The benefits of sleeping naked
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Weâre asleep for approximately a third of our lives, and we spend that time repairing our bodies and processing the events of the day. Itâs a crucial part of being human that deserves all the help it can get, which is why we created the perfect mattress. But the question still remains - what do we wear to help us get to sleep, and do we need to wear anything at all?
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Whether you sleep in pants or pyjamas, have you ever considered ditching it all and sleeping in just your birthday suit? The case for sleeping naked is a persuasive one, so put your PJs to the back of the drawer and read on for more insight.
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Why you should sleep naked
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Many of us wear pyjamas to bed out of habit, and because weâre so used to donning our comfies before bed, it feels weird to get under the duvet without them. If you can get used to it, though, youâll feel a range of benefits from sleeping nude:
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1. It helps regulate your body temperature
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Your body temperature will fluctuate while you sleep, rising and dropping as you go through different sleep cycles. Clothes can interfere with your bodyâs natural regulation, getting in the way of chemical and hormone production.
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The big one is cortisol, a hormone that helps the body manage stress. Thatâs why keeping a cool body temperature can, in a small way, help stave off anxiety problems, weight gain and muscle weakness.
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According to The National Sleep Foundation, getting your body temperature lower is an important part of nodding off in the first place. Skipping the pyjamas can help us stay cool and drift off for a good nightâs sleep. (Pssst - did you know that our mattresses can help you stay at the right temperature all night, too?)
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2. Sleeping nude is good for relationships
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If youâre sharing your sleep time with a partner and want to maintain a healthy relationship, sleeping naked can help on both a physical and psychological level. Skin on skin contact releases oxytocin, the lovingly nicknamed âcuddle hormoneâ, which is closely associated with empathy, love and relationship building, and has been a suggested treatment to social phobia and postpartum depression.Â
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Thereâs another benefit, too - if sleeping naked helps you drop off and get more high quality sleep, youâre going to wake up feeling more relaxed and refreshed, which in itself is great news for our relationships.
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So, what are you waiting for? Get your kit off and get cuddling.
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3. Sleeping naked is good for our bodies
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Allowing your whole body to breathe while you sleep is important, particularly for those areas that donât often see the light of day. For men, sleeping naked can keep a thriving sperm count. For women, cool temperatures can keep yeast infections at bay. Â
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Keeping your body in check and your partner happy, all while giving you a reason to wake up faster in the morning; who would have thought sleeping in the nude could be the answer to so many of lifeâs problems? Try it and see for yourself.
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4. It can help you maintain a healthy weight
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According to a large-scale study, poor quality sleep is strongly linked to weight gain. In fact, people who sleep for less than five hours every night on average are more likely to put on weight. If sleeping naked is good for your sleep quality, itâs good for your weight, too.
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As well as that, a cooler body temperature (i.e. when youâre not swaddled by warm pyjamas) can help improve your ability to burn calories. We all have something called âbrown fatâ - which is the kind of fat we want, compared to âwhite fatâ - as itâs associated with lower body weight. A good way to promote brown fat may be to stay cool by enjoying things like cold showers and - you guessed it - not overheating while we sleep
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5. Your skin can benefit from sleeping nude
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High quality sleep - the kind that may be promoted by sleeping naked - is great for your skin. Struggling to sleep in a warm room, or in thick pyjamas, can make you feel more dehydrated in the morning, which is bad news for skin elasticity and health.
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Getting some high quality shuteye can also improve your skin in loads of other ways. Thatâs why we call it âbeauty sleepâ - sleeping well can do everything from increasing collagen production to banishing dark circles under the eyes.
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What to wear to bed if you canât sleep naked
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We get it - sometimes old habits die hard, and getting used to sleeping in the nude can be tough. Besides that, you might just have a cold bedroom, or feel more comfortable when you can leap out of bed and not worry about accidentally wandering around the house without your clothes on.
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If you do prefer to wear pyjamas, look for the following materials:
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- Cotton tends to be light and comfortable. Its breathable nature means itâs good for air circulation, so if itâs warm outside, look for 100% cotton pyjamas. Theyâre not so useful in colder climes though, as they donât insulate well, and theyâre not particularly suitable for people who sweat at night, as theyâll stay damp.
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- Moisture-wicking materials are designed to draw water away from your skin, which is perfect for people who experience night sweats. If somethingâs designed to be moisture-wicking, the label will say so. Get shopping!
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- Bamboo can be a little expensive, but itâs considered to be better for the environment than cotton, and it naturally wicks away moisture. Bamboo is soft and cosy, but it shouldnât make you too warm either. Sounds like a winning situation to us.