Last Updated on March 30, 2023
Sheets are overrated!
Yes, you heard it here first (maybe). Sheets are so overrated!
The right pillow can be worth a lot of money for a person with neck pain. A warm comforter can be worth a lot of money for a cold person.
But sheets? So overrated!
If you’re shopping for a new sheet set, give us a few minutes, and let us explain why you’re better off investing your money in a good set of pajamas instead.
Why Bed Sheets Are So Overrated
Look at the girl in the picture above.
If you’re like the average person, you probably sleep like her. Not necessarily in that position, but with an outfit similar to hers. Are we right?
Do you wear long-sleeve pajamas? Or maybe sweats?
You probably do.
Now take a look at the girl again, but this time in the picture below.
I circled in red, the exposed parts of her body.
Do you notice how little skin-to-sheet contact there actually is? That’s right – face, hands, and feet – those are the only parts of you that actually come into contact with your sheets.
And if you wear socks to bed, even less!
When you wear long sleeve pajamas, you never come into contact with your sheets. Your pajamas and your sheets touch. And your body touches the pajamas. But the pajamas act as a barrier between you and your sheets.
So unless you sleep naked, you’re never going to feel how smooth your sheets actually are. They can be a million thread count. They can be woven from the hair of unicorns. But it won’t matter.
At this point, you might be thinking – “I don’t wear long sleeve pajamas”.
Ok, you have more sheet-to-skin contact.
But you feel smoothness through friction. If you’re just laying on top of something, you can’t feel how soft it is, unless you move. So, unless you dance horizontally while you sleep, you’re not going to feel how soft your sheets actually are.
To sum it all up – sheets are overrated! Invest your money into a good set of pillowcases and pajamas instead.
A Good Pillowcase
While an entire sheet set is overrated, there’s still something to be said about a good pillowcase.
You spend all night with your face smushed against your pillow. There’s no shame in splurging on a good pillowcase – especially since a pair of pillowcases are much cheaper than a sheet set.
If your sheets are in good condition, spoil yourself with a set of silk pillowcases.
Benefits Of Silk
Silk actually has many benefits that cotton (or other fabrics) can’t match.
- Less receptive to bacteria
- Smoother fabric
- Less friction
Less Receptive To Bacteria
Cotton sheets harbor 17,000 times more bacteria than your local toilet seat.
Silk is a hypoallergenic material. It’s highly resistant to dust mites and deterioration. And silk is excellent at wicking away moisture-causing bacteria.
In comparison, cotton sheets are the perfect place for bacteria to grow, particularly since cotton is so absorbent.
Cotton absorbs more than 40% of essential oils and moisture from your skin while you sleep. Silk absorbs close to 0.
The result is a cleaner, more hypoallergenic space for your face. Considering you spend 8 hours of your day on your pillowcase, this is a benefit!
Smoother
Silk makes a smoother fabric than other materials. Why? Silk is a thinner fiber. This makes for a smoother surface than any other fiber available.
Less Friction
The smoother fabric also offers less friction as well.
The smoother surface means less tugging and pulling on your hair. Do you wake up with tangles in your hair? Is it all a frizzy mess?
If so, you’ll appreciate silk!
Which Pajamas Are Best?
Pajamas come in different materials just like sheets do. You’ll find them in satin, silk, flannel, cotton, polyester, etc.
Since pajamas take up less room than sheets, and since they’re inexpensive, we recommend a multi-layered approach. For the average person, this means 3 sets.
- Winter pajamas
- Spring & Fall pajamas
- Summer pajamas
Let’s take a quick look through the seasonal options.
Winter Pajamas
We like the cozy feel of flannel or fleece pajamas during the winter. Or just plain sweats!
During the colder months, when you’re huddled up, softer is also a function of thicker. A thicker material, like flannel, sweats, etc., actually provides the feeling that we refer to as “cozy”.
Spring & Fall Pajamas
For the average climate, Spring & Fall are usually similar. Not quite as chilly as the Winter, but not warm like Summer.
Thinner material is definitely better – but warmth is still a priority. A fabric that can breathe is what we’re looking for here. So, for Spring & Fall, our pick is a good set of cotton pajamas.
Summer Pajamas
Breathability is a huge factor for Summer pj’s. Avoid polyester and other synthetic fabrics! Whether you prefer short sleeves, shorts, or just plain underwear – avoid polyester.
This can’t be stressed enough!
There’s a huge difference between hot, and sweaty. And that difference is usually something that you figure out while you can’t sleep.
Skip the nighttime hot flashes. Skip the sticky sweaty experience. Go with cotton. Go with a lightweight material. And preferably something loose!
Conclusion
As we’ve mentioned a million times already, sheets are overrated.
You probably have a high opinion of hotel sheets right? The last time you slept at a hotel, did you notice how soft the sheets were?
Did they seem of high quality to you?
You’d probably expect them to be a really high thread count right? Maybe 400? 500? Maybe even 600? Most hotel sheets are actually in the 250-275 thread count range. They top out around 300.
But wait! Hotels don’t use 1000 thread count sheets?
No, they don’t. In fact, they don’t even use 800. Or 600. And they rarely even use higher than 300! The most commonly found sheet, in American hotels, is 275 thread count. Go figure!
If you want the full story, check out this article about why hotel sheets are so soft.