I’m trying to find a new sleep position that works well with these summer nights. The blankets are too heavy but I wake up with chilly legs. The pillows make me sweat but I need them for positioning. I also keep the house cool. How do you sleep? What do you sleep with? What pjs do you use? Side note, I live in Texas, USA. It’s hot here!
It may not be as hot as Texas here but it is very humid and we're having a bit of a heatwave. Even so, it's only a couple of weeks since I stopped taking a hot water bottle to bed & parted company with the woolly bed socks.
I still keep some soft socks close by in case my feet get cold as well as quite an assortment of covers and various items of sleep wear. Thin blankets or a very light duvet are good for draping across some parts of the body and not others. Just knowing I'm somewhat over-prepared probably helps me sleep. One particularly useful piece of kit is an understanding partner!
Over head fans work well. Circular fans help also. Keeps the air moving, and you’ll sleep under your covers!
I hear you! Since my diagnosis, my sleeping comfort has become a big priority for me. I don’t have a circular fan, but we sleep in a loft with windows open in the summer, so there is plenty of air circulation. If I were sleeping in a closed room, I’d want an overhead fan.
My recipe:
100% cotton sheets, crisp texture (not sateen) so they don’t go drapey and stick to me
For a little extra warmth, if needed, the lightest weight pure down duvet I could get.
Wool fleece mattress pad and pillow cover (for absorbency, not warmth)
An extra firm pillow with height and suport but no “sink”. I alternate between a very hard anti-snore pillow and a CPAP pillow.
100% cotton pj’s, jersey knit.
So this is what’s working for me now. But like my disease, things change and who knows what my preferences might be next season!
Thanks.
I have am ceiling fan plus the air conditioner is kept around 74F. I'm cool and comfortable, but the blankets are bothering me. I feel smothered. I'm going to try and find a lightweight blanket that is also warmish.... but 100% cotton. Might make the difference.
Here in Kentucky, it was hot and humid for about three weeks; we got about four days where we could have the windows open and now it's back to humid as heck--low 80s and humid as heck means it feels like about 87.
I'm a big believer in keeping the air moving, too! We have air conditioning kept at 75 at night, ceiling fans in most rooms and a floor fan also (we LIKE moving air....).
You might try a flannel sheet rather than a lightweight blanket. In the summer, I have a regular sheet (100% cotton) and a flannel sheet (also 100% cotton). If I use the flannel sheet, I usually have an "air hole" for my feet, my shoulders covered and my forearms and hands out so I can be comfortable and have warmth for the parts that need it.
Oh--I sleep in cotton nightgowns with sleeves year-round.
Thanks sixcat, I didn't think about flannel. I'll check it out.
Sorry about the humidity. It's awful here too. Runs about 100+ everyday. Makes the nights muggy too.
That’s a good idea, sixcat, the flannel sheet. And I’m with you on the sleeves: even when it’s hot, I wear long sleeves! Can’t stand drafts. OMG, I sound like my grandmother!
I like the idea of a flannel sheet. I can't cope with even a summer tog quilt/duvet so have a lightweight bedspread (a thin quilted bed cover) but even that is too much in the summer but one cotton sheet isn't enough. We sleep in a loft too, Seenie, and I think it's the hottest room in the house in the summer and the coldest in the winter ..... but we don't have the same quality 'Great White North' insulation as you.
Maybe flannel sheet and long sleeved and long legged pj's ..... hmmmmmmm .......
I also agree with you Jules. I loved a big comfy quilt in the winters, or a heated blanket, but it's too hot for summers. I have a sheet and a thin cotton woven blanket and it's not enough. I looked on Amazon and there aren't too many options for flannel sheets. Not that I am a stickler for fashion over a good night sleep....
Hi Amielynn,
I've been doing the too many/ too few covers dance these last few weeks. I'm like sixcat, I have to sleep with long sleeves all year round as I tend to sleep with my arms over my head. I cannot stand weight on my feet at night because of neuropathy, so I "tent" the covers at my feet to keep them off me. This has the benefit of creating a lot of air movement and keeping me cool (as I wear shorts to bed all year round to keep me from overheating) although in the winter it feels drafty so I end up wearing socks then.
I agree with Seenie, too, about this being a moving target. Since being diagnosed I've gone through periods of intense sweating at night, waking up shivering cold, not being able to sleep at all, waking up for hours at a time in the middle of the night, having pillows that are firm and supportive, finding that firm pillows make my head hurt... so be patient with yourself as you figure out what works for you because come next Tuesday it might not be the solution you were hoping for!!
I hear you Jane, it always seems to change for me too.
I usE cotton or rayon sleep wear but I am always trying new ones too. I buy them either on sale or at Wlmart/target so if they,don’t work I have no guilt sending them to Good Will.
Amielynn try LLBean online, they have a large selection of flannel
Sheets. My last 2 sets came from Walmart though! They were 100% cotton and so cute I couldn’t pass them up but they only carry them in winter.
Thanks Janeatiu. I should invest in some long sleeve pjs too. How do you make a "tent" around your feet? I use wool socks and stick my feet out of the covers but they still get cold. I would love to know your secret.
I found a nice set of flannel sets on sale, thanks to Seenie. I figured I'll try them out. My sleeping situation has been bothering me for 3 weeks now. I wanted to wait it out a bit before I went too drastic. Winter is easier. I have a heated comforter and flannel pjs. Or course winter is more painful. I also take amitriptyline 3 weeks on, 1 week off and that 1 wek off is rough. I have to use a sleep aid to get some rest. Honestly I feel overrun on medication at times. Too many pills.
Micheal, I just bought some flannel sheet at the LL Old Bean (as my sister in law calls it). I buy most of my clothes and jackets from llbean. Love their stuff. She thinks I am old.... we are the same age, lol! I looked at Walmart and Amazon but was worried about pilling. I would love to find some cotton pjs, with pants, that didn't have a collar. I can't stand sleeping with a collar around my neck. Right now I use cotton mens undershirts. Not very attractive.
I’m getting some really vivid images reading all of this. Good thing tntlamb isn’t lurking.
The tent. I do that too with my lightweight down duvet, because I cannot stand anything pushing on my feet either. You pull or push up on the duvet so it kind of peaks over your feet. For this to work, you have to have a duvet that isn’t tucked in at the bottom. Won’t work with a sheet. Stick with us amielynn, just look at all the stuff you learn! Or maybe this is all TMI.
This reminds me of The Princess and the Pea.
Yes! Princess In The Pea!! Goodness, that sounds right. I have a duvet in the closet. I might try it tonight while I wait for the sheets to arrive. Nah, not too much TMI. I didn't ask what kind of undies everyone wears ;)
Is being 'the princess and the pea' a PsA thing? I do hope so. That would get me off the hook for being such a damn fidget all my life!
Undies is a whole new discussion!
amielynn38 said:
Yes! Princess In The Pea!! Goodness, that sounds right. I have a duvet in the closet. I might try it tonight while I wait for the sheets to arrive. Nah, not too much TMI. I didn't ask what kind of undies everyone wears ;)
Undies and shoes are whole other discussions! (grin)
It's Tuesday and things will probably change for me tonight. Went to my first Arthritis Plus class at the Y this evening. My joints feel fine but I'm a tad chilled even after a very hot shower. I'm sitting here with a light blanket over my feet and will probably use it to sleep because I need the extra warmth.
Dang, this crap is easier in the winter--normally, it's my blankie and socks, maybe an extra blankie and I'm good to go.