How to live well in the heat even without air conditioning

“My apartment is on the top floor of a 5-storey building in Istanbul, Turkey. The trees don’t reach that height, the roof is flat, the windows face the sun. reach 40 °C, my room turns into a real sauna.

Under conditions like this, I can’t fall asleep or stay asleep for very long. Since I don’t have air conditioning, the way is to try ways to cool off.

Especially for readers of awesome.clubI’ll tell you what tricks I use to lower the temperature in the room and cool my bed, ensuring a more comfortable sleep.

To keep the room cool, it’s important to ventilate the room properly. To do this, I close the window when the outside temperature is above 25°C, and open it when it drops below that. The lowest temperature is from 4 am to 7 am, so I open the window in the morning and in the evening, after 8 pm.

So that the sun does not enter the apartment, it is necessary to choose the right curtains. I tried a wide variety of materials and I can say that buying curtains made of synthetic materials is not worth it: they quickly heat up and the colors wear out in the sun. It is better to use thick white linen curtains.

So that the heat does not linger in the house, you also need to get rid of everything that collects dust (carpets and decorative pillows). This will make the air cleaner and fresher.

During ventilation, you can wet a towel and hang it in front of an open window. This will help cool the area down quickly. But don’t leave the towel in the same place at night: a room with a lot of humidity can become suffocating.

Before, when there were no air conditioners, people used to wet the floors before going to sleep during hot days. The room temperature immediately dropped. This made it possible to fall asleep quickly and sleep comfortably.

They are inexpensive, practical and cool the room well. If you have such a fan, make sure the switch is in the “summer” position.

Many fans have 2 modes for different seasons.

If you can’t find the switch, check the blades: they must turn counterclockwise so that the air goes to the ceiling.

An ordinary small fan just circulates the air, while its motor heats the room. But any fan can become a real air conditioner.

To do this, you must freeze bottles and other containers of water and place them in front of the paddles. With it, cold air will be distributed throughout the room. When it’s really hot, I freeze 2 sets of bottles and change them every 4 to 5 hours.

If your bedding is satin or synthetic, it’s best to replace it with cotton or silk. Cotton sheets absorb sweat well and stay cool. Natural silk, on the other hand, is very light, with a tendency to refresh the skin a little. Also wear cotton pajamas: they are more ventilated. Or sleep naked. Why not? It is also an alternative. Another good way to freshen up is to put sheets and pillowcases in the fridge in the morning, putting everything back on the bed right before bed. But do not put other bedding in the freezer: there is a risk of getting sick. “Memory” mattresses also retain more heat. They are useful in winter, but uncomfortable in summer. I have such a mattress, but in the summer, I put a protector made of cotton (which can also be put in the fridge).

My friend’s apartment has air conditioning, and although it saves her from the heat, it makes her sick. That is, if you turn on the air conditioning, it gets too cold. If you turn it off, it gets very hot. She cannot find the balanced temperature.

Experts say that we sleep better at a temperature of 18°C. Many air conditioners have a temperature maintenance or night mode function. These options may be marked differently (health save, night mode, etc.), so it pays to read the instructions carefully. In this mode, the air conditioner automatically turns off and turns on after a while, maintaining the desired temperature.

If your air conditioner doesn’t have this function, close all the windows and turn on the air conditioner, selecting the coldest mode, leaving it like that for 2 or 3 hours before going to sleep.”