Monthly Archives: July 2022

How to keep cool this summer

How To Keep Cool In Your Bedroom This Summer

The Great British summer has officially begun. This means plenty of garden antics, office fans galore and much brighter evenings. While the summertime is largely a happy and positive time up and down the country, this could largely be due to the nicer weather and increased uptake of home barbecues, there are a few minor annoyances. Potentially the worst part of most people’s summer is the struggle to get to sleep in hot weather. 

In the middle of July, the UK recorded its highest ever temperatures of just over 40 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, the UK recorded its highest ever overnight temperature. The coolest point in the evening was only a whopping 26 degrees. This surely meant an overabundance of sleepless nights for many. 

Many studies have shown that no matter your age, sleeping pattern or any other potential factor, sleeping in hot weather can be incredibly problematic. So weather you are sleeping in a mid sleeper bed, a uniquely designed Thuka bed or a day bed; you are not safe from a rough night sleep due to high temperatures. 

Industry experts usually cite the ideal sleeping temperature as being between 15 to 20 degrees Celsius. As many of you might have guessed, bedrooms can easily eclipse these temperatures in the summer months. This is largely due to the fact that most British homes are not designed to withstand consistent and persistent heat. 

With Statistics like these, now seems like the perfect time to look at ways to keep you cool during the hot summer nights. 

Close Blinds and Curtains

When the sun is shining, it might be tempting to open your curtains or blinds to allow the delightful sunlight into your home. However, in order to keep your home cool, we would advise against this. 

Windows or other forms of glass act as a magnifying glass in the summer, drastically heating up rooms when sunlight is distributed. By keeping the blinds and curtains closed, you are protecting your room from this effect. While you will eventually need to allow light into the room, you can mitigate this by keeping them closed during the hottest points of the day and by keeping them closed if you are not in a room. 

Have Thinner Bed Sheets and Duvets 

While this one might sound like a no-brainer; when temperatures rise, you should change your bed sheets and duvets. Afterall, if you have a thick duvet or bed sheets, this will drastically warm you up and in turn, warm up your room. 

It is recommended that you have a tog of between 2.5 and 4.5 for your duvet during the summer and generally, the smaller the bed sheets; the better. This technique might seem rather simple but there is no denying, it is extremely effective. 

Be Careful When Using Fans

In the UK, it is very popular to sleep with fans turn on in your room in an attempt to keep cool. But this can actually have many negative repercussions. 

Firstly, with energy bills continuously on the rise, leaving your fan on all night can leave you with a rather unprecedentedly large bill. Additionally, having your fan on all night can actually inadvertently warm your room up. 

Because the electric is working doubly as hard to keep the fan going, the fan itself can start to produce heat. Because of this, it is recommended that you use fans sparsely during the summer months. You might opt to only have the fan running during certain times of day, like just before bed. 

Seal Gaps and Cracks

While you might hope you will notice any gaps or cracks forming in windows or doors, sometimes, these go unnoticed. In the winter these gaps might give you a nasty draft but in the summer, they will inconveniently let in hot weather. So as the summer starts, you might want to consider sealing any unwanted gaps or cracks sooner rather than later. 

Use Cold Water Wisely

Cold water is a fantastically easy way to cool you down. It might be tempting to keep sipping cold drinks all day and all night when warm. However, you should actually try drinking water at room temperature as this is proven more effective. 

You can use cold water during certain times. Usually using a cold and damp cloth on your head can help to massively cool you down. 

Choose Cotton

Typical things found in your bedroom, such as your mattress, the clothes you sleep in and the aforementioned bed sheets can have an effect on how warm your bedroom becomes. It is recommended that where possible you use cotton as your preferred material. Cotton is usually lightweight and super breathable which helps massively when it comes to keeping you cool. 

Drink Plenty of Liquids

When temperatures begin to rise and you start to feel warmer, it will be tempting to grab yourself a cold beverage, however, this can be to your detriment. If you drink ice cold drinks when you are warm it can actually make you warmer. 

This being said, if the conditions are decidedly more humid, cold drinks are the preferred drinking option. Just as important as the temperature of the drink is what type of liquid you are drinking. Try to avoid beverages such as alcohol as they will dehydrate you. 

While drinks such as coke can be beneficial, clearly the best drink is simply water. Water helps to hydrate you and it also helps to cool you down. 

Contact Us For Cool Bedroom Products This Summer

We hope you now have more of an idea of how to keep cooler in your bedroom during the summer. However, you might be in need of some stylish and cool items for your bedroom this coming summer. We stock many great bedroom products. These include serene furnishing and stylish Thuka products. 

High Sleeper Beds Or Bunk Beds

Do You Need A High Sleeper Bed and A Bunk Bed

In our most recent blog, we looked at everything there is to know about mid sleeper beds. From who might sleep in the bed, what kind of décor best suits this type of bed and everything else in between. We were considering producing a similar guide for the faithful high sleeper bed. However, we realised that what our customers are more keen to know is what is the difference between a high sleeper bed and a bunk bed. 

