Does What You Wear to Bed Really Matter?

We spend a surprising amount of time thinking about how to sleep better.

The right mattress. The perfect pillow. Blackout curtains. No coffee after lunch. A cooler bedroom. No phones before bed.

But there’s one thing we rarely think about: what we actually wear to sleep.

It’s against our skin for seven or eight hours every night, so does it really make a difference?

Turns out, it might.

Your body is doing something clever while you sleep

Our body temperature isn’t constant throughout the day. As bedtime approaches, our core temperature begins to fall as part of the natural process that helps prepare us for sleep.

That means the environment around our body matters.

And that environment isn’t just the temperature of the bedroom. Your duvet, mattress, bedding and the clothes against your skin all create what researchers call a sleep microclimate.

If you’ve ever woken up too hot, thrown the duvet off, then pulled it back over yourself twenty minutes later because you’re freezing, you’ll know exactly what this feels like.

Research into sleep environments has found that heat exposure can disrupt sleep, particularly by increasing wakefulness and affecting certain stages of sleep.

So what you wear to bed isn’t completely insignificant after all.

What is the best fabric to sleep in?

A 2024 systematic review published in the Journal of Sleep Research looked specifically at studies investigating sleepwear and bedding fibres.

The researchers found evidence that fibre type can influence aspects of sleep through things such as thermal comfort, skin temperature and moisture around the body.

It doesn’t mean there is one magical fabric that guarantees eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Unfortunately, if there were, we’d all own it.

But it does suggest that the fabric sitting against our skin all night deserves a little more thought.

Different fabrics behave differently when it comes to retaining heat, absorbing moisture and allowing it to move away from the skin. This is why breathable sleepwear can feel very different from something that traps warmth and dampness close to the body.

Natural and cellulose-based fabrics such as bamboo, cotton and linen are often chosen for sleepwear for exactly this reason.

Is bamboo a good fabric for sleeping?

This is where bamboo becomes particularly interesting.

Research into bamboo-viscose textiles has found favourable thermal properties, including lower thermal resistance in some comparisons with cotton fabrics. Researchers have also studied bamboo fabric for its absorbency, wicking and moisture-management properties.

In normal language? When you’re warm and your skin becomes damp, the fabric you’re wearing affects what happens to that heat and moisture.

Bamboo fabric is also exceptionally soft against the skin, which matters when something is going to be touching your body for hours at a time.

For hot sleepers, women experiencing night sweats, or simply anyone who hates waking up feeling clammy, choosing sleepwear that handles warmth and moisture comfortably makes sense.

And when you’re trying to sleep, feeling hot, damp or wrapped in something that doesn’t breathe particularly well isn’t exactly helpful.

What if you get hot or sweat at night?

We all sweat during sleep. Some of us considerably more than others.

Hormonal changes, your menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum changes and perimenopause or menopause can all affect how warm you feel at night. Stress, medication, illness, alcohol and simply having a warm bedroom can play a part too.

This is where moisture management becomes particularly relevant.

A fabric doesn’t need to stop you sweating. Sweating is one of the ways your body regulates its temperature. What matters is what happens to that moisture afterwards and how comfortable the fabric remains against your skin.

There is also interesting research into what happens to bacteria on different textiles.

Research comparing textile fibres has found considerably greater bacterial growth on polyester than on viscose in some experimental conditions.

That doesn’t mean every bamboo garment should automatically be described as antibacterial. But it does show something interesting: the fabric we put against warm, sometimes damp skin can influence the environment that develops there.

Something worth thinking about when we’re spending roughly a third of our lives in bed.

Does the fit of your pyjamas matter?

Fabric is only half the story.

What you sleep in also has to let you move.

Very tight sleepwear can trap warmth, rub against the skin and simply become uncomfortable after hours in the same position. At the other extreme, enormous pyjamas that twist around your legs every time you roll over aren’t particularly conducive to a peaceful night either.

The sweet spot is somewhere in between: enough room for your body to move freely and for air to circulate, without feeling like you’re fighting your clothes underneath the duvet.

Comfort sounds incredibly obvious when you say it out loud.

But perhaps that’s exactly why we overlook it.

If something digs into your waist, twists around your body, makes you feel hotter or irritates your skin, your body still has to deal with that discomfort while you’re trying to sleep.

Is it better to sleep naked?

There is, of course, another option: wearing nothing at all.

For someone who naturally runs hot, sleeping naked removes an additional layer of insulation and may make it easier to stay comfortably cool.

There’s also something to be said for skin-to-skin contact with a partner. Physical touch and closeness are associated with oxytocin, a hormone involved in bonding and feelings of connection.

So no, everyone doesn’t need pyjamas to sleep comfortably.

Some people sleep beautifully in nothing. Some need a T-shirt. Some want long sleeves even in July.

Our bodies aren’t identical.

And perhaps that’s the point.

So, does what you wear to bed affect your sleep?

More than we probably give it credit for.

Sleep is complicated. There are countless things that affect how well we sleep, but temperature, moisture, fit and what sits against our skin for hours every night are all part of the environment our body is trying to rest in.

And this is exactly why I became so particular about fabric when developing HAMORÉ.

I wanted something incredibly soft, but softness alone wasn’t enough. I wanted a fabric that felt beautiful against bare skin, could handle heat and moisture comfortably, and moved with the body rather than restricting it.

HAMORÉ is made from 96% bamboo viscose with 4% elastane and designed with a relaxed, fluid fit, giving your body room to move, breathe and settle comfortably through the night.

Because if we’re going to spend roughly a third of our lives sleeping, perhaps we should think a little more about what we’re wearing while we do it.

Turns out, what we wear to bed matters more than we thought.

Research

Li, Halaki & Chow (2024), Journal of Sleep Research — systematic review examining the relationship between sleepwear and bedding fibre types and sleep quality.

Okamoto-Mizuno & Mizuno — research into thermal environment, thermoregulation and human sleep.

Controlled sleepwear studies examining fibre type, thermal conditions and sleep outcomes.

Textile research examining the thermal comfort, absorbency, wicking and moisture-management properties of bamboo-viscose fabrics.

Callewaert et al. (2014), Applied and Environmental Microbiology — research comparing bacterial growth and odour formation across textile fibres, including polyester and viscose.