There is a lot to love about summer. The long days, the backyard barbecues, the excuse to eat ice cream at any hour and call it seasonal. But if you have a baby at home, summer brings with it a very specific kind of stress that nobody puts on the highlights reel: keeping your little one’s room cool enough to sleep safely and soundly when the temperature outside is doing its absolute best to work against you.
Babies are not great at regulating their own body temperature, which means the job falls squarely on us as parents to make sure their sleep environment is set up right. In today’s blog, we are going to walk through exactly what temperature you are aiming for, how to get there even if your home does not have central air, and a few signs to watch for that let you know your baby is too warm. If you have a summer sleep hack that has been a total game-changer in your house, we want to hear it in the comments or over on social!
What Is the Ideal Room Temperature for a Sleeping Baby
The sweet spot that most pediatric sleep experts and organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics point to is somewhere between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Some families find that the higher end of that range works well in summer, and that is perfectly fine. What you want to avoid is pushing consistently above 72 degrees, especially for newborns, as overheating has been identified as a risk factor for SIDS.
The good news is that this range is achievable in most homes with a little intentionality, even when it is blazing hot outside.
How to Tell If Your Baby Is Too Warm
Before we get into the how-to, it helps to know what you are watching for. A baby who is too warm may feel sweaty at the nape of the neck or on their back. Their chest may feel hot to the touch. They may be more restless than usual, waking more often or having a hard time settling. Flushed cheeks and rapid breathing can also be signs that things have gotten too warm.
A quick and reliable check is to slip two fingers into the back of your baby’s neck or behind their ears. That area gives you a much more accurate read on their actual core temperature than hands or feet, which tend to run cooler by nature.
You can use something like this which is a temperature sensor that is controlled by an app on your phone which can send you real time alerts if the temperature gets too high or too low: SensorPush HT1 Smart Temperature Sensor & Humidity Sensor. Great for having some peace of mind, especially during the summer months!
Use Your Air Conditioning Strategically
If you have central air conditioning or a window unit, you are already ahead of the game. Set the thermostat to that 68 to 72 degree range before your baby’s bedtime and let it run consistently through the night rather than cycling it on and off. Consistent temperature is the goal here. Big swings in room temperature through the night can disrupt sleep just as much as being too warm.
If your AC unit is in a different room, close the doors to other parts of the house and focus the cool air toward the nursery. A simple box fan in the hallway aimed toward the baby’s room can help move that cooled air where you need it.
Fans Are Your Friend (With One Important Note)
A fan in the baby’s room does double duty in summer. It helps circulate air and keep the room from feeling stuffy, and research has actually shown that fan use during sleep is associated with a reduced risk of SIDS, likely because it helps prevent the rebreathing of carbon dioxide in a small space.
The one thing to keep in mind is that the fan should not be aimed directly at your baby. You want it circulating the air in the room, not blowing directly onto them. A ceiling fan on a low setting or a floor fan pointed at the wall works beautifully for this. As a bonus, most fans produce just enough white noise to help mask outside sounds, which is a genuine win in a season full of lawnmowers, fireworks, and neighborhood gatherings.
Dress Your Baby for the Temperature, Not the Season
This one trips up a lot of parents and it makes complete sense because our instinct is to dress a baby the way we might dress ourselves on a warm night. But a baby in a 70-degree room does not need a full footed sleeper and a swaddle blanket on top. They just need to be comfortable.
A good general rule is to dress your baby in one layer more than you would wear in the same room. So if you would sleep comfortably in a light cotton t-shirt at that temperature, a short-sleeve onesie and a lightweight sleep sack is probably the right call. Look for sleep sacks with a lower TOG rating in the summer months, specifically 0.5 or 1.0, which are designed for warmer temperatures and breathe much better than the heavier options you might reach for in winter. Wool sleep sacks help to regulate body temperature as well.
Skip the loose blankets regardless of the season. Not only are they a safe sleep hazard, but they also trap heat in a way that a well-chosen sleep sack simply does not.
Blackout Curtains Do More Than Block Light
If you do not already have blackout curtains in your baby’s room, summer is the season that will convince you to get them. Yes, they are fantastic for blocking the early sunrise that throws off nap schedules, something fierce in June and July. But they also act as a layer of insulation against the heat coming through your windows during the day.
Keeping the curtains drawn in your baby’s room during daylight hours, especially on windows that get direct afternoon sun, can make a meaningful difference in how warm the room gets by the time bedtime rolls around. Think of it less as a window treatment and more as a passive cooling tool.
Cool the Room Down Before Bedtime
Whatever your setup is, do not wait until the moment you are putting your baby down to start thinking about the room temperature. Give yourself a head start. About 30 to 60 minutes before your baby’s bedtime, close the windows and curtains, get the fan running, and let the AC do its job. Walking into a room that is already at the right temperature is so much easier than trying to cool it down with a tired baby in your arms.
If you do not have AC, pre-cooling with evening air (opening windows after sunset when the outside temperature drops) before closing things up for the night can be surprisingly effective depending on where you live.
A Note on Humidity
Temperature is only part of the equation. High humidity can make a room feel significantly warmer than the thermostat actually reads, and it also makes it harder for the body to cool itself through normal sweating. If you live somewhere that gets humid in the summer months, a dehumidifier in or near the nursery can genuinely make a difference in how comfortable your baby sleeps, even if the actual temperature looks fine on paper.
Before You Go
We hope this blog gave you a practical game plan for keeping your baby’s room comfortable through the warmer months ahead. Summer sleep does not have to be a battle, and a little preparation goes a very long way.
If your little one is still struggling to settle or stay asleep, temperature might only be part of the picture. From newborn care consulting to sleep training support and overnight newborn care, we offer personalized guidance to help your whole family get the rest you deserve.
Have questions? Let’s Chat and we would love to help your family rest easier.
Katie B.
Expertise You Need:
- Certified Master Pediatric Sleep Consultant
- Certified Advanced Newborn Care Specialist (2016-2022)
- Board Certified Holistic Healthcare Practitioner
- 16 years professional childcare experience
- Certified Postpartum Doula (2015-2022)
- Travel & ROTA Nanny
Katie has over 16 years experience working with children of all ages. As a Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Newborn Care Specialist, she has professionally supported families and babies worldwide over the last 10 years. Her mission is to help the entire family unit get better sleep, utilizing a holistic approach that supports the baby or child’s natural biologic drive to sleep. She has personally served hundreds of families, holds 20,000+ hours exclusively caring for infants & babies and has 87+ 5-⭐️ Google reviews.
