Are You a Sweaty Sleeper?
You know the sensation — waking up feeling hot and muggy with perspiration across your forehead. Your body heat is like a furnace. Ugh! Why am I wet? The dreaded night sweats. If you are unfamiliar with the term, the Sleep Foundation defines night sweats as, “episodes of excessive perspiration that happen during sleep. They are often described as soaking or drenching and may require a change of sheets or even clothes.” Have to change clothes and/or sheets first thing? No thanks! Whether in the summer or winter, night sweats can be a major sleep disturbance. Unable to feel relaxed and comfortable keeps you from a great night of sleep!
How do Night Sweats Affect Your Sleep?
Doctors and other medical professionals often discuss the importance of quality sleep. How do disturbances such as night sweats affect your sleep? The National Library of Medicine lists possible effects. Effects include a negative impact on mood and an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. The factors especially affect women going through menopause. Fixing the underlying causes of your night sweats is important. Contact your doctor to discover the root of your sweaty sleep. Possible issues causing night sweats can range from hormones to sleep apnea. These words can be scary. Finding ways to combat sweaty and uncomfortable sleep is crucial. The night sweats are pretty common. But there are some great solutions for relief!
The Cooling Blanket
Wait, wait, wait! I am profusely sweating and waking up in a puddle of salty wet sweat. Your suggestion is to buy another blanket? How will that benefit me? WebMD explains it best, “Body temperature starts to fall as bedtime approaches, paving the way for a good night’s sleep. Your body also tends to lose heat, which helps you fall and stay asleep … We sleep better when we’re cooler.” Are you a sweaty sleeper? You need a cooling blanket! Think of the cooling blanket as the answer to your previously hot and sweaty prayers!
Fun fact: the cooling blanket and cooling materials are not a new concept. NASA has used the cooling technology of these materials since the 1980s. They needed a solution to high temperatures. Cooling blanket technologies to the rescue! Many aspects of a cooling blanket help to regulate your body temperature and keep it low. The fabrics used to create these blankets are the key to its superpowers. For example, many of these fabrics are moisture wicking. This allows moisture and heat to pull away from your skin. It is the same process used by many athletic companies to create “Dri-Fit” materials. There is also a process known as temperature abatement. HowStuffWorks explains, “temperature abatement cooling, the textile actually feels cool to the touch.” The coolness of the fabric comes from the fabric’s yarn. The several types of cooling technology will help you in finding the best fit for your needs!
Cooling Blankets We Love
What Are the Best Cooling Blanket Options?
Cooling blankets have gotten a lot of attention in the past few years. As a consumer, this is great! The range of prices, variety of materials, colors, etc. gives you plenty of options to choose from! Here are some great choices:
1. The Elegear Revolutionary Cooling Blanket is Rolling Stone Magazine’s top choice. It’s listed on Amazon for $48.99 and has a 4.5-star rating with 16,973 reviews. It comes in six great color choices. The real perks? It’s made of Japanese Arc-Chill Cool fabric on one side and cooling natural cotton on the other. This blanket is for year-round comfort! Restful sleep is not far away with this blanket!
2. Sleep Number also offers an intriguing option. The True Temp Blanket has a 4.7-star rating with 1194 reviews. It comes in five neutral colors which makes it a great choice for the color-conscious home. It is a bit more pricey at $159 but the details in creation point to the price difference. The blanket, filled with the Sleep Number 37.5 technology, adapts to keep your temperature low! Say goodbye to excessive sweating for good!
3. Amazon also sells the DANGTOP Cooling blanket. Priced at only $29.99 it has a 4.3-star rating and over 10,000 reviews. It also comes in TEN color choices! The DANGTOP Cooling Blanket has bamboo fabric which is said to stay cooler longer. With those kinds of reviews, it must be good!
The Next Level of Cool Comfort
Keeping cool with cooling blankets is great. But it may not be the top tier level of peaceful sleep for those who face excessive sweating. Introducing the weighted cooling blanket! A luxury and calming option, even for sweaters! Its hug-like pressure and heavy cooling power create an excellent night’s sleep.
Weighted blankets have therapeutic tendencies and can relieve stress and anxiety. They can vary in weight, size, and color. Casper lists a TON of benefits of the weighted blanket. Benefits include calmness, increased serotonin, reduced heart rate, feelings of security, and improved mood and sleep! If you have never tried a weighted blanket, it feels like a BIG hug.
