Hot Sleeper? This Is Why You Need Linen Sheets This Summer

Are you a hot sleeper? Our sympathies: The months you must be dreading are slowly approaching. Nothing strikes fear into the heart of a hot sleeper quite like summer, where all the stresses of falling asleep are amplified by scorching air, sweaty limbs and the overpowering heat of an Australian evening.

If you are a hot sleeper there are plenty of solutions. The first, of course, is to invest in air-conditioning, but if you can’t do that then you can still try a few at-home tricks, like sleeping alone—kick your partner out and into the lounge room, as extra bodies add heat to the bed—turning off your devices, which can raise the temperature of the room by a surprising amount, and taking a tepid shower (not cold, as that can actually heat up your body instead of cooling it down) right before hitting the sack.

But there’s another solution: invest in linen bedding. The best thing to sleep in during the hot summer nights if you’re the kind of person prone to overheat in bed is flax linen, and this is why:

1. Linen is light

When it comes to GSM—grams per square metre, the metric used to measure the weight of a fabric—there aren’t that many options that come lighter than flax linen. And the flax linen used by Bed Threads is particularly light, at just 170 GSM.

What this means is that sleeping in Bed Threads sheets won’t be stuffy or heavy, and won’t weigh you down with extra fabric adding heat to the bed. The lightness of the sheets will promote airflow around you, keeping the air circulating as you toss and turn.

2. Linen is cool

There are a number of reasons why linen is such a popular fabric in the hot months, and they all boil down—pun very much intended—to the fact that linen is one of the coolest fabrics.

The particular weave of the fibre, plus the low GSM and the lightweight nature of linen’s wick, means that air passes easily through and around linen, keeping the body within it cool. It’s also so light that the fabric dries easily, which in turns helps keep you cool if you’re the kind of person who sweats in their sleep. Linen can absorb up to 20 per cent of its body weight before it starts to feel wet, so don’t worry, you won’t wake up with damp sheets.

3. Linen is natural, so no friction

Derived from the flax plant, linen is one of the great natural fabrics. While synthetics fabrics like polyester are derived from plastic, which can make a hot sleeper feel even warmer when they are wrapped up in them, linen is natural, breathable and won’t make you overheat.

Similarly, because of the softness of linen as a fabric—and it only gets softer the more and more you wash it—you won’t find your skin becoming too sensitive to unnatural fibres and there won’t be any excess friction. That means no heat rashes.

4. Linen is a perfect hot weather compromise

There are many hot sleepers out there who still need a sheet—or at the very least, something— on top of them as they sleep. We get it. It can be weird to sleep above the covers or without anything covering you as you rest.

That’s where linen comes in handy. The lightness and coolness of the fabric makes it the ideal sheet to wrap yourself in, even on the hottest night of the year. With plenty of air flow and moisture wicking you won’t find yourself stifled as you might be from synthetic or heavier sheets.

5. Linen will also work if the weather changes quickly

It’s not unheard of for a sticky, humid summer night to switch gears into cool in a matter of minutes. Flax linen comes into its own here, as the fabric is designed to keep you both cool and warm, depending on the outside temperature.

Linen is temperature-regulating, which means that it takes its cues to what’s going on both on your body and in the air around you and adjusts its heat accordingly. If you’re a hot sleeper who often finds themselves flipping between too hot and to cold, linen might be the answer to all your prayers.

So you can finally catch those elusive zzzs.