What are night sweats?
Night sweats are when you sweat a lot at night. (Not entirely sure why we needed to define that.)
For some, night sweats are related to an underlying medical condition or illness, like hyperhidrosis. For women over 50, night sweats can be caused by menopause.
The bad news is, there are many causes of night sweats. The good news is regardless of the cause, better bedding may alleviate your sticky, sweaty discomfort at night.
But, first let's talk about bedding that may worsen your night sweats.
Why polyester and microfiber sheets make night sweats worse
Polyester and microfiber are pretty much interchangeable terms for super soft plastic sheets. The reason they sleep so hot is because they're made out of plastic.
Plastic is hydrophobic, which means it repels water. Repelling water is a good thing when you're talking about umbrellas and tarps – you're trying to keep moisture out. But when it comes to sheets, it's a very bad, very sweaty thing.
Here's why.
When you sleep it’s totally normal to lose a liter of water vapor. This water vapor creates a microclimate around your body to naturally regulate its temperature for sleep. Sleeping under bedding that isn’t absorbent, like polyester microfiber, or bedding that has poor moisture management, like cotton, is a recipe for horrible night sweats.
Speaking of cotton...
Why cotton sheets aren't ideal for night sweats either
Cotton fares a little better in the moisture-absorption area than polyester microfiber. But it's still not great.
For starters, the higher the thread count on your cotton sheets, the less breathable they are. So put down the 800 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets if you're a hot sleeper.
Additionally, cotton just doesn't manage moisture that well. Because cotton fibers vary in size and shape, the distribution of moisture from one fiber to the next is highly irregular. This is why some nights you may alternate from a furnace to a popsicle back to a furnace.
Okay, so what about bamboo?
Bamboo sheets and night sweats
Most bamboo is made into a fabric via a process called viscose. We talked about the negative environmental effects of the bamboo viscose process in a blog post, but right now let's look at the moisture-absorbency of viscose.
Of the two fabrics we just mentioned, polyester microfiber and cotton, bamboo viscose is the most absorbent.
That's great, right? Well, sort of.
While the fiber is extremely absorbent, it's also extremely weak when wet. When bamboo sheets get wet, they have less elasticity and are therefore less durable. In other words, these aren't the kind of sheets you want to be sweating in if you want them to last.
Eucalyptus Lyocell sheets and night sweats
So, why is Eucalyptus Lyocell so good at moisture-management?
A lot of people think our eucalyptus sheets are cool because they part their hair down the middle and trade crypto, but the truth is much more sciencey.
H2Oh, that’s delightful
Know how when you get into a swimming pool, it can be a little cool at first but once you're in there for a few minutes, you never want to leave? Our Eucalyptus Lyocell sheets are similar.
Eucalyptus lyocell retains about 10% of the moisture from the humidity in the atmosphere. Because water is such a superb temperature regulator, the sheets are able to keep you cool and dry even when the nights are hot and sticky.
Wick me up before you go go
Eucalyptus lyocell is also extremely effective at wicking moisture (sweat is wet) across the fabric when you sleep.
Teeny, tiny, itty, bitty microscopic capillaries inside the eucalyptus fibers absorb moisture and transfer it from fiber to fiber, yarn to yarn, increasing the air surface. And more air surface means quicker evaporation which means you stay comfortable and sweat-free all night long.
Night-night, night sweats
Tired of waking up drenched in sweat every night?
If you're someone who suffers from night sweats, whatever the cause, throw some eucalyptus sheets on your bed and go from sweat nightmare to sweet dreams.