The important issue is that you get a good nights sleep waking up refreshed and ready for another day. Sleep researchers claim that how you begin your sleep is as important as the sleep itself. Keeping a routine at bedtime will help you begin to relax and look forward to a good night's sleep. Avoiding caffeine and other stimulants before bedtime is also good advice.
I stumbled upon a great idea last week that has made a huge difference for us at bedtime. We like to sleep with the heater off and no electric blanket. During winter the bedroom gets cold and the sheets are like ice when you get in bed. It's hard to relax when your teeth are chattering, so I started thinking about what we could do to solve the problem. I remembered seeing "bed warmers" in museums and knew they placed heated rocks in these and passed them under the sheets to make them toasty warm.
I decided to use Mrs. Professor's electric hair dryer to do the same thing.
By blowing hot air between the sheets for a few minutes it has the same effect as the ancient "bed warmers." It's much more relaxing and comfortable to crawl into a toasty warm bed now that we've discovered this winter bedtime secret.Should you choose to try this please be careful because you are dealing with a heated appliance which brings with it the remote possibility of a fire (make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy).
I point the nozzle of the hair dryer so it does not come in contact with the sheets and I raise the top sheet high enough (about eight inches) to allow the air to billow the bedding with warm air.Giving you something to sleep on - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing
22 comments:
Love the idea. Many years ago I lived in a very warm, west facing apartment without a/c. It was way too warm to sleep in the bed after being away for a weekend. I fixed the problem by putting my sheets, into a bag and into the freezer. Pulling them out when I went to bed, voila, cold sheets that warmed up quick. Weird but it worked.
I use a 12 volt bed warmer (also available in 120 VAC). Google "bed warmer" or "Electro-Warmth". 30 min. before you crawl in bed usually gets it nice and toasty. No fire danger this way. :-) Unlike an electric blanket, you sleep ON the bed warmer.
Heh heh, as long as we're hooked up somewhere, this looks like a dandy idea! Thanks.r
Whe I was a kid we would heat up the flat iron on the wood stove, wrap it in a towel and take it to bed with us to keep our feet warm. Hair dryer would be the new fangled way.
Jenny J
I had surgery just last week and was cool waiting my turn - they handed me a hose similar to the old fashioned portable hair dryers and let me hold it under the blanket - LOVED it. They must have gotten the idea from you :-)
A.J.
I used a hair dryer when i was in my teens to heat the bed.Just put that hose under the covers. Sometimes it ran all night long. Sure worked out good.
Thanks for that kind of a reminder
I have a german shorthair pointer that I tell to go to bed and she will lay an my side of the bed and get it warm for me, a shorthair is a bird dog for those who don't know and she thinks warming the bed is part of her job. NO fire risk
Bob & Dee MI.>>>>I use a Rice bag ,you put it in microwave for 2 min. ,then in the bed, leave it there all night. Good for cold feet.
Theses are used for aches an pains too, you can make them yourself. just sew 3 sides of a folded material that will be microwave safe, pour in some rice ,sew shut, ta da.
Jim, Isn't this why most of us got married? "Time for bed, Honey!" :-0
We went to JC Penny's and bought a Matress Pad Electric Blanket. Turn it on 15-20 minutes before you crawl into bed and it will feel great. Also leave it on the #1 setting and it works great on those cold windy nights when the slide out portion of the bed gets cool.
When we're plugged in, it's a dual control, heated mattress pad.
Surprised no one mentioned our favorite bed warmer: an electric matress pad. No worries about fires or blown fuses. Available for sure via JC Penney catalog and other fine establishments. BRRRRRRRRRR! It is now 14 degrees...think I will go back to my warm matress.
Sounds great as long as you have an electrical outlet near your bed or if you even use or carry a hair dryer. I myself, made some rice bags and heat them in the microwave and put that in between the sheets 10 minutes before going to bed.
I would be afraid of the hair dryer and fire possiblity. A much safer alternative that would require less effort as well, is a heated mattress pad. They are great! Most also come with dual controls so a couple can customize their comfort level. We have these on all of our beds at home as well as in our RV. The heat from these is not as smothering as an electric blanket you get under. If you don't want to sleep with the heat on, just turn it off a few minutes before you crawl under the sheets and you have warmed up sheets. Another alternative to cold sheets is flannel sheets. They do not get cold like cotton sheets regardless of how chilly the room gets. They are easy to find and are the perfect fix for this problem!
In my wife's opinion, even better than flannel sheets, are fleece sheets. And who's opinion is more important?
Kestrel
My very large dog serves as an electric blanket.
We use 3 or 4 empty 2 liter soda bottles filled with HOT water...just make sure the caps are on tight and toss into bed before crawling in.
I've been doing this for 20 years!!
As a youngster many moons ago our family would travel to grandparents house in Mexico that was heated only with wood stoves. We would put bricks on the stove for a while before going to bed and then wrap them in a towel and we would each take one with us to bed. Low tech, no cost.
We purchased a couple of hot water bottles (yes, they still make them!) and use those. They work great, store flat and were inexpensive. I made covers for them out of some towels for extra comfort.
One of those microwaveable bags are my way to go and if it is still too cool those fleece sheets are terrific to sleep on. Awesome on those really cool nights.
CW in Canada
No one has mentioned using a Goose-Down comforter. My husband and I use one.....Spring, Summer and Fall! Perfect temperature all the time, very light weight, inexpensive and no plug-in required. We can turn the furnace waaaaay down low. We don't even realize how cool it can get in the trailer till we get up in the morning.
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