The Switzerland is sweating and also the rest of Europe suffers from the high temperatures. This becomes particularly problematic for many people at night: without air conditioning or a fan It’s hard to sleep at the moment. For these troubled people, the British doctor Doctor Johnny Betteridge has a medically proven cold trick.
Are you currently sleeping well?
Emergency trick
Betteridge once worked in a hospital emergency room, treating people with heat strokes and very high fevers. “The patients came with very high temperatures, we’re talking 40 to 43 degrees – caused by heat strokes, drugs or severe infections,” he explains in a video on Tiktok. In order to cool these patients down to a healthy level as quickly as possible, they are open there Ice packs, i.e. cooling elements, set.
“The cooling elements are placed on the large blood vessels, i.e. on the neck, under the armpits and in the groin area,” continues Betteridge. He personally finds the cooling packs under the armpits to be the most effective: “Grab two cooling elements and wrap them in a thin fabric. Trust me, the cooling effect is fantastic.” He currently sleeps regularly with these ice packs under his arm and a fan. “That’s just enough cooling that I can relax and fall asleep well,” he concludes.
Trick also works thanks to the vagus nerve
«I’m in the third trimester of pregnancy and haven’t been able to sleep properly for a week. Last night was the first time it was possible again, thank you!” writes someone in the comments of Doctor Johnny’s video. But good sleep has another background: the vagus nerve. This can be triggered by cold and ensures that our body relaxes.
The vagus nerve is the longest of our twelve cranial nerves. As part of the parasympathetic nervous system, it is one of the body’s most important autonomic signaling pathways and connects the brain with organs such as the heart, lungs and stomach. The resting nerve controls unconscious processes such as breathing, heartbeat and digestion, which help the body to regenerate.
Onestudy found that exposure to cold water increases vagal activity while also increasing the release of Stress hormones such as cortisol reduced. “The cold has a direct effect on the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system, which leads to deep relaxation,” said the researchers in the study. So if you clamp cooling elements under your armpits or near other large blood vessels, the vagus nerve is indirectly triggered. This in turn makes you sleep better.
How do you deal with the heat? Share your best cool down tricks in the comments!
Meret Steiger (mst), has been working for 20 minutes since 2016. She is an editor for Living and Auto & Mobility and reports on living, furnishing and architecture.
