Help me manage the heat of my bed

April 5, 2022 10:26 PM

It’s the hot season where I live and the main bedroom (the coolest room in the house) is around 90F for most of the day. When it’s bed time and I turn the AC on the air cools off quickly enough, but the bedding and in particular the mattress take a minimum of an hour to get to room temperature (generally around 75F). Are there tricks for dealing with this?
posted by Tell Me No Lies to Home & Garden (18 answers total)

Spritz water over it a bit before so you take advantage of evaporative cooling? Easier if humidity is low
posted by lookoutbelow at 10:37 PM on April 5, 2022

Chill the sheets (at least the top sheet and the pillowcases) in the freezer.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:40 PM on April 5, 2022

Best answer: Strip the bedding back so the mattress etc is more exposed to the cooling air?
posted by dg at 10:45 PM on April 5, 2022 [9 favorites]

Best answer: Would it be possible to turn the AC on an hour earlier? Otherwise, it might be an idea to look into a mattress topper that doesn’t retain heat as much (or actively cools).
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:47 PM on April 5, 2022 [4 favorites]

On hot nights, I put an ice pack in a pillowcase and lean it against the small of my back, or else clutch it like a deliciously icy teddy bear. It helps bridge the hour or so until the room cools down enough to sleep.
posted by mochapickle at 10:54 PM on April 5, 2022 [2 favorites]

I won't directly help with the mattress, but I've found linen (made from flax, not the generic word for bedding) makes a big difference in how hot a bed feels.
posted by eotvos at 12:35 AM on April 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

Bedjet is what you need... basically a way to add a fan to your mattress and sheets. However it can be a bit costly
posted by kschang at 12:40 AM on April 6, 2022 [2 favorites]

Get a gel infused (cooling) mattress topper, even a cheap one will do. Only keep it on in summer though, as having it on in winter makes your bed far too chilly.
posted by cholly at 2:57 AM on April 6, 2022

Best answer: If your AC is mechanically switched, maybe you could put it on an outlet timer so it turns on a little before your sleep time.
posted by amtho at 4:57 AM on April 6, 2022

The coolest part of the room is the floor (heat rises) so is it feasible to place a padded matt or foam cushion on the floor? Camping gear or a cot are also options.
Carpet retains heat. Solid surfaces are cooler, but reflect your body heat and can encourage sweating when in direct contact with the skin.
A tiny platform will allow air circulation under your body, which can be increased with a fan.
Natural fibers are more comfortable in hot situations than synthetics.
A cool shower, fresh clothes, and a damp washcloth or eye mask can help. Have something cold to drink handy.
You lose a lot of body heat through the head and neck.
The center of the room with ample air circulation will be cooler than a secluded spot by a wall. Avoid outer walls.
posted by TrishaU at 6:22 AM on April 6, 2022

Buy a weighted blanket and keep it in the fridge or even freezer. Before brushing your teeth, take the weighted blanket and lay it on your bedsheets. When you're ready for bed, take it off and fold it up for the next day. Your sheets and mattress top should be nicely cooled.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 6:37 AM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Can you direct the cool air from your AC onto the mattress (i.e. is there a vent in the floor that your bed could be placed over)?
posted by ssg at 8:16 AM on April 6, 2022

When it's really hot, I do everything above - cheap gel mattress, bamboo or microfiber sheets, pull the covers back so the mattress cools off, automated plug turns the AC on a couple hours before. When I pull the covers back I sometimes remember to give it a mist of water from a spray bottle so the AC has something to evaporate off the sheets, but we live in a dry climate so that works here where it might just make things dank elsewhere.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:14 AM on April 6, 2022

You could try sprinkling a little baby powder on the sheets before you get in. It absorbs the moisture so the sheets don’t feel clammy.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:40 AM on April 6, 2022

Do you put a fan in the window to exhaust some of the heat?
Cold packs. Tons of people where I live post them on freecycle or craigslist/ free. They come in refrigerated medication packages.
Use another fan aimed at the bed, with any covers pulled back; it'll speed the process of temperature adjustment. Also, a fan directed at you is effective at cooling and save electricity.
posted by theora55 at 10:01 AM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

I use microwaveable/freezable cloth flax packs to pre-warm and pre-cool my bed, depending on the season. For your purposes, you could keep a few of those packs in the freezer and lay them over the part of the bed where you will be laying, maybe place them on the bed around the same time that you turn on the AC?
posted by mcbeth at 5:19 PM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: An earlier poster said it but I’ll be more explicit: turn the A/C on an hour earlier. Trying to beat the physics of heat transfer with cold packs and so forth is an option, but may very well use as much energy as you are saving by turning the air on at the last minute. It certainly uses way more aggravation!
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 7:50 PM on April 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The solution I ended up with is to turn the air conditioning on an hour before bedtime and strip the covers back completely so the sheets are exposed.

Placing cold packs and the like did work but the humidity is so high here that they ended up leaving the bed soaked.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:31 PM on May 6, 2022 [3 favorites]