UK’s Best Places for Restful Nights This Summer

While we often look forward to those balmy summer evenings, the season doesn’t always bring sweet dreams. With louder nights from social gatherings and travel, and warmer, stuffier bedrooms, many people find their sleep quality meddled with.

Our latest study reveals the top UK destinations for a peaceful night’s sleep this summer. Whether you’re planning a tranquil staycation or wondering if your hometown might be disturbing your rest, our sleep report is designed to help you discover the most restful locations across the country.

Several factors can affect a good night’s sleep, especially when the nights are lighter and louder than usual:

1. A dark environment

Darkness is key to supporting our bodies’ circadian rhythm for sleep. The darker the environment, the more melatonin you release, preparing you for a sound night’s sleep.

2. A peaceful setting

Whether it’s traffic rumbling or a neighbour’s garden party running late, nighttime noise can disrupt your sleep. According to a study, even noises that don’t fully wake you up can still interfere with your sleep quality. For the best chance at a restful night, keeping noise levels below 30 dB is ideal.

3. A cool sleep space

Do you ever find yourself tossing and turning when you’re too hot? You’re not alone. When our bodies are too warm, it can definitely be more challenging to fall asleep. Sleep expert Sammy Margo explains:

“For your body to be ready to fall asleep, your core body temperature needs to drop a few degrees. Ideally, the room must be around 16 degrees Celsius for your body to achieve this.”

If you’re planning a staycation this summer, you might want to choose somewhere that will perfectly set you up for a good night’s sleep, because after all, you’re there to rest.

Our data analysis of 69 UK cities has combined five key sleep-friendly factors, including sky quality (SQM), artificial brightness, Bortle levels (a scale that measures how much light pollution affects your view of the night sky), traffic noise levels, and average summer night temperatures. By combining these elements, we have been able to crunch the numbers and give each city an overall sleep score.

Smaller cathedral cities in rural locations came out on top, with Ripon ranked as the best UK city for a blissful summer night’s sleep. It achieved a sleep score of 29 out of 69, the lower the score, the better, thanks to its silent nights, dark skies, and cool summer temperatures averaging 10°C.

Wells, the smallest city in England, follows Ripon with the same score of 29 but has slightly warmer evenings. Renowned for its peaceful setting, Wells offers star-filled skies with a low Bortle Class 4 rating, low road noise and ideal nighttime temperatures in the summer season.

In third place is Salisbury, which also benefits from its quaint countryside surroundings. Receiving an overall sleep score of 46, Salisbury has extremely low artificial brightness and noise, leaving its sleepers undisturbed.

Scottish cities like Perth (4th place, score of 52) and Dunfermline (5th, with a score of 57) offer ideal sleeping temperatures, with an average nighttime temperature of 10°C or below, likely thanks to that refreshing Atlantic breeze!

St David’s, the smallest city in the whole of the UK (there’s clearly a pattern here!), ranks 6th overall and stands out for having the darkest skies on the list with an impressive Bortle class 3 rating.

Hereford takes 7th place, helped by cool summer nights averaging 10°C and low traffic noise levels, earning it a solid sleep score of 73. Finishing off the top 10 are Saint Asaph, Worcester, and Winchester. These cities all share a quieter pace of life and less built-up surroundings, which make all the difference in getting a good night’s sleep.

The most significant factor across the board was road traffic noise, suggesting that the less urbanised the town is, the more likely you are to get a good night’s sleep.

Smaller cities like Bath and Lancaster didn’t perform as well as other smaller cities on the list. While they both scored well for darker skies, the summer nights and traffic noise showed that even non-major cities don’t guarantee a good night’s sleep during summer. Similarly, characterful cities like Oxford were noisier and warmer than expected, likely due to their landlocked location and lively student population.

Unsurprisingly, the UK’s lively capital, London, is ranked the worst, with a dismal sleep score of 339. London’s residents face a wealth of sleep disrupters. The city’s traffic noise is the worst out of all 69 UK cities, with an average road noise score of 70.0–74.9 dB, which is loud enough to disturb even the heaviest of sleepers.

But London isn’t alone in its sleepless struggles. Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester are closely followed as the UK’s worst sleep cities. While these cities offer a fantastic base for those who want to be part of the glitzy nightlife, they can be a nightmarish setting for those looking to unwind and recuperate this summer.

If you are a resident or planning a trip to one of the worst-ranked cities for sleep, don’t panic. Despite ranking poorly on average, there are still plenty of ways to help you get the restful night’s sleep you desire:

1. Make your environment darker

Our data highlights how important it is to limit light exposure when sleeping. So, how can you make your space darker? For starters, try wearing an eye mask; it’s a simple solution you can use at home or on a summer holiday. You can also invest in portable blackout blinds to block out streetlights and create a cosier environment.

2. Block out noise

Ear plugs can help limit the sound that reaches your ears, especially if you sleep near a busy junction or a generally noisy area. You can also try drowning out other noises by playing consistent white noise. If you’d like more insight into how noise affects rest, explore how to sleep better with white, pink and brown noise.

3. Make your sleep space cool

With the average nighttime temperature rising, it’s worth tweaking your environment so you stay comfortable. The good news? There are several ways you can reduce your room temperature. Try keeping your window open at night for fresh air but closed during the day, to block out heat. Closing your curtains or blinds on particularly hot days can also prevent your room from heating up like an oven.

Don’t forget about the bed itself, either. Swap winter bedding for summer bedding, choosing breathable materials or a lighter duvet cover. For more help choosing new bedding, check out our comprehensive duvet buying guide to find the best option. Consider also upgrading to a latex or gel mattress for an even more refreshing feel.

If you need more advice, take a look at our guide on keeping cool at night.

Whether you’re staying put or planning a peaceful summer escape, knowing where (and how) to get the best night’s sleep can make all the difference. From cool, quiet cities to simple tips for better rest, a good night’s sleep isn’t out of reach this summer; it’s just a few wise choices away.

Based on environmental factors, the UK Best Cities for Sleep: Summer Edition reveals the best and worst sleep-friendly cities nationwide. This report examines three key metrics that impact sleep in summer: light pollution, noise pollution, and nighttime temperature.

To explore this, we gathered data from 69 UK cities using publicly available data and research-backed sources. The cities were given a score based on the following:

Light pollution, using data from LightPollutionMap:

• Borten Class (1-9): This scale shows how bright the night sky appears.
• Artificial brightness μcd/m²): A technical measure of man-made sky glow.
• SQM (Sky Quality Meter): This scientific reading means lower values indicate brighter skies.

Noise pollution: CrystalRoof.co.uk’s UK traffic noise mapping was used to select postcodes of central residential areas, revealing a realistic view of noise exposure.

The average summer nighttime temperature was based on data from Worldweatheronline.com. We drew data from the average nighttime temperature of June, July, and August and calculated the average of these months for one average summer nighttime temperature.

To ensure the overall sleep score was accurate, each factor was normalised based on whether its higher or lower score led to a better sleep quality.