On one of the hottest days of the year in Ireland, many people will find it difficult to sleep tonight. 

Met Éireann forecasts temperatures could climb to 25°C today in certain regions, surpassing the current record for this year of 24.6°C set in Clonmel on May 19th.

Holistic sleep expert Anne Marie Boyan said that, while it's fantastic to see some good weather arrive, some people “just can’t sleep in the heat”.

Offering some advice on Lunchtime Live, she said the first thing to consider is lowering your room's temperature before bedtime.

“It should be around 18°C as anything over that is sending a signal to your brain to stay awake,” she said.

“So, there’s a couple of things you can do there; you can have a fan in your room and another thing is actually opening windows during the day and closing the curtains and blinds.

“If you look at our neighbours in Spain and Italy who are used to the hot weather, they keep their rooms dark during the day so that they stay cool and ready for sleep.”

Lower temperatures

The sleep consultant recommended using cold water to lower temperatures at night.

“You need to get your body temperature down and to do that you can fill a hot water bottle with cold water to take to bed, or a flannel to dab yourself,” she said.

“And the other thing is your feet; if they get swollen or hot you should put them in a basin or a really cold shower, just up to your knee and that’s a really good way of lowering body temperature.”

A woman struggling to sleep. Image: Dmitry Marchenko / Alamy Stock Photo

Ms Boyan said blanket choice is also key to a good night's sleep.

“You just can't handle your winter duvet in the summer; you’d be throwing it off,” she said.

“It’s just too heavy so you need to change to a lower tog duvet in the summer.

“You also need to choose a good mattress and they last between five and ten years, preferably five, but definitely choose one that you’re comfortable on.”

Sleep scents

The sleep expert recommended certain scents as effective sleep aids.

“Aromatherapy is really good for sleep and the different scents have different effects on us," she said.

“Lavender can be really good for sleep and when we smell it, it has this calming effect on us to help us sleep.

“You can put it in a spray bottle and spritz it near your bed or you could have it as a roll-on and put it behind your wrist or your ears.”

Finally, she said a “nighttime winddown routine” tailored to you can speed up the process by letting your body know it’s time to sleep.

You can listen back here:

Main image: A man cools off trying to get some sleep in hot weather. Image: Andriy Popov / Alamy Stock Photo