Winter Bedding – Warm and Breathable at the Same Time

Short answer: In winter, bedding has to hold warmth without making you clammy. That sounds like two opposing demands, but it is not: the warmth comes from the duvet, and the cover lets the moisture escape. The night then stays both warm and dry.

The warmth comes from the duvet

The cover is a layer of fabric half a millimetre thick and cannot provide warmth. It is the duvet's filling that decides how warm you lie. If something has to change in winter, start with the duvet rather than the bedding.

What the cover can do

The cover decides how it feels against the skin and how quickly moisture leaves. A densely woven bamboo cover feels mild rather than cold when you lie down, and in January that is a clear difference from thin cotton.

Why you perspire in winter

With a heavy duvet in a room at 20 degrees you perspire in December too. The moisture is there all year, and the difference is that in winter it is noticed less often, because you do not throw the duvet off from heat.

Choose the weight

See the range under bamboo bedding and choose the heavier quality for winter if you keep two sets. A heavier cover feels more comfortable over a thick duvet and slides around less during the night.

Nightwear is the innermost layer

If you sleep in a thick jumper under a thick duvet, the moisture gathers between the two layers. See nightwear in bamboo, which passes the moisture onwards instead of holding it between the body and the duvet.

Two thin layers rather than one thick

If it is very cold, an extra blanket over the duvet is better than an even thicker duvet. The air between the layers insulates, and you can take one off in the night if it becomes too much, without changing the whole bed.

Air the room anyway

Even in winter the bedroom should be aired every day. Five minutes with the window fully open changes the air without cooling the walls, and that does more for both smell and moisture than a whole day on the latch.

The sheet

In winter you lie more still, so your back becomes the place where moisture gathers. A sheet in the same quality as the cover does more for comfort in those months than most people expect when they look only at the duvet.

Change it just as often

There is a tendency to change bedding less often in winter, because it feels like you perspire less. The moisture is the same, so the rule is the same: weekly, or fortnightly if only one person sleeps in the bed. See also bamboo and temperature regulation and better sleep with bamboo bedding and nightwear.