Getting to sleep on a hot summer night can be challenging even if you don't suffer from itchy eczema. Eczema can make it so much harder to fall asleep. Try our top tips for soothing the itch and keeping cool.
- Take a body temperature bath or shower before bed. While it’s tempting to stand under an ice cold shower, making the water too cold will actually raise body temperature rather than lower it. This is because our bodies compensate for the shock of the cold by pumping blood to the skin to warm it up.
- Switch up your emollient. If emollients are particularly oily and heavy they can feel claggy and uncomfortable on hot skin. Consider trying a lighter formulation for night times whilst it’s hot. Lighter formulations contain more water which evaporates as the emollient dries, cooling the skin.
- Tie back long hair. If you have long hair, plaiting it loosely or gathering it into a loose top-knot will help keep your neck and shoulders cooler. Not exactly trendy, but definitely effective.
- Freeze your pillow. If you have a space in your freezer try freezing your pillow. Putting it in a plastic bag will keep it dry. Not only will it make for a cooling snuggle, but it will also kill off house dust mites at the same time!
- Keep hydrated. Keeping the skin well hydrated from the inside is even more important in hot weather and a mouthful of cold water can help you settle when you wake up on a hot night. Filling an insulated water bottle with ice or iced water before you go to bed will give you a supply of cool water through the night.
- Calm itching with a cold compress. Cold packs can be really effective at calming localised itching. Try keeping a sock filled with uncooked rice in the freezer. This can also be used on wrists, feet and the back of the neck to provide instant relief from the heat.
- Keep your bedroom cool. Keeping bedroom curtains closed or using blackout blinds during the day can make a huge difference to evening temperatures. If you’re really struggling with keeping the heat of the sun out of your bedroom, we found cutting down a windscreen sunshade and sticking it directly to the window works really well.
- Create a breeze. Opening windows seems obvious but if you can open windows all over home you will generate more of a through draft. That said, if pollen is a trigger for your eczema this may not work so well for you.
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Cool the air. Fill 2-litre bottles with water and put them in the freezer during the day. As you go to bed, place them in front of your fan or window. This creates a makeshift air-conditioning unit which blows cold air instead of just circulating the warm air. If you don’t have a fan just putting them in the room will lower the air temperature. Remember to put them on a tray or towel to catch the condensation!
Check out our unique PJ range. The super smooth, soothing Tepso fabric glides over sore skin and has a wonderful cooling sensation making for a comfortable night's sleep.
