Guide: Why Buy Cooling Bed Sheets

Last Updated on March 12, 2024

by Marc Werner, Founder - GhostBed

Even sleeping on the best cooling mattress one should still buy cooling bed sheets to add to top the bed to achieve the best sleep possible. After understanding the many reasons one ought to invest in cooling bed sheets, it is important to know the different types and fabrics to help keep you cool and sleeping through the night.

With so many factors, from hormones and health conditions to sleeping with a heated-up bed partner, it is understandable why overheating contributes to so many waking from slumber throughout a night. Just by purchasing a set of sheets built for cooling can make all the difference in the world when battling a bed that feels more like a sauna.

I. Why Cooling Bed Sheets

II. Types of Cool Bed Sheets

III. Cooling Bed Sheet Fabrics

I. Why Cooling Bed Sheets

Although you may feel a chill in the air when drifting off all covered up, come a bit into dreamland you may find yourself woken by heated up night sweats as the covers cannot be kicked off quick enough. During sleep, while the body is busy with the activity of thermoregulation – working to regulate its temperature, some people have issues impeding the process causing the body to overheat.

Waking constantly every night, throughout each night, will certainly throw off healthy sleep cycles and mess with overall healthy living and productivity. This higher than normal sleeping body temperature can be caused by different issues:

1. Hormonal Meltdown

From plain old time of the month fluctuations in hormone levels, to pregnancy and menopause, night sweats a huge complaint by women of all ages. This is caused by an imbalance in estrogen levels as the hormone tries to regulate with the changes in the body. Once the estrogen drops the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus gets confused and then causes enlarged blood vessels, which in turn raise the body temperature.

Other hormonal disorders can cause night sweats as well. Those include pheochromocytoma, carcinoid syndrome, and hyperthyroidism.

2. Naturally Run Hot

Being a hot tamale might work when wishing to be the life of the party but, not so much when attempting to catch some z’s. Some people just naturally run hot causing themselves to wake sweating the bed up during the night.

3. Heat from Bed Partner

Nothing like attempting to sleep only to feel the heat rising off a bed partner keeping you uncomfortably hot. The heat produced by a bedmate can cause one sleepless nights as they watch the culprit snoozing away.

4. Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia, a condition caused by low blood sugar, can cause night sweats. Those taking insulin, or other diabetic medications, may find themselves with hypoglycemia causing them to run hot and waking from slumber.

5. Medications

A fever may heat you up but the fever reducer medication may also cause overheating when attempting to sleep off an illness. Other medications that can cause dreaded night sweats include some high blood pressure drugs and antipsychotics. In addition, abusing drugs or alcohol can also attribute to overheating when trying to sleep.

6. Summer Heat

Even with the AC turned up it may not be enough to keep one cool enough to peacefully stay asleep on a very hot summer night. Those without any AC need as much help as possible to keep from dreaded night sweats in the heat of summer.

7. More Peaceful Sleep

Most will want to do whatever possible to promise a peaceful sleep with no waking. Just the possibility of the threat of being woken by night sweats can keep some from getting proper sleep.

II. Types of Cool Bed Sheets

There are two types of bed sheets that work to keep a cool bed. These types can work independently or together in one fabric. It is best to get a cooling bed sheet fabric that is both breathable and absorbent.

1. Breathable Sheets

Sheets that are breathable are designed to allow the body’s skin to breath as it sits between the sheets. This works to prevent the perspiration caused by night sweats.

2. Absorbent Sheets

Absorbent sheets work to wick away moisture caused by night sweats. By removing moisture away from the body quickly the sheets help prevent waking from the sweats brought on during dreamtime.

III. Cooling Bed Sheet Fabrics

There are fabrics that work specifically well to combat night sweats and help to keep one peacefully asleep. at a time, only natural fibers would be recommended for those who sleep hot at night, but now new synthetic fiber have been developed to specifically ward off moisture to keep one sleeping cool.

1. Natural Fibers

Natural fibers still are touted as the best fabrics to ward off waking sweats. These are great organic choices, like cotton, that have withstood the test of time.

Cotton: Cotton sheets come in many types from more affordable lower thread counts to comforting super soft Supima. Generally, cotton sheets work double duty to keep you warm in the colder climates and cool in the heat.

Linen: For cooling off with a classic natural fabric then linen does the job nicely. Not only is linen lightweight, it is also a loser weave that is very breathable. In addition, the fabric works to absorb moisture to keep the sleeper cooler.

Bamboo: Bamboo has now been added to the natural fibers list as a fabric working to keep the body cool between the sheets. This fabric is very breathable as well as having the ability to absorb moisture.

2. Synthetic Fibers

Once upon a time a synthetic fabric would be a no-no when seeking for a material to ward off night sweats, but we now see new fabrics being manufactured that work amazingly to both absorb and wick away the sweat that works to wake up sleepers.

Tencel: Tencel is a unique synthetic fiber made from environmentally friendly wood pulp cultivated from sustainable forest plantations. Its hydrophilic fibers allow for Tencel to regulate temperature extremely well and absorb moisture making it an excellent breathable fabric that works to keep the body cool.

Performative Polyester: at a time, not too long along, one would not even think of putting polyester and cooling in the same sentence. Now there is a new version of the fabric known as performance polyester made to wick away body heat so the body stays cool and comfortable.

Bamboo: Bamboo has now been added to the natural fibers list as a fabric working to keep the body cool between the sheets. This fabric is very breathable as well as having the ability to absorb moisture.

3. Combination Natural and Synthetic

For best quality, combine the best of natural fabrics with the best of synthetic for sheets to do the ultimate cooling job. Cooling bed sheets made with Supima cotton blended with Tencel, such as GhostSheets, have incredible breathability qualities to keep sleepers as cool as possible.


Marc Werner - Founder, GhostBed

Marc Werner

Founder - GhostBed

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Marc has spent the last two decades designing & manufacturing mattresses and other sleep products, drawing on a lifetime of experience working with the material sciences. With several patents to his name, he works closely with the GhostBed team to create products with the perfect balance of comfort & support. Learn More

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