UK households are being urged to fill up a hot water bottle this weekend to get a better night’s sleep in the hot weather.
The Met Office has said much of the UK will be basking in heatwave conditions this weekend as temperatures soar above 30C. Highs of 34C are forecast in eastern England on Saturday, with the most uncomfortable heat expected to hit northern and western areas where despite slightly lower temperatures, the air will be much more humid. While the hot sunshine is glorious to enjoy during the day, by night it can make sleep pretty uncomfortable.
The heat can make it difficult to drift off to sleep, resulting in a frustrating night of tossing, turning and kicking the duvet off in a desperate attempt to cool down. But you don’t have to resort to running fans for hours on end to make your room a bit cooler – all you need is a hot water bottle.
Yes, the purpose of a hot water bottle is to keep you lovely and warm, but experts say it can be used to achieve the opposite effect if you fill it with cold water.
Simply fill up your hot water bottle with ice cold water and place it in your bed just before you go to sleep. This will help to cool down your sheets and pillow, and then you can hold it against your skin to cool yourself down – just remember to wrap it in a cover or a tea towel if it’s icy to avoid direct contact with your skin.
You can also fill the bottle with cold water and then put it in the freezer to make it even colder, but be wary of leaving it in there for too long as it can damage the rubber, meaning it could burst the next time hot water is added.
So if you do put it in the freezer, make sure to only fill the bottle half way rather than to the top, or just keep one bottle separate for cold use and the other for hot.
Heat-Treats says: “It’s simple; just fill your bottle with iced water, ice cubes or crushed ice. The bottle acts in the same way in reverse; instead of releasing warm heat it emits refreshing cold. Contrary to hot water which will gradually cool down, the icy water will eventually warm up until it reaches room temperature.
“Some people suggest that you can fill your bottle with cold water and then place it in the freezer to chill further, although it shouldn’t be left for more than 20 minutes otherwise the rubber can become compromised and may rupture. The best plan is to have different bottles for heat filling and cold filling.
“You can also use your cold hot water bottle for cooling down your sheets or pillow before you go to bed. If your bottle doesn’t have a cover, wrap it in a tea towel or pillowcase to prevent overexposure to the cold next to your skin.”