Now, I don’t want to frighten you...

...but you might want to think twice before snuggling up in a synthetic or feather duvet again!

IAM NOT A FAN OF HORROR but, at the risk of a terrifying my readers, I must refer you to what I, personally, think is the scariest book on this planet. Stephen King eat your heart out!

Penguin Books published Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep in 2017 and, when I first read it, I really sat up and took note. In answering the question of why we sleep, Walker reveals the long-term, irreversible physical and mental damage done to our bodies as a result of sleep deprivation, which goes far beyond the usual things we are told about not getting a decent night’s sleep.

So I vowed to reread this book regularly as a reminder, lest I lose sight of the consequences of insufficient or rubbish sleep.

The opening paragraph of chapter eight is worth quoting. Walker says: ‘I was once fond of saying “sleep is the third pillar of good health, alongside diet and exercise”. I have changed my tune. Sleep is more than a pillar; it is the foundation on which the two other health bastions sit.’

Poor sleep can damage our cardiovascular systems, upset our metabolisms, affect our reproduction and compromise our immune systems – oh, and it can also addle our brains.

The book’s appendix lists a dozen tips for healthy sleep. Much is common sense, but I suggest that Walker omits an important thirteenth tip. He fails to acknowledge the importance of the quality of bedding in the creation of the optimal sleep environment.

Synthetic duvets are notorious for exacerbating ghastly night sweats, causing the sleeper to wake in a state of uncomfortable clamminess.

Feathers and down duvets aggravate breathing difficulties, causing the sleeper to wake with a stuffy, blocked nose, watery, itchy eyes and perhaps a dull headache. None of this is conducive to achieving and enjoying the essential quality and quantity of good sleep. In this regard, the solution is simple. In short, let wool wow you, and don’t just look to your duvet. Make sure you go the full monty, complementing your duvet with wool pillows and a mattress cover.

Our Southdown Duvet customers who go from synthetic and feathers to wool say it’s literally an overnight revelation in increased comfort and undisturbed restorative rest; sleep that would make Matthew Walker smile and Stephen King run for the hills.