Why am I so hot?

No this isn’t a quandary about attractiveness to enhance the ego. It’s the middle of the night and you have woken up because you are uncomfortable. You’re tossing and turning, throwing your covers all around to try and get some air in and around you. It is an all too common predicament many find themselves in, night after night, and it can be downright maddening.

So what’s going on? Is this normal? Is there anything you can do?

There are many contributing factors to the microclimate of one’s sleeping environment.

First we’ll talk about what’s going on:

Humidity. Have you ever held your hand against a solid surface like glass and when you released it you could see a steamy handprint left behind? At night we lose about a pint of moisture through perspiration and respiration. This moisture travels through the skin as a gas and condenses back on the skin as a liquid making you feel sweaty. Our bodies are typically enveloped in materials all around us which can trap moisture similarly to the glass. Certain materials aggravate this issue; such as polyester, polyfill, other synthetic fibers and down because they are not breathable. The lack of air circulation and trapped moisture makes for a humid environment. Hence kicking your covers all around trying to cool off- what you are actually doing is trying to air out.

Is this normal?

It is inasmuch as it is one of the most common sleep disturbances we hear about. Synthetic fibers are pervasive. They are found in comforters, duvet covers, pillows, sheets and especially mattresses. Many common mattresses use temperature sensitive foams that use your body’s heat to mold to you which can feel good but exacerbate the problem. Often times one half of a couple is afflicted whereas the other half’s disturbance is their partner moving around so much. It’s no fun waking up sticky and uncomfortable with your partner annoyed with you.

Is there anything you can do?

Start by doing an inventory on your sleep environment. What are you sleeping under and on top of. Once you have identified some likely culprits replace them with more breathable options. Certain fibers actually help to mitigate the moisture we release, such as wool. Replacing a down comforter (which is a great insulator but a poor thermal regulator) or poly-foam pillows with a wool fill duvet and pillows is a great place to start. Wool has moisture wicking properties, it transports perspiration away from the skin and dries quickly which reduces the risk of dramatic swings in body temperature. If you are ready for fresh start visit us in our showroom where you won’t find any of those synthetic culprits in our bedding and mattresses.