Why You Should Sleep in Linen in Summer

Bedding with built-in airflow? Yes please.

There are some things that can help cool you down on a hot day, of course. A cold drink of water, sitting in the shade of a tree while a breeze blows past, parking yourself in front of an air conditioning unit… These are all some of the coping mechanisms that spring to mind.

But what about in the evenings? There’s nothing worse than the summer sweats in bed, when overheating can feel amplified either by the warmth of another body or the heavy night air... and that’s why you should be sleeping on linen this season. Here's why.

Linen is a natural fibre

Unlike synthetics, which trap heat inside them, linen is made out of the crushed flax plant, making it 100% natural. What that means is that linen breathes, circulating cool air through its loosely woven fibres to make sure that the warm air is never trapped around your body.

Because linen is natural, it’s also a great choice for sensitive skin as it won’t cause irritation. So you can say goodbye to heat rashes forever.

Linen is soft

Wash after wash, your flax linen sheets will soften and smooth into some of the most comfortable, most soothing bed linen you will ever sleep in.

That makes for a great night’s sleep, sure, but the softness of linen also helps keep you cool, too. Soft sheets means less friction, which means your skin isn’t generating heat through touching the sheets and causing your body temperature to rise.

Linen doesn’t cling to you

The particular weave of linen might be soft, yes, but it never clings to your body. The structure of the fibre makes for an non-restrictive fabric that will billow around your body rather than tightly adhere to it.

Linen can absorb up to 20% of its own weight before feeling damp, so you sweaty sleepers need never worry about excess moisture. Plus, with every little bit of breeze that blows through your open window, linen absorbs the air to dry out and cool down even further.

Linen is light

Flax linen is just about one of the lightest fabrics on the market, which makes it the perfect choice for anyone who hates a sweaty night’s sleep. Think about it: the lighter the sheets, the less weight there is billowing around you and trapping hot air beneath its folds.

Light, breathable linen helps to keep the air moving, which means that you won’t feel stifled while you’re sleeping. In fact, it will feel like you’re practically sleeping with barely anything around you at all.

Linen actually feels cooler

Have you heard of a thing called thermal conductivity? It’s a way of measuring how much different items, and in this particular case different fabrics, conduct and retain heat.

Scientists have measured the most popular fabrics, and which do you think came out on top? Linen. Again, it’s all thanks to the moisture wicking in linen and the way the fibres have been woven together to promote air flow around the body. By comparison, the fabric with the lowest thermal conductivity was silk. On a hot day, linen is the thing that’s going to keep you cool.

Linen is easy to take care of

Nobody wants to struggle with washing sheets in the middle of a heatwave. Linen is a godsend in this situation. Thanks to its low gram per square metre (GSM) rating, linen has a light wick which allows for swift ventilation.

That’s what keeps the air moving around you when you sleep, and it’s what helps linen sheets dry so fast in hot weather, making it a cinch to wash, dry and store, leaving you with more time to spend on the important things in this heat. Like lying on the bathroom floor with a cold, damp towel draped over your face.