Oregon

The heat wave is here, and it looks like we’ll be battling hot temps for at least the next week.  Many Oregonians don’t have air conditioning because generally, it doesn’t get very hot here, and if it does, it doesn’t stay for long.

How do you find a way to sleep comfortably on hot nights?  Here are some tips that can make all the difference:

1.       Buckwheat pillows and mattresses: they don’t retain your body heat like other mattresses and pillows.

2.       Sleep like an Egyptian: Dampen a sheet or run it through the wash and sleep with it on top of you.  Make sure you have a dry sheet or towel under you.  You can also dampen a T-shirt and ring it out really well and wear it.  Evaporation from the shirt keeps you cooled off.

3.       Ice packs: Either hard packs or soft packs will help keep you cool while you sleep.  If you use soft ones, put them in a pillowcase to keep you from it being too cold.

4.       Chillin’: Place your pillowcase, sheets, pajamas, or whatever you want to be cold in extra large freezer bags and place in the freezer in the morning.  By the time you need them, they’ll be super cool and you’ll fall asleep faster.

5.       Wet feet: Dampen cotton socks and ring them out really well.  Wear them to bed, but make sure there is a dry towel under your feet.

6.       Make a corn sock: Fill a tube sock with feed corn and place it in the freezer.  No feed corn?  Try rice.  No rice?  Try a mixture of flax seed and lavender.

7.       Baking Soda: Sprinkle a very light layer of baking soda on the sheet you sleep on.  People swear by this one.

8.       Go commando: Sleep in the nude.  This is a debatable subject because some think it makes you hotter while others say it makes you cooler.

9.       Take a cold shower: Before you hit the sack, take a cool shower and don’t fully dry off.

10.   Take a plunge: Fill up a pan or bucket with ice water then plunge your feet in it for as long as you can stand it.  You will be cooled off very quickly.

Take steps to stay cool and we’ll make it through this heat wave just fine.  Try to get sleep, because cranky hot people have more accidents, road rage, and make poor choices.  Stay cool, Oregon.