The Best Sleep Position To Survive Hot, Sweaty Nights

The UK just experienced a record-breaking heatwave, which included a “tropical night”.

These sweaty sleeping conditions, which mean “the temperature does not fall below 20°C” per The Met Office, can be extremely damaging to our slumber. One paper found that while all hot weather is bad for our kip, heatwaves can snatch away more minutes of shut-eye than other warm conditions.

We’ve written before about why you shouldn’t sleep naked in a heatwave, as well as how the experts survive sweltering nights.

But what about the best sleep position for toasty temps?

Speaking to The Times, sleep consultant Alison Jones said side-sleeping is probably your best bet.

“Sleeping on your side exposes more of your body to the air, allowing heat to dissipate more effectively and helping to prevent temperature-related disturbance,” she explained.

The expert isn’t alone in making the recommendation.

Speaking to Tom’s Guide, sleep posture expert James Leinhardt said: “The part of your body that gives off the most heat includes your forehead, closely followed by the area at the bottom of your spine”.

He added that when you sleep on your back, there’s no room for this heat to escape: lying on your side means you’ll have the “least amount of contact with the bed, so the heat will naturally rise much quicker than if you’re lying on your back”.

It turns out that the side you choose might matter, too.

Dr Abhinav Singh, a sleep medicine physician, told The Sleep Foundation that sleeping on your left side can help you to stay asleep if you experience stomach issues like heartburn or indigestion at night.

That’s because the stomach is curved; a lot of the acid-containing bulk lies on your left side, meaning it’s harder for the material to escape into your oesophagus when you adapt the position.

Some research suggests up to 10% of us could face GERD at night, which negatively affects sleep and can sometimes create a vicious cycle.