If you’re currently experiencing night sweats or poor sleep related to perimenopause or menopause, switching to the best bedding for menopause can help.
As a woman in my forties, I’ve always found my temperature to fluctuate with my hormonal cycle, and I used to really struggle with waking up due to overheating at night.
Whilst my (male) partner slept (annoyingly) soundly, I would regularly wake up hot, sweaty and kicking off the covers. That only worsened as I entered perimenopause and hormonal fluctuations became more extreme.
As Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, I've spent the last five years testing all sorts of the best duvets, pillows, and all kinds of bedding materials. These are the menopause-friendly fabrics I recommend, and those to avoid.
Best bedding for menopause
Wool bedding
As far as I’m concerned, wool is a miracle fibre that everyone – menopausal or not – needs in their life.
Wool is highly breathable and offers excellent temperature regulation, which helps prevent overheating and helps your body maintain its optimal temperature overnight.
Swapping my polyester and feather-and-down duvets out for a wool duvet, and adding a wool mattress topper to my bed have made for a *much* cooler sleep.
The downside of a wool duvet is that most options can't be washed. However, Woolroom's Deluxe Washable Wool Duvet is an exception to that rule. It's the duvet I have on my own bed all year round and it's ideal for hot sleepers or those suffering from night sweats as it's breathable, temperature-regulating, and can be machine-washed. Unfortunately, it's not cheap, but I have found it to be worth every penny.
If you need a more affordable option, Slumberdown offers some of the most budget-friendly wool duvets I've tested. This duvet does feel a lot more basic and is a bit stiff and crinkly compared to Woolroom's range, plus, it's not washable, but it still did a great job of temperature regulation, keeping me cosy whilst reducing overheating.
If you're sleeping on a synthetic mattress – either a memory foam mattress or a pocket-spring mattress with a polyester comfort layer – I'd also highly recommend investing in a wool mattress topper to add breathability to your bed. Again, this wool topper isn't cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than a new mattress. I also found the Woolroom Deluxe Washable Wool Mattress Protector made a significant difference to temperature regulation as a more affordable alternative.
As a hot sleeper, it’s no exaggeration to say that swapping to wool bedding was game-changing for me, but what do bedding experts have to say about wool's menopause-friendly credentials?
'We know that being too hot is one of the biggest disruptors of a good night’s sleep for women experiencing the menopause,' says wool and sleep expert and managing director of Woolroom, Chris Tattersall.
'Sleeping on and under fibres such as a memory foam mattress or with feather and down or synthetic bedding traps in heat and will only exacerbate night sweats and hot flushes.'
In contrast, 'wool’s natural properties make it an excellent choice for temperature regulation, as the breathability of wool allows air to circulate, preventing heat build-up and promoting a cooler sleep environment,' explains Chris.
'Wool is also highly absorbent and helps wick moisture away from the body, absorbing any perspiration during the night, making it the perfect choice for night sweat sufferers.’
Linen bedding
If you're looking for a cooler sleep, what's inside your duvet isn't the only thing to consider. I found that choosing different materials for my duvet covers, pillowcases, and sheets also made a big difference in reducing my night sweats.
Natural bedding materials like linen are the key to breathability and better temperature regulation.
Sadly, natural materials aren't as affordable as synthetic polyester fabrics. However, this M&S linen bedding set is one of the most affordable I've found and has definitely helped me to sleep more comfortably.
Soak & Sleep is another great option, offering a wide range of great quality linen bedding, from fitted sheets to pillowcases, and duvet covers in a wide range of sizes. I found this French linen super soft and very breathable.
If you want to push the boat out, then Piglet in Bed offers the best coloured and patterned linen bedding in the business. Its linen is thicker than the other two options, but no less breathable, and it's a great option if you're looking for winter bedlinen.
Why is linen such a useful fabric for menopause? ‘Because linen is ideal for regulating your body temperature,' explains fabric technologist and founder of The Fabric Consultancy, Kirsty Wilson. 'It's breathable with a high air-permeability rating yet heat conductive.'
In simpler terms, that means 'linen is naturally breathable and great at regulating temperature,' explains Jessica Hanley, founder and CEO of Piglet in Bed, 'that means it keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.'
The best linen bedding isn't cheap, but again, compared to polyester or polycotton bedding, this material has made a huge difference to my sleep and helped to reduce my night sweats considerably.
