Kinds of Bedsheets That Can Keep You Cool During Summer

The hot, dry season is here, and the nights can be very uncomfortable and sweaty. While your air conditioner can cool you down for a bit, you can’t really keep it running the whole night—it’s just not an efficient or an economical practice.

To lessen that heavy, sticky feeling you get whenever you settle in bed, you may want to check what kind of sheets you’re using. If your bed is currently sporting luxe, silk sheets, you may want to change them immediately—while they’re cool to the touch at first, silk does not absorb sweat and heat very well, and you’ll definitely end up a damp mess the following morning. You may also want to skip anything that’s synthetic such as microfiber and polyester, as while they’re workable, they won’t be much help in cooling you down.

For the coming hot months, you may want to check your closet for any of these three bedding materials: cotton, linen, and bamboo.

Cotton

Cotton is known to be one of the more breathable and most easily accessible materials out there—and you probably have sheets made out of them in your closet right now. Cotton bedsheets are long-lasting and can soften even more every time you wash them, which makes them quite comfortable to lie and sleep in; however, you may first want to check the thread count. According to The Sleep Judge, your sheets should have a thread count between 250 and 300 if you want to keep things cool. It’s better to keep those with a thread count of above 500 for the cooler months.

Do note that while cotton is cooling, it doesn’t dry easily when wet, so if it’s an exceptionally warm night and you sweat, you may have to bear with damp patches for a while.

Linen

Linen isn’t as soft as cotton. In fact, the texture initially doesn’t seem comfortable for sleeping, but don’t put it off just yet, as this material is quite durable, can soften after several washing (though it will take a long while and won’t be as smooth as cotton), and it won’t let you down in the cooling department.

Linen is very breathable and highly absorbent, and is known to dry fast should you sweat on it while you sleep. That’s not all, The Sleep Judge also notes that linen is also the best option for those with allergies, as it has “unique filtering properties that can reduce the number of allergens and germs found in a typical set of bedsheets," so if you’re one who suffers from perennial rhinitis, this is a good option for you.

Linen is the kind of material you need to save up for, though. If you want to update what you already have sometime in the future to softer sheets, you’ll have to invest in a higher thread count, which means, higher cost. The good news is that aside from the benefits we’ve already mentioned, linen is environmental-friendly, biodegradable, and can last you a very, very long time, so it’s a worthy purchase.

Bamboo

An eco-friendly bedsheet material is bamboo. If you’re willing to invest in lessening the impact of the things you use on the environment, then this is your bedsheet material of choice. Bamboo grows fast, doesn’t use pesticides, and uses less water to cultivate. But the benefits don’t stop there, as bamboo sheets seem to mix the best of the previous two options together: it’s soft and comfortable (more so than cotton, in fact), as well as tough and long-lasting. Household Wonders notes that it's great with regulating temperature and it also has moisture-wicking properties so you don’t need to worry about damp patches should you be sweating while you sleep. Similar to linen, bamboo is hypoallergenic and anti-bacterial, and one of the upsides of this is that you won’t get that amoy-pawis or amoy-kulob after using it a few times.

You have to be careful in picking your bamboo bedsheets though, as there are many stores (especially online) that claim that they sell them but are actually offering a mix of bamboo and other materials, or a material that isn’t bamboo at all. Instead for opting for these shops, go for established local sellers who specialize on this material. Their prices are reasonable and even less expensive than quality linen, so remember to do ample research before purchasing to get the best deal.