Wear wool as you count sheep

IT may sound like a lot of flannel, but what we wear in bed may be determining how well we snooze.

Swapping cotton or polyester pyjamas for woolly nightwear could help us nod off faster – and sleep longer, say researchers.

Dr Paul Swan, of the University of Sydney, said: ‘Not so long ago sleeping under wool bedding was the norm. Science is now rediscovering the benefits of sleeping in wool.

‘Maybe it is not a coincidence, because wool regulates your body temperature far better, keeping you in what is known as “the thermal comfort zone”.’

He added: ‘The research suggests that people wearing wool pyjamas, particularly when the nights get colder, fall asleep quicker, sleep longer, but also have deeper, better quality sleep. Enjoying good sleep has become increasingly difficult in modern times, and so anything that helps is great for your mental and physical health.’

In the first of the researchers’ studies, 17 students were monitored wearing pyjamas made of cotton or merino wool.

The second involved 36 adults aged 50-70 and evaluated polyester, cotton and merino pyjamas.

In both studies, heart rate, skin temperature and relative humidity, and brain wave patterns were measured. In the study of young adults, those in wool enjoyed an additional seven minutes more sleep than those in cotton. They fell asleep after 11 minutes compared with 15 minutes for those who were wearing cotton.

In particular, 65 to 70-year-olds fell asleep after 12 minutes in wool compared with 22 and 27 minutes in polyester and cotton respectively.

The authors concluded: ‘These findings highlight wool, next to the skin, as an efficient insulator that may influence skin warming and hence promote sleep onset and sleep quality.’

The findings, published in the journal Nature and Science of Sleep, have been highlighted to coincide with the Campaign For Wool’s annual Wool Week.