Should We Sleep Naked?

As with all decisions in life, the choice to sleep naked or not sleep naked comes with some benefits and some disadvantages. Of course, you know your body and your comfort levels best, which means you are ultimately in the best position to make the final determination of how you spend your resting hours.

Insomnia and other sleep disorders are driving people towards additional bedtime rituals, from bedtime yoga to consistent nightly routines that help you decompress before going to sleep. In the case of dressing or not dressing at bedtime, many studies tell us that less is more. Sleeping naked boasts many science-backed advantages that can help you get a better night’s sleep and positively impact your overall health.

All of us have a different preference when it comes to what to wear to bed. Some choose a lovely nighty and others choose to wear nothing! The question remains – what is healthiest for your body? Should you sleep naked?

The Benefits of Sleeping Naked

There are various health benefits associated with sleeping naked including better sleep quality, stress reduction, skin health, reproductive health, body image, and intimacy. Many of these health advantages are interconnected but they can roughly be broken down into three main categories: mental, physical, and sexual health.

Regulate your body’s temperature

Your body’s temperature has a huge part to play in how and when you fall asleep. Sleeping in the nude can improve both temperature regulation and sensory cues, further improving your sleep quality. It’s part of your circadian rhythm, which basically acts as a clock for your sleep. The ideal temperature to fall asleep is in 18ºC. As you cool down, your body knows to fall asleep. So, sleeping naked helps you fall asleep faster and can help you reduce the number of times you wake up in the night, helping you achieve higher quality sleep.

Supports vaginal health

Sleeping naked can help maintain the yeast levels in the vagina. Too much yeast can cause infection, so it’s healthy to let the girl breathe. Regardless of what you wear during the day, sleeping naked is an easy way to air out your vagina and keep it healthy.

Improves Male fertility 

Sleeping naked is known for having a positive effect on male fertility. Research suggests that wearing tight underwear during sleep increases the temperature of the scrotum. This can decrease the sperm count vitality.

Supports skin health

When you don’t get enough sleep, your skin can become swollen, droopy, wrinkly, and dark circles can appear. Sometimes even a beautifying face mask can’t cover up the evidence of lack of sleep. But sleeping naked can. It helps you sleep better and after one night of a good, naked night’s sleep, your skin should be looking a whole lot better.

Sleep can also improve how your skin heals. One study looked at whether poor sleep limited the skin’s ability to heal from a small wound. They found that the group that slept well had recovered faster than the two groups that had less and worse sleep.

Improves sleep quality 

Our circadian rhythm regulates our bodies. We go through cycles of heating and cooling throughout the day. At the end of the day when we begin to feel tired our melatonin increases, and our body temperature decreases. This decrease in temperature continues throughout the night. Therefore, it is essential to maintain a cool temperature without getting too cold. If it’s too cold or too hot, you risk impacting your rapid eye movement sleep, which is the dream stage of sleep that helps refresh your brain and body. Sleeping naked is one way to stay cool beneath the covers.

Increases the feel-good hormones

Sleeping naked with your partner can increase the connection between you. Skin to skin contact has been found to reduce stress as it releases the hormone oxytocin – one of our favourite feel-good hormones. Additionally, sleeping naked with your partner can improve self-esteem and comfort around each other.

No matter your gender or relationship status, sleeping naked is still good for your emotional well-being. It can also improve your relationship with yourself. Spending time nude helps to improve your body image, self-esteem, and overall feelings of well-being.

Reduce stress and anxiety

Another reason sleeping naked might be a good change is that it could help reduce your overall stress and anxiety. It’s no secret that poor sleep has a major impact on your stress levels.

While stress and anxiety can both cause insomnia, it’s important to remember that improving your sleep quality may help. *DREEM TIP* Incorporate yoga or stretching into your bedtime routine to relieve tension and increase blood flow. 

The Benefits of Better Rest 

If sleeping naked helps you to rest better, your mental and physical health will benefit. Better sleep is associated with:

• Reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other serious health issues
• A stronger immune system
• Clearer thinking and better focus
• Better reasoning and problem-solving
• Better productivity at work
• Reduced risk of depression

Fewer toxins

Deep sleep is particularly important for getting the full cognitive benefits of rest. When you sleep, your brain clears itself of toxic proteins.

Is Sleeping with Underwear on Healthy?

If sleeping naked isn’t for you, choose loose, cotton underwear, as it’s breathable and allows for air exposure. The risk of yeast infections is often increased by inadequate air circulation, commonly due to tight or synthetic underwear. Avoiding tight or ill-fitting underwear while you sleep can contribute to overall better vaginal health.

What About a Bra?

Wearing a soft but supportive bedtime bra to sleep can prevent sagging. Sleep bras shouldn’t be the ones you wear during the day but should still be well-fitting.

Even if you aren’t comfortable sleeping completely naked, reducing the number of layers you wear at night – or even just ditching your bra or underwear – is an easy way to take advantage of these benefits.

When it comes to sleep, the important thing is that you’re taking steps to ensure you’re getting enough sleep.