Here are some top-rated choices in the weighted cooling blanket market:
1. Created with Tencel fabric, The Bearaby Tree Napper is silky soft. This blanket’s weight helps your body produce serotonin and increase melatonin! Sounds pretty good! It comes in eight colors and three different weights (15, 20, and 25 pounds). Knitted to let heat escape and keep you cool, this fabric is sure to please. The Tree Napper is $269.
2. Gravity Cooling Weighted Blanket — this option comes in two single sizes of 15 pounds and 20 pounds. It also comes in a queen/king size of a whopping 35 pounds! It is offered in three colors and costs $220. The 4.28-star rating shows it’s a crowd pleaser! As a bonus, this blanket ensures weight distribution. It has ties to the duvet cover and elastic-button collectors. There is nothing worse than a blanket jumbled inside a duvet cover! This option has moisture-wicking fabric and is designed for breathability. The extra design features make it a top choice in weighted cooling blankets.
3. A Men’s Health Sleep Award winner of 2021, the chiliBlanket is a top competitor. It’s pretty pricey ranging from $329 – $749! You can occasionally catch it on sale for as low as $239 for the 15 pound option. The weighted blanket promotes hydro-powered temperature regulation. It offers additional OOLER or Cube control units to help keep temperatures low.
Regardless of the option you select, the cooling blanket or the weighted cooling blanket, you can’t go wrong! These selections promote better and cooler nights. Can you feel more restful sleep already? Still not sold on the powers of cooling technology? There are a lot more products that point to the effectiveness. Getting a great night’s sleep in a cool environment is SO important.
What if the Cooling Blanket or Cooling Weighted Blanket is Not Enough?
Excessive sweaters, you have been heard! One magic blanket may not be enough to handle the amount of body heat from the hot sleeper. Don’t worry! Staying cool, dry, and asleep has become a major factor in quality sleep. If a blanket isn’t cutting it, there are solutions!
Cooling Mattress Technology
Similar types of technologies used from the cooling blanket industry can be seen in the creation of cooling mattresses. These top companies focus more on gel layers, memory foam, and keeping the fabric of top layers cool.
Good Housekeeping knows a cool sleeper is a happy sleeper. They completed extensive research to find the top cooling mattresses. Information from their textile lab, product experts, and customer reviews helped them to select the top choices of cooling mattresses. Their top all-around choice for the best mattress? The TEMPUR-breeze.
- The TEMPUR-breeze states it is cool when you lay down, as you fall asleep, and all night long! The company offers both a Pro Breeze and a Lux Breeze option. Both offerings have a five-layer mattress that creates the best possible sleeping platform.
This product ranges from $3,899 – $4,899. Can you put a price on a refreshing night’s sleep? Maybe! If this new mattress is too expensive for your budget, there are other budget-conscious cooling sleep options for you!
Ever used a mattress pad? The easy fix to buying a new mattress! There are SO many options when it comes to cooling mattress toppers. Here is one highly rated pick!
- The Bamboo Mattress Pad is a buttery soft addition to your current bed. Want to know their famous supporter? Oprah! It’s machine washable and comes in the five main mattress sizes. They also offer a 100-night trial, free shipping, and a ten-year warranty. With the risk that low, it’s a good gamble! The mattress pad ranges from $179 for a twin bed frame to $249 for a king. Keeps you cool in bed and is cost effective! If only Oprah was tossing these out like cars on a Christmas special!
There are SO many cooling products available to help you through the weather, hormones, and just general sweating! Cooling sheets have become very popular and are a great choice to keep cool!
Cooling Sheets
So a new mattress is not in the cards right now and a mattress topper is not your vibe — no worries! Sheets can be a great option to help keep you cool. Focusing on the types of fabric in the sheets is key in turning you into a cold sleeper. Different materials offer cooling properties. Consider moisture-wicking, natural fibers and breathability in making your selections. Often, an organic cotton sheet helps keep you cool!
One of the top cooling bed sheet sets comes from Boll and Branch.
Customers and influencers rave about the Cotton Percale Hemmed Sheet Set. They rate 4.9 out of 5 stars! These sheets are 100% organic cotton, soft and smooth for your best sleep! They come in seven colors and bed sizes twin to California king. They even offer Twin XL and sheets for a split king! The magic of new sheets cannot be denied. There is nothing like diving into a comfy bed with new cool crisp sheets!
