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I slept cool at a festival during a scorching heatwave — here’s how I did it
Sleeping during a heatwave is difficult. Now, imagine sleeping in a car during a heatwave and you’ll start to imagine how I felt during my six nights at Glastonbury Festival sleeping in a (very well insulated) campervan.
Being a UK campervan, it’s designed to keep as much heat in as possible to help sleepers with the typical cold nights in England. So, when an unprecedented wave of 30 degrees Celcius (86 degrees Farenheit) heat hit the Worthy Farm festival site, it became a sweltering tin can.
However, as the Sleep Features Editor for Tom’s Guide, I had a few tricks up my sleeve to help me and my husband cool down and get good sleep (as good as it can be at a festival) night after night.
Our Glastonbury Festival set up
While I’ve camped in a tent at Glastonbury before and enjoyed it, I was incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to borrow my mother-in-law’s van for this year’s festival.
Inside the van is a small double bed, not quite long enough to sleep straight in. That means you have to sleep on your side. Aside from the driver’s seat in the front, there aren’t any windows, so airflow can be tricky.
Considering the forecast seemed to predict we were in for a hot one, before heading off we stocked up on some top sleep gear to help us get through the mammoth six nights that were to come.
How I beat the heat and slept at Glastonbury Festival
Added a touch of luxury with bamboo bedding and pyjamas
While I was anticipating chilly nights like the last time I attended the festival, I still brought bamboo bedding and pyjamas with me because they can keep you warm as well as cool.
And I’m glad I did. Being a natural material, it’s breathable which means it doesn’t trap heat like some synthetic materials can. It’s also moisture wicking, so it can help remove sweat from your body, keeping you fresh.
As you can imagine, this was a godsend at a festival when showers are limited. Bamboo also has a silky soft feel which means you can still feel cozy and comfortable at night without overheating.
I opted for a Pretty You London pyjama set, and every night I looked forward to slipping into them, enjoying my little bit of luxury that helped me get through the rest of the festival.
Kept cozy with a cooling duvet
My one tip for anyone at a festival is to bring a duvet or comforter if you can. Being able to cuddle up with a real duvet rather than a slippery sleeping bag is well worth the extra weight to carry in my opinion.
And you might think that sounds too hot, but my husband and I decided to take our Silentnight Airmax duvet. This is a double layered comforter with mesh panels that allow air to flow through it.
So, while most of the night I didn’t need any kind of cover, I could still feel cozy without sweating.
Added comfort with a cooling mattress topper
Okay, I know it sounds like I was ‘glamping’ at this point, but I am a Sleep Features Editor after all.
My husband and I had slept in the van previously for a night or two and found, as side sleepers, we both woke in the night with a dead hip because of how firm the bed was.
So, before Glastonbury, we ordered the Elemuse Dual Layer Three Inch Memory Foam Mattress Topper.
The best mattress toppers add some cushioning to your bed without compromising the support, and that’s exactly what the Elemuse did for us.
While memory foam usually traps heat, the Elemuse mattress topper uses a gel foam which is better at dissipating heat and allowing it to transfer away from the body. In fact, Elemuse claims that the topper reduces sweating by 50%.
It certainly didn’t feel like it trapped heat, and because we were more comfortable, we weren’t tossing and turning all night, working up a sweat. The result? Feeling surprisingly well-rested in the morning.
Closed the van-curtains during the day
We didn’t come back to the van during the day once we were in the festival, so there was no reason for us to keep the curtains open. But this also meant we couldn’t keep a door or window open for airflow.
So, our best bet was to keep the van as dark as possible to try and prevent a heat build up throughout the day.
While this didn’t necessarily keep it ‘cool’, it certainly worked to avoid soaring temperatures.
By the time we returned to the van late at night, temperatures had dropped a little and we weren’t welcomed with a wave of warm air when we opened the door.
My other top tips for sleeping at festivals
Even without a heatwave, sleeping at a festival can feel almost impossible. Here are a few of my top tips to get quality rest no matter where you are.
Get a blackout sleep mask
I’ve never used a sleep mask before, simply because I love waking up to natural daylight. However, when the sun is rising at 4am and I’d only gotten to bed a couple of hours before, I thought it was best to delay that light as much as possible!
I used an Olesilk Mulberry Silk Sleep Mask that fits all the way around the head and is slightly padded to avoid any pressure build up around your eyes.
Even if it came off in the night and I did wake up too early, it was never far away and as soon as I put it back on, I managed to get a couple more hours of precious sleep.
Invest in the right earplugs
I’m an avid festival goer and sleep next to a snoring husband, so as you can imagine, earplugs are essential.
After using foam earplugs for years, despite them hurting and damaging my ears, I wanted to use a softer, less disposable option.
I tried Loop Quiet 2 earplugs, which were better than foam, but they didn’t block enough sound to help me survive Glastonbury.
This time, I tried the Alpine Silence Earplugs and was impressed. They stayed in my ears until the morning and they blocked so much sound I was blissfully unaware of the chaos that was unfolding around our campsite every night.
Now, the Alpine option might not work for you and the Loop might, it’s worth trying a few options so you can find the perfect pair for you.
Sleep in
I never lie in and usually I’d never advise anyone to as a consistent sleep schedule is key to quality rest. Even during the weekend, no matter how late I’ve gone to bed, I’ll wake up between 7 and 8am.
But this Glastonbury, I forced myself to sleep for as long as possible in the mornings.
For me, I worry that I’m missing out on the festival if I’m lying in – but realistically, nothing much happens before 12pm anyway. So, rather than waking up early and waiting around for your mates to get up, it’s best to get some more shut eye.
So, skip the alarm and practise some calming breathing exercises to help you fall back asleep in the morning.
