Five Summer Sleep Solutions
Folks in the Middle Ages had a habit most modern people would want to follow...
They had two periods of sleep each day.
For centuries, people practiced biphasic sleep. Often, they would go to sleep in the evening for several hours and wake up in the middle of the night. This period of waking was used for prayer, checking livestock, and getting some household chores done. Then they would go to sleep again for another few hours.
There's evidence that the idea of sleeping twice a day happened all over the world. But today, most of us fall asleep at night and wake up the next morning.
The trouble is that too many of us aren't getting enough sleep. This time of year is one of the worst for getting a good night's sleep... thanks to soaring summer temperatures and longer hours of daylight.
A study done by SleepScore Labs found that during the summer months, the average amount of sleep folks are getting in the U.S. drops from six hours and 12 minutes to just five hours and 59 minutes. That's less than the recommended amount for adults, which ranges from six and a half hours to nine hours per night. Most people fall in the seven-to-nine-hour range.
While it's likely you can't take a few hours out of your day for a second sleep, you're not doomed to bad sleep for three or four months of the year.
Today, I'm sharing some tips that should help you if you're struggling to get the seven to nine hours of sleep that your body and mind need.
1. Keep it cool. The ideal sleep temperature is 65 degrees Fahrenheit, which will encourage your body temperature to drop. If you have a big window in your bedroom, it's a great idea to get some blackout curtains. Keeping the ambient light out of your bedroom during the day will keep it cooler in general.
Plus, one of the most crucial parts of the sleep cycle – rapid eye movement ("REM") sleep – can suffer in hotter temperatures. That's because during REM sleep, your body loses its ability to sweat or shiver. If the room is too warm, your body temperature will rise to match it, bringing you back to a point of almost wakefulness. If it's too hot, you can even wake up completely, ruining the quality of your sleep.
2. Keep it dark. Your body (specifically your eyes) needs darkness in the evening to trigger the production of the hormone that makes you get sleepy, known as melatonin. So it's important to give yourself enough time in the darkness – or low light – to start making your melatonin. Shutting off the television, closing the laptop, and hooking your phone up to the charger for the night should happen at least one hour before your bedtime.
Do what I do and take a book to bed. Buy a dim book light and read in the comfort of your room with all the lights out except for your book lamp. Studies even show that reading before bed helped people fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and sleep better (42% slept better compared with when they didn't read before bed).
3. Set a bedtime. Keeping yourself to a bedtime routine helps prime your body for sleep. After some time, your body will begin to anticipate your escape to dreamland and start making the right hormone cocktail to take you there. Additionally, developing a simple self-care routine before bed helps your mind and body wind down and settle for the evening.
4. Do some yoga. Don't save all your good sleep efforts for the nighttime. Keep yourself active throughout the day to tire yourself out enough for bed. Yoga is a great way to do that. A low-activity yoga method is low impact, so you're not getting your heart racing. Yoga also helps you to relax and relieve stress. And studies show that practicing yoga for three months will increase your melatonin levels.
Try this 11-minute yoga-for-sleep video every day this week and see if it makes a difference for you.
5. Try out a sleep app. There are plenty of free apps that are designed to help you sleep. According to the Sleep Foundation, three of the best sleep apps this year are Calm, Headspace, and Sleep Reset. There are plenty of different ways to use these apps. They can track your sleep, help put you to sleep, and also help you stay asleep longer. Try a few out and see if they help.
Don't neglect your sleep this summer... or ever. Let my sleep tips guide you into getting some of the best sleep of your life.
What We're Reading...
- Something different: Robots can become cannibals.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
July 24, 2025