As the UK braces for a third heatwave of the year, readers have shared their most inventive — and sometimes unorthodox — ways of keeping cool. Bethan Earley, from Rugby, said she puts foil blankets on the outside of her windows before closing them. “The house does still get warm,” she told BBC Your Voice, “but it takes much longer to warm up.” In Hitchin, Emma Kent, 42, went further: on one particularly hot day in June, she used a paint roller to spread a kilogram of yoghurt on the outside of her windows, inspired by an experiment by building science researchers at Loughborough University. The difference in temperature inside was noticeable, she said. John Turbefield, 38, from Chichester, placed white bed sheets on the outside of the windows in the hottest rooms and bought survival blankets – “designed to reflect heat” – for the remaining windows. He also froze two-litre plastic bottles of water and put them in front of and behind the five fans dotted around his house. Large bottles may take a couple of days to freeze, he warned. The UK Health Security Agency advises people to open windows only when the air feels cooler outside than inside, and to turn off non-essential electronics that generate heat. Some councils have published lists of “cool spaces” including churches, libraries and museums, but when Alice Jenner, 31, could not find any near her home on the south coast, she asked workers at her local M&S if she could sit in their air-conditioned store. Her medication makes it…
Getting a good night’s sleep during hot weather is equally challenging. Sleep expert Lisa Artis, deputy CEO of Simba’s charity partner The Sleep Charity, explained: “To fall asleep, our core body temperature needs to drop slightly. During hot, humid nights that natural cooling process becomes much harder.” Her top tip: place a pillowcase in the freezer. “Your head and neck are major heat-loss zones, so cooling them can make falling asleep much easier,” she said. “Rather than freezing the entire pillow, place just the pillowcase in a sealed bag in the fridge for around 20 minutes.” Similarly, putting a pair of socks in the fridge for around 30 minutes before bed can help – “Your feet are packed with blood vessels close to the skin’s surface, making them one of the quickest places for your body to release heat,” Artis added. However, she cautioned against an ice-cold shower before bed, as it can prompt your body to retain heat; a lukewarm shower is more effective. Opening windows can also make your home intolerably warm if the outside air is hotter than indoors – a reminder that even the best hacks work only when applied with care.
“Yoghurt on windows and frozen pillowcases are among readers' top tips as UK braces for third heatwave.”
