No sleep without counting sheep? Wear wool to bed instead of cotton
WEARING wool pyjamas to bed instead of cotton gives up to 15 minutes of extra sleep, research has found.
Experts said wool helped keep the body in the “thermal comfort zone” most conducive to restful sleep.
Scientists in Australia carried out two studies of young and older sleepers. Students in their 20s in the first group nodded off four minutes faster on average when wearing pyjamas made from merino wool rather than cotton, taking 11 minutes to fall asleep instead of 15.
They also enjoyed an extra seven minutes more sleep per night.
Woollen pyjamas had an even bigger impact on older adults aged 65 to 70.
They fell asleep after 12 minutes compared with 22 and 27 minutes for those wearing polyester or cotton.
Dr Paul Swan, a researcher from the University of Sydney, said: “Not so long ago, sleeping under wool bedding was the norm, and 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. You therefore not only fall asleep quicker and 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.”
The research was carried out in Australia over periods of nine and four nights and involved 17 students and 36 adults who were put to bed in Britishlevel night temperatures of 62.6F (17C).
Figures from the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey indicate that as many as four in 10 people in England suffer from some form of sleep disruption or insomnia. The proportion has been rising over the past 15 years, due in part to the increasing use of screens emitting blue light, which triggers production of melatonin and serotonin, the hormones that control wakefulness.
Another report conducted by The Sleep Council found that the proportion of people who said they “sleep very well most nights” fell from 25 per cent in 2013 to 17 per cent in 2017.
Having the bedroom at the wrong temperature is also thought to disrupt sleep. Experts recommend a room temperature of just over 65F (18C).
Findings from the first study, reported in Nature And Science Of Sleep, were released to mark Wool Week, part of the Campaign for Wool whose patron is the Prince of Wales. The second study, funded by Australian Wool Innovation, the wool industry body, has not yet been published.
In former times, a commitment to wearing wool from head to toe suggested a degree of crankiness. Bernard Shaw, when not advocating phonetic spelling and frequenting the teashops of the Aerated Bread Company, sang the praises of wool, dressing in it entirely, his Jaeger kneebreeches (avoiding harmful trouser-leg draughts) held up by Dr Jaeger’s Sanitary Woollen Braces. But today boffins have proved the cranks correct. Scientists in Australia (where else?) have shown that people fall asleep quicker when clad in woollen pyjamas. For those aged 65-70 this means reaching the arms of Morpheus after an average 12 minutes, while cotton nightweared (or, perish the thought, polyester pyjama’d) folk toss and turn with fevered brows for another quarter of an hour. No wonder sheep seldom complain of insomnia.