Experts reveal why you should invest in a sofa bed ahead of the next heatwave – 'this might be your best bet during extreme heat'

There's another heatwave on the horizon, and with high summer temperatures becoming more frequent in the UK, you might be racking your brains for ways to beat the heat at home, especially in the bedroom.

Over the past few months, many of us have likely realised that our houses aren't equipped for these types of summer temperatures.

However, if you're wondering how to stay cool in bed without going to the drastic measure of selling up and moving house, experts have a possible solution. And it's in the shape of the humble sofa bed.

There are plenty of tips and tricks for how to keep a bedroom cool, but, as property expert at My Local Toolbox, Adam Clark, explains, there's only so much we can do to cool down a bedroom. A significant part of the problem is that many British homes aren't properly insulated, which results in overheating in the summer.

'Recent data reveals that over 9.6 million UK households are plagued by poor insulation and inadequate ventilation,' shares Adam. 'This can make summers uncomfortably hot for many. 11% of households report temperatures so extreme that sleep is compromised.'

'The ideal bedroom temperature for a restful sleep is between 16-18°C' shares Adam. 'When the room is too hot, your body struggles to cool down, resulting in restless nights marked by tossing, turning, and night sweats. This disrupts your circadian rhythm, leaving you tired and less alert the next day.'

This is the case in my home. I have a south east facing dormer bedroom, and despite employing every trick under the sun (no pun intended) to sleep cooler – from adding one of the best blackout blinds to my south-facing widow, adopting the bedding Indian Maharajas use to sleep cooler, and using one of the best fans to create a breeze – my bedroom still got to temperatures in the high twenties during the last heatwave.

So much so that I took to decamping downstairs, where temperatures are cooler, and sleeping on the sofa during the hottest nights.

However, had I given my summer sleep setup a little more forethought, I could have made my living room campout a lot more comfortable.

'A great hack to getting a restful night's sleep during those sizzling temperatures is to sleep downstairs,' says Alex Bridgman, co-founder at furniture retailer Bridgman. 'Heat tends to rise, meaning that the bedroom can often be the warmest room in the house.'

If you want to sleep more comfortably downstairs, 'invest in a sofa bed or footstool bed that can be easily transformed at a moment's notice,' says Carol.

'Since hot air rises, sleeping downstairs might be your best bet during extreme heat,' agrees Molly Freshwater, sleep expert and co-founder of bedding brand Secret Linen Store. 'Equip a lounge area with a sofa bed or even an inflatable mattress for a cooler night's rest. Think of it as an at-home sleepover.'

I think this is an ingenious solution. A changing climate means we need to be more adaptable, and – assuming your home has more than one floor – equipping the lower floor of your home with one of the best sofa beds could be a way to ride out those hot and humid summer nights.

You could opt for one of the best portable air conditioners, of course, but personally, I think that added energy use only causes more environmental problems.

Admittedly, not all of us can stretch to the added expense of a sofa bed, because this multifunctional furniture doesn't come cheap – plus, you can't generally squeeze a whole family onto one sofa bed, unless you're blessed with a very large house!

However, most of us could consider adding one or more of the best air beds to our summer sleep arsenal. When not in use, an inflatable mattress takes up barely any space.

3 sleep solutions for decamping downstairs in a heatwave

As Ideal Home's Sleep Editor I've tested numerous air beds and sofa beds in the past four years. These are three of my top recommendations if you decide to make sleeping downstairs a temporary solution for beating the heat.

As another run of hot and sticky nights approaches, I know I'll be adopting this solution to ensure a cooler sleep. How about you?