Commonly, bunk and high rise beds are the subject of much confusion. Furthermore, many customers do not know which style of bed is best for them. 

So, we thought instead of looking at just high rise beds, why not look at both high sleepers and bunk beds. For this guide, we will be looking at high sleepers and bunk beds exclusively. We have decided to look at the benefits of both, similarities, limitations of the various models, the main differences and much more. So, let’s look at the main differences between high rise beds and bunk beds. 

The Main Differences Between High Sleeper Beds and Bunk Beds

If you were to think there is a long and complicated explanation to what the main difference between a high rise bed and a bunk bed is; they you would be wrong. To put it simply, a high sleeper bed is a bed which is positioned a sufficient distance from the ground. A bunk bed is essentially a high sleeper bed, but with a bed underneath. 

Essentially other than this, there are no real differences between them. This might be why they are both so commonly mixed up. 

Both forms have very similar bed styles as well as having similar limitations. Whether that be changing bed frames, mattresses or pillows, most can be used on both forms of beds. The only difference being that a bunk bed has to accommodate for another sleeper in a bed underneath.

Advantages of High Sleeper Beds

The high rise is the metaphorical cousin to the mid sleeper bed. Much like the mid sleeper, the bed caters to a younger audience. However, the high sleeper bed can sometimes cater to slightly older children. 

In fact, the high sleeper has proven quite popular with teenagers and even young adults. So this is one of the many advantages of high rise beds.

 Another big advantage of the previously mentioned bed is the fact you can install a sufficient set up underneath the bed. It is actually this factor which makes the model so appealing to so many of the older children and/or teenagers. For example, many users of the bed install a gaming or an office desk set up underneath the bed. 

If you wish, you do not need to have anything underneath the bed. Many people use the space under them as a convenient storage solution. This is particularly popular use for people who may have limited space for storage at their home. 

Another positive is the sheer novelty of being levitated off the ground. While this may not be a particularly big selling point for older children but nevertheless, there is little denying it still has a certain novelty value. 

Advantages of Bunk Beds

Many of the advantages of high rise beds ring true for bunk beds; this is of course minus the underbed storage benefit. Afterall, a bed will be in the place where you planned to store the equipment or items. 

However, this does not necessarily mean it is a bad thing. In fact, one of the main benefits is the that you will have two beds in one structure. This on it’s own has many benefits. For example, having a bunk bed will save you money as usually bunk beds are cheaper than buying two separate child’s beds. 

Bunk beds can also be very helpful for younger children who fear sleeping on their own at night. Younger children can sometimes have a fear of the dark or another kind of bedroom fear. Having someone in the room with them, in an easily contactable position puts their minds at ease and enables them to have a much better night’s sleep. 

On the topic of bed sharing, a potential advantage of bunk beds for many children is being able to technically share a bed with a fellow family member or, even, a friend. 

As you can see, there are many advantages to both high rise and bunk beds. In fact, many of them are shared. 

Disadvantages of High Sleeper Beds

While we have frequently touched on the many advantages of the high rise beds, and as previously stated, there are many, there are a few caveats. 

One potential disadvantage of the highly levitated bed is that it does not overtly appeal to adults or the elderly. Well this can be fine, it actually creates a sense of exclusivity for children using the bed, the sheer practically of an elderly person using a high sleeper bed is problematic. As you get older, your mobility can be severely affected and as such; climbing a set of ladders to get into bed can prove difficult. 

Another potential disadvantage of high sleepers is the fact that you can not customise them. Well this is not a particularly big negative, it is worth stating nonetheless. Because many high rise beds are single beds, you can not implement many double bed features. For example, you could not install one of our luxury double bed frames. 

Disadvantages of Bunk Beds

Much like the frequently mentioned high sleeper beds, bunk beds do not cater to older customers. For many, this can be a negative on it’s own. 

In terms of other disadvantages, the same also rings true in terms of customisation. Moreover, bunk beds have even less room for customisation. This is because you have the added problem of having two beds to cater for. 

Another potential disadvantage of the bunk bed is bed sharing. Earlier this year, we produced a blog detailing some of the advantages of bed sharing. While many enjoy sharing their sleeping space, some do not enjoy this pleasure. When sharing your sleeping quarters with someone else, it opens the door to potential snores and other annoying sleep habits. 

We Provide Quality Children’s Beds

While we have listed some potential disadvantages of high sleeper and bunk beds, there is little doubt that these style of beds expertly fit their purpose. Many of the negatives are actually by design alone. And we feel it pretty clear that the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. 

At UK Bed Store, we stock a wide range of colourful children’s beds. These include our previously mentioned kids high sleepers, loft beds and, of course, bunk beds. We also stock a wide selection of well known kids bed brands. These include Birlea and Thuka. 

So if you are looking for a new bed for your child, please contact us. We are sure we will be able to help you.