Cotton bedding
Cotton is another naturally breathable material that's a great choice for hot sleepers.
Just consider the thread count of cotton before you shop. Whilst you may think a higher thread count means better quality, it also means more tightly woven fibres, which I've found reduces airflow and can mean a hotter sleep.
Instead, I opt for a lower thread count for better breathability, which experts agree is around a 200 thread count. (Also, make sure you're buying pure cotton, and not 'polycotton', which has polyester mixed in.)
This pure cotton bedding set is one of the most affordable 100% cotton duvet sets I've come across. It's actually 180 thread count, so it's a little less luxurious than a 200 thread count or higher, but it's breathable, affordable, and comes in over 40 colour options.
Finished with an elegant piped edge (which you can buy in either black, grey, or white), this bedding looks effortlessly stylish while still offering all of the benefits of 200 thread count 100% cotton percale.
For something more luxurious, this 200 thread count Egyptian cotton bedding from John Lewis is breathable, and those longer, finer Egyptian cotton fibres mean extra softness that will make climbing into bed a joy.
And do our fabric experts agree with my testing experience? Yes, and they have some technical insight to share on why.
'Cotton’s absorbency makes it perfect for bedding,' says kirsty. 'Cotton fibre will absorb 7-11% of its weight in moisture. That means if you do become hot in bed or have night sweats, cotton will absorb that moisture and take it away from the body, leaving you feeling cool and comfortable.’
'Cotton or linen bedlinen is a great option to pair with a lightweight duvet,' agrees sleep expert Chris. 'These materials are breathable and moisture-wicking, they "breathe" by absorbing the moisture away from your body and releasing it into the air, meaning you stay dry and comfortable all night long.'
Fabrics to avoid during menopause
When I became Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor – and began testing all kinds of different bedding materials as part of my job – I quickly discovered that the synthetic bedding I’d been sleeping under was making my problems with overheating at night a *lot* worse.
That's because materials like polyester – a very common ingredient in affordable bedding – lack breathability and are very poor at managing the natural temperature fluctuations of our body.
Often dubbed the hidden sleep thief, I've found that sleeping on or under polyester is a bit like sleeping with a plastic bag next to your skin. The synthetic material reflects the heat and humidity our bodies release at night back towards us, rather than letting it dissipate through the fabric and away from the body.
This is what can result in that 'boil in a bag' sensation that regularly had me kicking off my bedding at 3 am.
When I switched to natural bedding materials – such as a wool duvet, pure linen or cotton bed linen, and eventually ditched my memory foam mattress and invested in one packed with natural materials such as wool, cotton, and hemp – I found that my bed was suddenly far more breathable.
(Top tip: if you don't want to change your mattress, adding a wool mattress topper or one of the best cooling mattress toppers to your bed can make it far cooler to sleep on).
Why does menopause impact sleep?
Wondering why perimenopause and menopause cause so many sleep issues? As Dave Gibson, sleep expert and founder of The Sleep Site explains, ‘the steady loss of progesterone and oestrogen during menopause can have a significant impact on sleep.'
'Firstly, it’s harder to get to sleep and stay asleep as progesterone has a soporific effect. This is compounded by the reduction in the production of melatonin (our sleep hormone) during this time. Then there are the dreaded hot flashes triggered by adrenaline surges because of oestrogen loss,' explains Dave.
If you're suffering from menopause-related lack of sleep, you probably don't need me to tell you why this change in sleep pattern isn't ideal. But in case you're in any doubt, Dr Naomi Potter, GP, psychologist, and menopause expert at Menopause Care is happy to explain.
‘Good quality sleep is a vital element of our health and wellbeing,' says Naomi. 'It's arguably the most important of all the health pillars. A lack of sleep – for example, four to five hours a night instead of seven to eight – can have a negative impact on brain function. It can cause symptoms such as brain fog and memory difficulties.'
'Poor sleep can also impact mental health and mood, which is often vulnerable during the menopause,' says Naomi. 'Women with poor sleep during menopause are two to three times more likely to experience depression.’
And with recent research published by Silentnight finding that 83% of perimenopausal and menopausal women suffer from sleep problems. That's a real concern.
The survey of 1,000 women revealed that 61% experience night sweats and 41% suffer from insomnia, with more than two-thirds of the women surveyed losing an average of two-and-a-half hours of sleep per night.
All the more reason to support yourself and others in the best way possible during this season of life.
