How to choose the right bedding for you

Words by Saj Azam

Four Minute Read

What kind of sleeper are you?

Did you know?

We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping or trying to get to sleep — that’s a long time to be spending in bed, which makes your bedding a crucial element to nail. If you’re someone who spends the night flapping covers on and off or find yourself waking up shivering or sweating through your sheets, it may be time to understand what kind of sleeper you are and what bedding would work best for you.

Natural vs synthetic materials

When it comes to choosing bedding, it’s all in the material. Every material has its own qualities and it’s important to consider what you’re looking to get out of your bedding and whether you sleep hot or cold. Natural materials offer sustainable and durable bedding and are great all-year round, whereas synthetic materials like polyester and fleece are better for cold sleepers and winter time as they trap warm air.

Thread count

A value used to benchmark and determine the quality of a material, thread count refers to the number of threads woven into a square inch of a fabric. The higher the thread count, the tighter the weave and thicker the fabric.

GSM

Another form if quality measure, this refers to the weight of the material in question. GSM stands for Grams per Square Metre and you may see it written like this: g/m2. The higher the GSM – the denser material.

Best Bedding for Hot & Sweaty Sleepers

If you find yourself wrestling with your covers at 4 am in the morning or wake up to find soggy sheets, then the best bed sheets to keep you cool would be ones crafted from natural materials like linen, Tencel, bamboo and cotton.

Cotton

Soft, comfortable and cool, cotton has moisture wicking-qualities that’ll help keep you dry during the warmest of nights. Cotton is also super easy to take care of and can be washed in the machine and dried with ease. Made from the cotton plant, that grows in tropical climates, opt for organic cotton for sustainable bedding and percale cotton woven sheets for extra breathable sheets.

Top Tip: high quality cotton such as Egyptian, supima and gold standard cotton are less likely to pill than their regular cotton counterparts.

Tencel

Another moisture-wicking material. Tencel is a natural fibre that comes from wood pulp, most commonly from eucalyptus, beech, birch and spruce trees. Thanks to its absorbency levels, it’s ideal for anyone who struggles to cool down during the night.

Linen

Highly absorbent and breathable, linen is a fibre that comes from the flax plant and is known for its strength, and for holding the title of the strongest and oldest textile in the world. It also features natural thermoregulatory properties that maintain and regulate your body temperature to ensure a peaceful night’s rest – great all year round too.

Top Tip: Opt for stonewashed linen for a softer handle. Plus, the more you wash linen, the softer it gets.

Best Bedding for Cold Sleepers

Wake up with ice-cold feet or find yourself shivering in the morning? Then synthetic fibres may be a better option for you. Consider warmer materials like flannel, fleece and cotton.

Fleece

A synthetic fibre, opt for fleece bedding made from recycled PET plastic for bedding that feels as good as it does. Promising a warm and toasty feel, fleece resists water, yet is breathable enough to allow moisture to evaporate. Soft to the touch, the way this material is woven ensures it can hold more warmth than your average duvet cover.

Flannel

Woven from either synthetic fibres like polyester or natural materials like wool and cotton, flannel features a distinctive fuzzy and brushed touch through a process called “napping” – this makes the material much warmer than cotton, despite having more loosely woven fibres. Plaid patterns are optional.

Sateen Cotton

A material that features a slightly tighter weave than your average cotton, sateen offers a smooth and shiny finish, feeling like silk to the touch. While the tightly woven fibres ensure warm hair stays inside your covers, where you need it most.

Best Bedding for Allergies

Suffer from allergies? Put the morning sniffles to rest with organic, percale and sateen cotton, linen, bamboo, Tencel and silk bed sheets.

Silk

Smooth to the touch silk sheets add an air of luxury to your bedding ensemble and drapes beautifully. Derived from fibres produced by silkworms when they spin themselves into a cocoon, silk bed sheets help to protect against dust mites, pet dander and mould. Silk sheets are also great for your hair and skin.

Percale Cotton

Referring to the weave of the cotton, Percale (as well as sateen) are two finishes of cotton, often differing in thread count and feel. Percale uses a criss-cross type weave, creating a crisp, cool and smooth feel. Thanks to their crafting process, they’re also resistant to mildew and are hypoallergenic

Best Bedding for Restless Sleepers

If you find yourself tossing and turning endlessly throughout the night, silk bedding would be your best option as it’s lightweight, hypoallergenic and has a calming feel that’s perfect for the restless dweller.