3 days ago
I Tried the 'Freeze' Method to Stay Cool at Night Without AC — Here's How It Went
I'm originally from Sydney, Australia, and I sometimes struggle with insomnia, so I've dealt with sleepless nights caused by the heat all my life. These days I live in Los Angeles in a top-floor west-facing studio apartment, which means it catches the brunt of the afternoon sun and holds onto that heat long after the sun goes down. Add in the fact that it's a walk-up with no central air conditioning, and it's not unusual for my place to feel like a sauna well into the night. I do have a fan, but I hate the feeling of air blowing on me, so I don't generally sleep with it.
To combat the heat, I used to bring frozen water bottles and gel ice packs into bed to keep me cool through the night. While they did work, I'd wake up each morning with wet water rings and condensation marks on my sheets that would seep into my mattress — meaning more hassle, more laundry, and less sleep. I had to get creative if I wanted to clock in my eight hours of beauty sleep, which led me to one of the most bizarre hacks I've ever tried: freezing my bed sheets.
The idea is very simple: Pop your sheets into the freezer, at least two hours before bedtime, then pull them out right before you hit the sack. I fold my sheets up to fit into a gallon-size freezer bag, squeeze out all the air, and give it its own shelf between an ice cube tray or ice packs to really encourage the cold air to seep into the fabric.
The result? A delightfully cool bed that feels like a refreshing oasis against the heat. It was my grandma who first suggested this trick to me in passing as a joke when I mentioned how hot it was getting, but my curiosity was piqued enough to look it up online where I saw people were really putting their sheets in the freezer. This is now my second season using this method, and I've learned some important lessons along the way.
For starters, when I first tried it I didn't have a proper freezer bag, so I used a garbage bag instead. Although it was clean and sanitary, it was scented, and that smell clung to my sheets all night and made it very hard to fall asleep. On that note, always put your sheets into some sort of unscented protective covering to ward off any food and freezer smells (and to keep things sanitary).
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I also learned that the material of your bedding truly matters. When I started I was using a brushed microfiber polyester set which, while breathable and comfortable, didn't seem to retain the initial cool for longer than five minutes. By the time I got into the bed after making it up, the coolness had gone.
After talking to my grandma, who used to work with fabrics, I learned that natural fibers like linen, cotton percale, and bamboo viscose hold the chill longer and breathe better. Switching my linens to those types of fibers made a noticeable difference, with the cool lasting closer to 15 to 20 minutes — just long enough to help me drift off comfortably.
One thing to keep in mind: I like to sleep with a duvet year-round, even in summer, which inevitably traps heat and shortens the cooling effect. Consider ditching the duvet and throwing your top sheet, pillowcases, and even your pajamas into the freezer for a longer stretch of cool comfort.
In my early freezer-sheet days I'd strip the bed each morning, freeze the sheet, then put it back on at night. These days I keep a few different sets on rotation so I can freeze one and wash another without having to do a full sheet change every day. And yes, I know the thought of having to make your bed when all you want to do is crawl into it after a long day feels like a punishment, but trust me — the payoff is worth it.
This is not a perfect all-night fix, especially if you tend to wake up often and run hot throughout the night, but it absolutely helps take the edge off those sticky, hard-to-settle evenings. This method is especially ideal for people who tend to fall asleep quickly once they're comfortable. For those, like me, who sometimes struggle with insomnia, the method still works — it settles the body and brings a calm, cooling sensation that makes it possible to ease into sleep, even if the chill doesn't last all night.
If you want to boost the freezer sheet hack with some other cooling bedroom tricks, try using blackout blinds during the day to let in less radiant heat, getting a standing fan, and swapping out heavy sleepwear for lightweight cotton or bamboo pajamas. Together, these little habits make summer nights bearable — even without the luxury of AC.
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