Portsmouth's heatwave led to restless nights? Expert reveals 4 tips to help banish lingering fatigue

With Portsmouth hitting record high temperatures during June's heatwave, many may have had minimal or significantly disrupted sleep due to the heat through the evenings. Not only does this result in feeling tired for the days following, but it can also affect sleep schedules for several days afterwards.

Luckily, bedroom furnishing experts, Bed Kingdom, have provided tips on how best to wake up and feel energised on mornings when you feel extra tired. Feeling more awake in the morning can help to avoid mid-afternoon slumps or after-work naps, which can continue cycles of less restful sleep through the night.

1. Don't put your alarm on your bedside table

A simple yet effective strategy to prompt you out of bed first thing is to place your alarm clock or phone across the room rather than on your bedside table. This small change forces you to physically get up to turn it off, reducing the temptation to hit snooze and roll over for a few more minutes of sleep.   

Once you’re on your feet, it's much easier to stay up and get your day going. Plus, you’ll avoid the rush that comes with oversleeping and instead have adequate time to ease into the day feeling prepared.

2. Opt for cold showers in the morning

When you’re feeling tired and sluggish, it’s natural to feel a strong urge to stay in bed, especially after a restless night. However, cold showers offer great, revitalising benefits to help wake you up, as cold water can help boost circulation, enhance alertness, and even elevate your mood by triggering the release of endorphins. 

To begin incorporating this into your shower routine, start by slowly lowering the temperature for the last 30 seconds of your morning shower and then gradually increasing the time under cold water each morning. This approach can help your body adjust while still helping you feel refreshed and overcome any lingering fatigue from a restless night.

3. Make sure to fuel up at breakfast  

Complex carbohydrates provide the slow-release energy our bodies need to keep us motivated throughout the day. In the mornings, opting for oatmeal or avocado and eggs on wholemeal toast over sugary cereals can make a significant difference.

While sugary options might give you a quick boost, they can lead to blood sugar spikes and a mid-morning energy crash, rather than keeping you satisfied and fuelled until lunchtime.  

4. Curate an up-tempo morning playlist   

Music can be great to help boost your mood and shake off sleepiness in the morning.  Songs with a tempo in the range of 100-130 BPM can help energise you without being overwhelming first thing, due to their upbeat, steady tempo.

For example, the BRIT Awards 2026 Song of the Year, Rein Me In by Sam Fender and Olivia Dean, has a tempo of 124 BPM, helping you get a positive and motivated jump start on the day.