Having a soak in the bath an hour and a half before bedtime helps you sleep better

A good night’s sleep can be hard to come by during the heatwave - particularly since it was revealed why having your bedroom fan on all night could be a bad idea.

So when the temperatures rise this coming week, why not try a science-backed way to help you get better snooze time.

A new study has discovered that taking a bath before bed can help improve sleep quality.

The University of Texas at Austin found those who enjoyed a soak an hour and a half before lights off got the best shut eye.

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Researchers analysed 5,322 studies which looked at “water-based passive body heating” - meaning water heating your body up.

They noticed a link between sleep improvement and having a bath or shower in water of approximately 40 to 43 degrees celsius between one and two hours before bed.

What’s more, it sped up people’s ability to drop off by a significant ten minutes.

Turns out having a pre-bed wash helps your body’s temperature follow its natural circadian rhythm - the important 24-hour internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.

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For the best sleep, the body likes to drop in temperature at least an hour before bedtime so that it is at its lowest once you’ve nodded off.

Warming your body up in advance of this can help cool it down enough in time for bed.

This signals to it that it’s ready for rest, making falling asleep easier and stopping you tossing and turning throughout the night.

Timing your bath so that you get out of the water 90 minutes beforehand gives your body enough time to cool back down.

We all know how important snooze time is for our health, so that’s some #SundaySelfCare for you to try tonight.

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