The summer solstice will soon be upon us, which signals the beginning of summer. Along with summer comes the longest day of the year, and a season of much longer days and much shorter nights. While most are aware about the change in the amount of sunlight that summer brings, many forget to consider the impact that the summer solstice will have on our sleep.
Let’s take a look at how the summer solstice impacts your sleep, and what you can do to make sure you keep getting quality, consistent rest.
Why Does the Summer Solstice Impact Sleep?
The summer solstice impacts sleep because there is far more light during the summer than any other time of year. When light hits your eyes in the morning, it triggers the “wake” cycle for your body. Likewise, when darkness is present, it triggers the “rest” cycle for your body (for example, by producing the hormone melatonin, which is key to helping you fall asleep).
Longer days and shorter nights means it’s easier for your body to get less rest than usual, and research backs this up. A 2021 study showed that sleep duration shortened between the summer and winter equinox, attributing it to the abundance of light and other mild factors.
This reduction in sleep duration was most prominently seen in people over the age of 60, which is a group that has more common problems with getting consistent, good rest.
Summer Heat Can Spell Trouble
The problems of sleeping after the summer solstice is due to more than just extra daylight hours. Summer heat can make sleeping a challenge, especially if you’re in an area experiencing unusual heat waves or in an area that doesn’t have traditional access to air conditioning.
In general, unusual heat is not good for sleep. Experts recommend that your bedroom be 15.5-20 degrees Celsius for optimal sleeping, though your personal preference may not fit exactly into this range.
Busy Schedules Can Increase Anxiety
The arrival of summer often means routines and schedules get turned on their head. Parents have their children at home (and their children may have summer-specific activities), vacations may be planned, and summer can otherwise get busy and stressful. That added stress can impact your sleep, which can make it even harder to get an appropriate amount of rest.
How to Get Consistent, Quality Sleep After the Summer Solstice
Fortunately, even with the potential sleep difficulties that comes with the summer solstice, there are steps you can follow to help overcome summer sleep challenges:
Reduce Lights
Since extended daylight hours are the major culprit, reducing light when it’s time to sleep can be helpful. Consider wearing an eye mask when it’s time to sleep or blackout curtains if you struggle to sleep with eye masks.
Even if you don’t completely block out light, making sure to close normal blinds and turning off artificial lights can make a big difference in your sleep quality.
Be As Consistent As Possible
Consistency is crucial to making sure your circadian rhythm is synched to your schedule. Making sure to wake up at certain times and go to bed at certain times (regardless of how much light is present) can help you to wake up and get sleepy at the right times of day.
Again, if excess summer light is making it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep, you should consider taking measures to reduce light coming into the bedroom.
Keep It Cool
We mentioned earlier in this article that a cool room can make it easier to sleep, but getting your room cooler is easier said than done. Even if you have access to air conditioning, many have to consider the cost of keeping rooms cool (or even if their central air conditioner has the capacity to keep rooms cool past a certain temperature).
If you’re trying to get your room cool enough to sleep you could consider:
- Only turning down your AC at night, and turning it back up when you wake up
- Buying fans to help circulate air
- Consider buying an inexpensive window AC unit or standalone AC unit for your bedroom, and running it only when you sleep. This is actually more cost-effective than running your central AC system, if you have access to quality options.
Exercise!
You could consider taking advantage of the extra daylight hours of the summer and get some exercise in! Not only does exercise offer general health benefits, but research has repeatedly shown that exercise is connected to getting consistently good sleep.
If you plan on getting some summer time exercise in, consider doing it several hours before you plan to go to sleep. Exercising too close to bedtime can actually make it harder to fall asleep!
Consider Melatonin Supplements
We’ve talked about how important melatonin is to your sleep cycle, and since extra daylight hours may make it hard for your body to produce melatonin at the right time, then taking melatonin supplements may be an excellent option. Research suggests that taking melatonin may help with insomnia, though more research is needed for conclusive results.
Consider CBD
CBD is a compound naturally found in a form of cannabis called hemp, and it’s gained quite a bit of popularity in the last several years. CBD may be able to help you get better sleep in the summer through three specific ways:
- If the stress of your summer schedule is interfering with sleep, CBD has been shown to help manage anxiety.
- If you’re experiencing pain (especially inflammatory pain from being physically active more in the summer than you’re used to), then CBD may offer effective pain management.
If you’re just struggling with general summer insomnia, then there’s research that CBD may be able to help, too.
How to Use CBD to Adjust to the Summer Solstice
If you’re thinking about trying CBD to help sleep better through the summer (and you’ve talked with your doctor and you know it’s safe to try CBD), then we have a few tips you should follow to get the most out of your CBD experience:
- Even if you aren’t experiencing problems now, but you expect problems as the summer solstice approaches, start taking CBD now. It can take several weeks for CBD to start offering its full benefits, so taking it as a preventive measure is an excellent option.
- If you’re trying CBD for the first time, we recommend starting with a low dose (if possible) and slowly work your way up to a comfortable and potent amount. Starting low will help avoid mild side-effects, like dry mouth or an upset stomach.
Take CBD consistently. As we said, it can take time for CBD to take effect, and not taking CBD long enough is one of the biggest reasons people think that CBD doesn’t work.
What Form of CBD is Best for Summer Sleeping?
CBD comes in several forms, each with their own pros and cons.
CBD Patches
One of the best products we’ve seen for sleeping are CBD patches, like the PhenoPatch. Unlike other CBD products, patches:
- Provide long-lasting effects through the night (8+ hours)
- Don’t have any taste issues (they go straight on your skin)
- Have the best absorption rate of any CBD product (up to 80% bioavailability)
CBD Capsules
Another good option for using CBD to sleep are CBD capsules, (like PhenoGel). CBD capsules are swallowed, like typical vitamins or supplements. Some of their benefits include:
- Easy dosing (each capsule has a precise measurement of CBD)
- Long-lasting (usually 6-8 hours, depending on the dose)
- Tasteless
A challenge of CBD capsules that customers should keep in mind is their absorption rate. Typical ingestible CBD products only have 6% bioavailability. If you’d prefer to try capsules, we recommend options that are specifically designed for maximum absorption, like our PhenoGel capsules (which have 30-35% bioavailability levels).
PhenoLife and Summer Sleep
Let’s wrap up what we’ve learned about the impact of the summer solstice can have on your sleep:
- Longer periods of daylight can make it challenging to fall asleep and stay asleep
- Heat and changed schedules can make it harder to sleep
- Reducing lights in the bedroom can improve sleep
- A consistent sleep schedule can keep your circadian rhythm in balance
- A cool room is ideal for better sleep
- Regular exercise can help you get more restful sleep
- Melatonin supplements may be an option to help fall asleep
- CBD may be an option to help fall asleep, as well helping soothe stress and anxiety
If you have more questions about how CBD can help counteract the sleep challenges brought on by the summer solstice, we’d love to talk to you! The PhenoLife experts are happy to answer any questions you have about CBD and our specific products.
If you’re ready to get shopping for CBD, you can start right here! You can check out our PhenoPatches for sleep, as well as our entire CBD product catalog.
