Tropical Nights From July 18: How to Sleep and Protect Your Heart
A new heat wave arrives in the last third of July, and cities enter tropical nights when the temperature stays above 20 degrees. Here are practical steps for restful sleep and less strain on your heart.
- A new heat wave arrives in the last third of July, with temperatures that could top 40 degrees.
- The hottest day is expected around July 24, when Serbia could reach 45 and Belgrade up to 41 degrees.
- Cities can expect tropical nights, when the temperature stays above 20 degrees, which disrupts sleep and strains the heart.
- Use the milder days ahead to air out and cool your home before the heat intensifies.
Have you struggled to fall asleep on recent summer nights when the heat just would not let up? You are not imagining it. Meteorologists and Serbia’s national weather service (RHMZ) say a new, powerful heat wave arrives from July 18, bringing tropical nights, when the mercury stays above 20 degrees even after midnight. This is not just about discomfort. Sleep grows shallower, the heart works harder, and for older people and those with chronic conditions the strain climbs.
The hottest day is expected around July 24. Thermometers could hit 45 degrees in Serbia and up to 41 in Belgrade. According to RHMZ, 2026 will rank among the ten warmest years since records began in Serbia. The good news: you have a few milder days before the peak, and that is your window to prepare.
How do you get your home and body ready before the heat intensifies?
Do not wait for July 24 to start. Use the coming days, while mornings are still cool, step by step.
Air out early. Open the windows between five and nine in the morning, then shut them the moment it turns warmer outside than in. Keep blinds and curtains down through the day, especially on the sunny side. That traps the cooler air you caught at dawn.
Create a cross-breeze at night. Once the outdoor temperature drops below the room’s, usually late in the evening, open windows on opposite sides of your home. Point the fan so it pushes hot air out, rather than just stirring it around.
Cool whatever touches your skin. Choose cotton bedding over synthetics. If the night is unbearable, put a clean sheet in the freezer for an hour before bed. A lukewarm, not cold, shower before sleep lowers your body temperature without shocking your blood vessels.
Keep water by the bed. Fluid loss on a hot night is real, and thirst shows up late. A few sips through the night beat one big glass.
Why does the heart work harder during tropical nights?
When the body cannot cool down even in sleep, it keeps fighting the heat. The heart speeds up, blood vessels widen, and blood pressure can swing. In healthy people this passes with next-day fatigue. In older adults, heart and kidney patients, and anyone on blood-pressure medication or diuretics, the risk is more serious.
So keep a close eye on older family members. Make sure they have a cooled room to sleep in and enough water. Avoid physical effort and heavy meals in the late afternoon, when the heat peaks. Alcohol and too much coffee tax the heart further and dry out the body, so keep them to a minimum on these days.
If heart palpitations, dizziness, a severe headache or persistent nausea set in, do not wait it out. Call a doctor. If an older person grows confused or stops sweating in the heat, do not hesitate, call emergency services.
You will get through a heat wave far more easily if you meet it prepared, rather than once you already cannot sleep. Which trick for cooling your bedroom works best for you?