This excellent cooling sheet option is a great pick for those on a budget!
The GoKOTTA Bamboo sheet set on Amazon has a 4.5-star rating. Pretty great for under $100! The bamboo sheets are soft and breathable. They also contain properties that wick moisture and regulate temperature. These cooling sheets are a great option for those looking to spend a little less.
Cooling Pajamas
Maybe your sleeping partner likes your bed the way it is but you are still hot! Maybe you want to treat yourself to something special. Time for a little self-care. Ever heard of cooling pajamas? Cooling pajamas are a great tool to help keep excess heat to a minimum.
Hot sleepers are so common, Soma created a line of pajamas to help! Their “Cool Nights” collection offers a lot of options. From nightgowns to pajama pants they are sure to have your preference. They carry sizes from XS-XXL and offer a variety of color choices. They use rayon to keep the pajamas from sticking to your skin and are machine washable! A perfect addition to your keep cool squad.
Insider Magazine pipes into the conversation as well. Their choice? The Dagsmejan Sleep Dress. This nightgown’s claims are similar to that of the cooling blankets! Keeping you cooler, longer for your best sleep! They run in sizes from XS-2XL and have six color choices. They are $139 and have a 4.8-star review. With reviews that good, it may be time to consider this luxury-priced pajama option!
Cooling Pillows
Sweaty sleepers have another tool when it comes to keeping cool. A cooling pillow is a great solution to your overheating problem! The best part about pillows? YOU are the only person who gets a say in what to pick! No need to consider your partner’s preference for firmness like in a mattress.
Tempur-Pedic hits the top of the charts again in the search for the best cooling pillows. The TEMPUR-Cloud Breeze Dual Cooling Pillow is expensive at $160 but its ratings point to the price. With a 4.3 star rating with almost 3,000 reviews, it is likely to keep your head nice and cool!
The Coop Home Goods Eden Pillow is also top-rated. It outscores the TEMPUR-Breeze! Its cooling gel is rated 4.5 stars and has over 13,000 reviews. Wow! This pillow is customizable based on the type of sleeper you are. Side sleeper? No worries! They provide EXTRA of their interior fill. That brings a whole new meaning to the saying, cool like the other side of the pillow! This pillow cost ranges from $88 to $98 based on size.
There are many great options when it comes to staying cool. Promoting great sleep is a major part of your health and wellness. No matter what type of cooling product you use, it’s important to keep a few things in mind!
Top Tips for Sweaty Sleepers
1. Sleeping temperature is a major factor of healthy sleep. Even the best cooling products cannot trump a 95-degree bedroom. Healthline suggests the best temperature for sleep is around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature of your room may be the most important factor in achieving quality sleep. Keep this in mind when setting your temperature for the night! If the cost of AC is a concern, consider a cooling fan near your bed.
2. Cooling products are great when used properly, but if they are not used correctly, it can affect their functionality. For example, buying the greatest cooling blanket will not combat the number of fabrics between you and the blanket. So keep in mind the sheets, pajamas, and other materials between you and the cooling technology. Consider all the materials you are wearing and using. For the best sleep, combine products! Can you imagine cooling sheets, a weighted cooling blanket, AND cooling PJs? Sounds like a good dream waiting to happen!
3. Choosing the right products can be tricky. With all the options out there, how do you know which will work best for you? Be sure to pay attention to reviews! Quality companies and products will have a decent amount of reviews, and most should be positive. Keep an eye out for companies that offer a free trial. If they are willing to accept the product back if you are not happy, that seems like a win-win.
4. Products such as the weighted cooling blanket have specifications you need to know! For example, what weight should you choose? The Ultimate Guide to Weighted Blankets suggests 10% of a person’s body weight is a good rule. You can always adjust the weight as needed, but 10% will give you a place to start.
It is amazing the number of products on the market for sweaty sleepers. Night sweats do not have to be the kiss of death for getting your quality sleep! From cooling weighted blankets to cooling pajamas, all sweaters can find a way to peaceful sleep. Great sleep is one of the most essential factors of a healthy life. If you are a sweaty sleeper, you need a cooling blanket! Take the reins on your health and well-being today.
