How to keep warm in your tent at night

Even on warm sunny autumn and spring days, the temperature can plummet at night in your tent, so staying warm in your camp bed is essential.

Follow our tips for a cosy night's sleep.

• Before getting inside, give your sleeping bag a good shake to maximise the loft of the insulation.

• Go to bed on a full stomach as the food will generate body heat. But don’t be tempted to have a hot drink or you’ll need to get up to go to the loo in the cold!

• A sleeping bag liner will improve the bag's warmth significantly.

• Insulate yourself from the ground as much as you can to avoid the cold drawing heat away. A sleeping mat of closed cell foam or an old duvet on top of an air mattress will add to warmth and comfort.

• Sleep on a thick self-inflating mat or a campbed, rather than an airbed. The air inside an inflatable bed will get cold quickly and stay cold throughout the night as the temperature drops.

• Sleeping bags will lose insulation values when damp so try not to sleep with your head under the covers breathing out moisture.

• A mummy-shaped bag has less internal space to warm than a rectangular bag and wraps snugly around your head and shoulders. On the other hand, the latter's simpler design and features might mean that, pound for pound, the fill means it is warmer.

• Wear base layers or thermals and a woolly hat to bed instead of normal pyjamas.

• A light fleece blanket is useful to pull over shoulders through the night and a cheap duvet adds substantially to a sleeping bag's performance when tucked around.

• A small hand warmer wrapped in a sock and slipped down to the foot of your sleeping bag a couple of hours before getting into it will help to keep you warm.

• Snuggle up. There’s nothing like a bit of shared body heat to raise the tent temperature. But make sure you check with your fellow camper before diving in for a cuddle or things could turn frosty.