The Best Materials for Summer Sheets
There’s nothing better than cozying up under a thick duvet. Unless it’s summer, in which case that’s the last thing anyone in their right mind would want to do. What was a delectable experience in the colder months becomes torturously uncomfortable in the height of summer.
Of course, this doesn’t mean any of us are going to end our love affair with our beds. Staying in bed longer than we know we ought to is one of life's greatest pleasures, after all. Just because the sun is trying to ruin our lives doesn’t mean we’re going to roll over and let it.
The key is to swap out your heavier bedding options with some lighter summer sheets, but what’s the best material for the job? Read on to learn more and recapture your love for a good night’s sleep!
Summer Sheets
The days of having a thick duvet to comfortably lounge around under are long past us. Gone are the days of hot cocoa, scarves, and cute mittens. Nobody has drank a pumpkin spice latte in months.
Without these cornerstones of enjoyment, it’s a wonder we’re able to cope with our daily trials and tribulations at all. Especially since the sun is making a concerted effort to ruin the best thing of all, going to bed. However, we’re equal to the strategy of a gigantic ball of nuclear fusion.
The answer is simple, it’s all about the choice of your sheet material. When it comes to summer sheet materials, you want thin and airy. Suffocating under sheets that don’t breathe and serve only to force you to kick them off you in the middle of the night is no way to live.
Sheet Options For Summer
Fortunately, there’s a wide range of acceptable sheet materials to choose from to ensure you don’t wake up in a pool of sweat every night. A combination of soft, smooth, and airy are ideally what we’re going to be looking for in the attributes of a good summer sheet.
A set of good sheets can last a lifetime if you look after them, so it’s a good idea to take some time and choose some that you can enjoy and even look forward to pulling out of the back of your cupboard. As you’ll be using them for years to come, it’s worth splashing out a little.
A good rule of thumb for this sort of thing is to spend well, once, rather than going for the cheap option that you’ll end up needing to replace. There’s no alternative to quality, and you get what you pay for when it comes to the grade of material that went into making your bedclothes. Let’s have a closer look at the best materials available.
Cotton
The gold standard for the construction of numerous fabrics and cloth, cotton is world-renowned for its durability and softness. Cotton has a curious attribute in that it begins to ripen with age and use. High-quality cotton products age in such a way as to become softer and more pliable with time.
It’s common to have a favorite t-shirt, an old thing that you can’t bear to throw away because its familiarity and softness have turned it into a second skin. The same can be expected of a set of high-quality cotton bed sheets, after a few months of use they become something more entirely than they were when you bought them.
This is a phenomenon only available when buying for function and quality. When you know you’re going to be using something frequently and for hours at a time, skimping on the price will always cost you more in the end. Cotton is also organic and breathes easily making it the perfect choice for summer sleeping.
Linen
Linen is similar to cotton in many ways but is a little harder to process and yields slightly different results. They’re both made from completely natural plant fibers which makes them breathable and good for the environment.
Linen is known to be the more breathable of the two. While cotton might be more durable and warm, linen has much improved moisture-wicking abilities and is of a lighter weight. In the height of summer, if you’re looking for the absolute best chance at a sleep uninterrupted by cloying heat issues, linen could be your answer.
The most breathable summer clothes are often made from high-quality linen, and for good reason. Bed sheets benefit from these same lightweight airy properties too and make it a material certainly worth considering.
Silk
For those of you out there who prefer a touch of the luxuriant in the bedroom, there’s no other option. A completely organic material, silk is associated the world over with riches and opulence, and for good reason. A bolt of pure silk cloth almost feels magical to the touch.
Silk has the unique property of temperature regulation. This means that they’ll help you stay warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. This is due to the cellular structure of the silk protein being naturally insulative.
Originating somewhat differently from cotton and linen, silk is the product of certain insects as they pupate. The raw material is harvested in captivity from the cocoons of mulberry silkworms, the ‘domestic silk moth’. Along with its incredible smoothness and characteristic sheen, the unusual method of accumulating the material contributes somewhat to the heftier price tag.
Keeping Cool All Night
Summer sheets are just the ticket, all you have to do is choose the material that suits you personally. For those of you on the fence, blends of each option can be found which are purported by some to be the best of both worlds!
Whichever you choose, you’ll certainly get a night of better sleep than you did with half your body hanging out of your winter covers. Let the sheets do the work while you rest up for a change.
If you found this article helpful, check out the rest of our blog! Wondering which type of bed you should get for your dog? Or perhaps you’re in the market for new pillows and want to avoid some common purchasing mistakes, we’ve got you covered!