick fluffy carpets, heavy curtains, rugs and squishy sofas. All helping to trap in the warm air, making evenings especially, hot and sticky! So, how to keep upstairs cool in summer, or your home as a whole?
Here are a few of our top tips that don’t cost the earth…
Close The Windows
The first thing we all want to do on a hot summers evening is to open all the windows and doors. However, this will only end up heating up your home. When you think about it, it does actually make sense. It’s hot outside, so why would you want to let all that hot air in? Unless there is a strong cool breeze, you should try to keep all your doors and windows closed as much as possible.However, if you have a door or window that’s in the shade and offers you a nice cool breeze, make the most if it while you have it and open it a crack. Although, the second the wind goes, or the sun comes in, close it immediately!
Shut The Curtains
Once you’ve made sure all of your doors and windows are closed, another great tip on how to keep upstairs cool in summer is to close all of your curtains and blinds. This will stop the sun heating up your house. Block the sunlight coming in as much as you can. If you have lighter coloured blinds and curtains then even better!Some people even swear by cellotaping tin foil to their windows so it reflects all the light away from the inside of your home. However, you can also buy proper light reflecting sheets to put on your windows which does the same thing – it might just look a little nicer.
Turn Off Lights & Electrical Items
OK, so you shouldn’t have to sit there in the dark but you should try to keep lights and other electrical appliances off as much as possible. Even these days, electrical products do give off some heat that will only add to you feeling hot and bothered.Maybe charge your phone earlier in the day if you can and use it as little as possible. Perhaps you could even have a night off the TV and read a book instead, or play some board games.
Read More: How to Make Homemade Scented Candles
How To Keep Upstairs Cool
One of the most asked questions is – how to keep upstairs cool in summer. It seems all the hot air from the day lingers upstairs, making it a nightmare to try and get any kind of decent sleep.Some people swear by having a cold shower on a hot evening. Although i find it actually makes you feel hotter once you’re out of the shower. So maybe give it a go and see if it works for you.
You could also get yourself a cooling pillow or blanket. These products are designed to absorb the heat to keep you cool. Elegear Cool Summer Blanket was one i recently came across. It’s very affordable and can be bought from places like Amazon. It’s super lightweight so you could even take it on holiday with you if you wanted to.
However if a blanket is quite your thing, perhaps the Elegear arc-chill cooling pillowcase instead? As with the blanket, the pillowcase is designed to draw the heat away from you, keeping you cooler at night. The arc-chill cooling fibres in both the blanket and pillowcase are able to lower the skins temperature by 2-4 degrees. Making you feel so much cooler, and more likely to get a good night sleep.
Change Your Food Habits
Probably quite an obvious one but on warmer days, try not to use your oven. Instead, if you can, have lighter meals, or meals you can heat up in the microwave. Having your oven on, especially in the evening will only make you home hotter. Also, not having a heavy meal in the evenings might help you feel cooler.Or maybe you could go for cold meals while it’s hot. There are so many great cold meal recipes – or if in doubt, have a sandwich, or salad even!
Also, the less you eat during those hot evenings, the less heat your body will naturally produce while it tries to digest your meals.
Ice, Ice Baby
If you know you’re going to be having a few hot days, make sure you’ve filled up your ice cube trays beforehand. Great for cooling down drinks, but also great for rubbing on the back of your neck or on your wrists to cool you down.You could even fill up a water bottle (don’t fill it to the top as water expands when frozen), stick it in the freeze and cuddle it in bed at night in a pillowcase.
Reduce Clothing
It goes without saying that not wearing thick, heavy clothing will help you feel that little bit cooler. Perhaps go for lighter coloured, cotton based items instead. Clothes that flow and are lose fitting to help the air circulate around your body.Or, if you can, perhaps have a naked evening at home – with the curtains closed of course! Maybe not one that everyone can do but if you live alone, or are comfortable with who you live with, go for it!
Another little tip on how to keep yourself cool is to go sock-less as much as you can. Allowing your feet to breathe can really help to cool your body down. In much the same way you may want to cool down at night by sticking your feet out from the end of the bedcovers.
Invest In A Cooling Fan
You can get pretty affordable air conditioning units here in the UK now. However, you really don’t have to! All you need to do is fill a bowl with ice and place your regular fan behind the bowl of ice. This way, when the fan blows the icy air, you’ll get the cooler air blown at you.Hopefully you found this article on how to keep upstairs cool in summer will help you get a better night sleep, and allow you to feel more human on those sticky summer days.
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