In the last few years, the concept of work-life balance has made a comeback. For the sake of their health, people are less willing to do things like work weekends or sacrifice their sleep. Instead of burning the midnight oil, modern employees get a good night’s rest so that they can be more productive during working hours.
And people today are not just trying to get more sleep – they are trying to improve sleep quality too. There are many ways to do this, from investing in blackout curtains to using sleep tracking apps. But few things match the direct benefit you get from soft, comfortable bed linens. These you get to enjoy while you’re awake too, however briefly.
This guide will help you understand what makes high-quality linens feel so soft and luxurious so that you can buy your own.
Fabric and feel
Bed sheets, duvets, and pillowcases will feel different on your skin depending on what material they are made from. Identifying how you want your bed linens to feel can serve as a good starting point when you are buying new ones because you will then know what fabric to look for. Examples of how bedsheets can feel include silky smooth, crisp and cool, or cosy.
Cotton is the most popular natural fibre used for bedding because it’s breathable and it feels great. Good quality cotton, such as Egyptian and Supima cotton, gets softer every time it is washed. There’s also brushed cotton, which is cotton with a more fuzzy texture that many people find warm and cosy, and polycotton, which is mixed with polyester to reduce the cost and make it easier to clean.
The two other main bedding fabrics are linen and silk. Linen has a light, cool feel to it and is a popular choice in hot places. It’s highly breathable, although it feels slightly rougher than cotton. It does however get softer with each wash. Silk feels very glossy and smooth, and it’s also believed to have benefits for skin and hair. It is the most luxurious of these fabrics, which does mean that it’s usually more expensive and requires more care.
The weave
How your linens are woven together also affects how they feel. There are a number of different options, but the two most popular are sateen and percale. Sateen has the kind of glossy soft and smooth feel that people associate with luxurious fabrics like silk. But it feels warmer than percale, which feels crisp and cool. Some people prefer climbing into a refreshingly cool bed at night, especially if it’s warm out.
Thread count
This is usually used for cotton bedding and is a quick way to assess quality, although it is not the only thing that counts. It represents the number of threads woven together in one square inch of material. A higher number generally indicates a smoother, higher-quality feel.
Conclusion
In addition to your mattress and pillows, your bedding can make a big difference to how comfortable you feel in bed and how quickly you drift off at night. Once you know which kind of feeling sends you off fastest, you can use the fabric and weave to find the best choice of bedding for you.