My Summer Sadness Being too hot keeps me up all night. Nothing bothers me more than heat, especially at night. Unfortunately, hot nights are the price we pay for skipping winter here in Southern California, but no matter the temperature or where you live, some people just can’t sleep because they’re too hot. Heat can negatively impact the quality of your sleep and can even affect your health, so staying cool at night is important. If you’re not willing to spend a ton of money on a cooling mattress, cooling sheets might be worth considering.
But what makes a good cooling sheet? teeth How about cooling sheets? These bed sheets usually improve airflow and dissipate body heat better than traditional cotton sheets. Linen is a popular choice and is highly breathable, while other materials have moisture-wicking and temperature-regulating properties. After sleeping with a variety of sheets for a few weeks, I’ve concluded that linen and cotton percale are the best cooling sheets. But if you want a softer material (or hate percale like me), there are other options. (All prices are queen size.)
Looking for more bedding? Read our guides to the best cooling mattresses, best pillows, best linen sheets, best sheets and best mattresses.
Update August 2024: We’ve added Saatva’s Percale sheet set as a new recommendation, added a few more cooling sheets to our honorable mentions, and added thread count notes to all recommendations.
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What is a cooling sheet?
There’s a lot of terminology used in the world of cooling sheets and cooling mattresses. Temperature regulation! Breathability! Moisture wicking! Phase change material! In most cases, these features have to do with the breathability of the sheets: breathability means that moisture can evaporate better, while “thermoregulation” usually means that the sheets are breathable enough to wick heat and moisture away from your body.
How can you make your sheets more breathable? Cotton, flax and bamboo are all highly breathable, but not all sheets are created equal, so material alone doesn’t guarantee breathability. WeavingFor example, percale has a 1:1 ratio of yarns and satin has a 3:1 ratio of yarns. Weight The breathability of the bedding (including thread count) comes into play: the higher the thread count, the less breathable it is, and the tighter the weave, the less breathable it is. The threads in the fabric also matter, as does the degree of twist; a tighter twist will make the fabric smoother and cooler, whereas a looser twist can lose its smoothness and trap heat.
Some companies are also treating their sheets with what’s called phase-change materials (PCMs), which are materials that absorb and release energy to heat or cool certain areas. “PCMs create a microclimate,” says Karen Leonas, a professor of fiber science at North Carolina State University’s Wilson School of Textiles. Excess body heat is absorbed by these materials and released back to the body when it cools.
These treatments increase the price of cooling sheets, but they are not yet widespread, and it is difficult to judge how well they are integrated into the fabric. “PCM has passed thermal cycling tests and is proven to last a long time,” Leonas says. “If this is a surface treatment, some of the microcapsules may be lost due to wear.” Parima Ijaz, CEO of Pure Parima, agrees, saying these treatments may only last a maximum of 10 washes. There are only a handful of sheets on the market that claim to use PCM, and our guide focuses on breathable materials and weaves, not these treatments. Note that PCM lasts longer on foam mattresses, Leonas says. If you still sweat at night after switching to cooling sheets, try a cooling mattress.
