Today we celebrate the Summer Solstice: the official first day of Summer and the longest day of the year. After we have celebrated all weekend, we have to get some sleep in Alaska during the next three months. Let’s talk about how you can get better sleep year-round with these 9 tips for getting awesome sleep this summer.

1. Keep your windows open or your ceiling fans on during the day: Well-circulated air not only helps to keep you cool, it also helps you to stay oxygenated, and sleep better. You can also try keeping a window cracked in your bedroom at night, creating a cooling cross-breeze while you sleep.

2. Be sure to shut your blinds or curtains during the day: Keeping out natural light in the daytime will help keep your home cool and prevent rooms from overheating. You could also invest in some blackout blinds or curtains to cut down even further on unwanted heat in the house and also create the ideal cool, dark environment for sleep.

3. Trade in your winter bedding for something lighter: Trying to sleep on flannel sheets in the summer could be what’s causing you to toss and turn during those sultry nights of the hottest season. Invest in some cotton sheets to keep cool while you sleep.

4. Stick your sheets in the freezer for 5 minutes: If you find yourself really feeling the burn while trying to sleep in the summer, you can give yourself a cooling kick-start by chilling your sheets in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes before bedtime.

5. Cut down on the layers: Making the switch to cotton PJs or sleeping in the buff can help you stay cool in the summer by reducing the amount of layers between you and the temperate air of your bedroom.

6. Stay hydrated during the day: Drinking plenty of the water during the day will help you keep cool while you’re out and about, and it will even continue to keep you refreshed well into the evening. You can also keep a glass of water by your bed, in case you wake up parched during the night.

7. Say no to after-dinner coffee or cocktails: Both caffeine and alcohol have been shown to leave you dehydrated cause sleep disturbances, so be sure to keep them to a minimum in the summer, and abstain from either substance completely at least 3 hours before bedtime.

8. Super-size your sleeping arrangements: If you sleep with a partner and find both of you are heating up too much at night, it might be time to upgrade to a larger size mattress. Often times, upgrading to a larger bed size can make all the difference in your ability to get a better night’s rest – summertime or not!

9. Upgrade your mattress: If it’s been awhile since you’ve had a new bed or you can’t seem to sleep, no matter what you try, it might be time to invest in your health and happiness with a memory foam mattress. Not only are they incredibly durable, but memory foam mattresses have been shown to help people sleep better in the summer by dispersing body moisture, keeping you cool and supported throughout the night.

No matter the season, Alaska Sleep Clinic’s board-certified sleep specialists are ready to help you get the sleep you need.