Guide · from Tide

How to sleep on a hot Australian night

What actually cools a bed when it's 28 degrees at midnight: sheets, airflow, timing and the gear worth buying.

When the overnight low doesn't drop below the mid-twenties, the problem isn't you. Your body needs to shed a little heat to fall asleep, and a hot, still bedroom makes that hard. Here's what helps, roughly in order of cost.

Free fixes first

Shower an hour before bed, not right before. A warm-to-cool shower helps your body dump heat as it dries off.
Close blinds by day, open windows at night. Keep the afternoon sun out, then get the cooler night air moving through.
Lose the doona. A single sheet or light coverlet is plenty on most summer nights.
Point the fan across the bed, not at your face. Moving air over your body does more than a blast to the head, and the hum doubles as white noise.

Bedding that breathes

Polyester traps heat. Bamboo, linen and cotton percale feel cooler and handle sweat better. Pillows matter too: memory foam holds heat, so look for ventilated or gel-infused foam, or a latex pillow.

Bamboo cooling sheet setBreathable and cool to the touch — the single best upgrade for humid nights.

Lightweight summer coverletSomething to sleep under at 25° that isn't a doona.

Quiet pedestal fanAirflow plus steady background sound. Check the noise rating before you buy.

Still awake?

Put on fan or brown noise to cover the cicadas and late traffic, and keep the room dark. A cool, dark, steady-sounding room is the whole recipe.

Some links on this page are affiliate links: Slow Tide may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. These are comfort products, not medical treatments. If poor sleep or pain is ongoing, talk to your GP.