If you're concerned about the quality of your sleep, consider upgrading your bedtime experience with some dreamy — and beneficial — silk bedding.

It’s common knowledge that a good night’s sleep is vitally important to our overall well-being. As consumers become more attuned to what they can do to improve their sleep habits, they’re increasingly turning towards luxury bedding.

High on the list is silk. The precious fabric, largely manufactured in the same way for millennia, is considered a premium material for bedding. It takes the work — and sacrifice — of 3,000 silkworms just to make one yard of silk. No wonder silk bedding is considered a luxury item!

Let’s take a look at the types and benefits of silk bedding, and whether it’s worth upgrading your sleep experience to silk.

What is Silk Bedding?

The idea of sleeping on silk sheets has always had a luxurious ring to it, but silk bedding goes well beyond bed sheets. Silk is also used in mattress protectors, pillow protectors and silk-filled comforters and pillows. Instead of investing in sheet sets, some people choose to just use a silk pillowcase, which is popular as a stand-alone silk bedding item.

Benefits of Silk Bedding

Silk Is a Natural Product

Being a natural fiber, silk is far more breathable than synthetic ones. Most of the benefits we’ll be discussing beyond this point are related to this property. Natural fibers tend to have a more luxurious feel and bounce. This bouncing property is present in all-natural fibers like silk and wool. The material’s unique, three-dimensional crimp makes it resilient, which helps the fibers behave similar to tiny springs, allowing you to sleep peacefully. This is why natural fibers like silk are a good choice for a more organic lifestyle.

Helps Prevent Overheating

This is one of the most important advantages of the silk bedding. When sleeping under traditional bedding, your body heat and sweat get trapped under the covers. With silk bedding, it’s efficiently vented away due to its breathability.

During sleep, the duvet becoming over warm thanks to trapped heat is a common issue. Silk wicks moisture and heat away twice as fast as cotton, even though cotton can reduce the humidity present in your bed by up to 50%.

A silk duvet cover also ensures that there’ll be no static electricity or heat conductivity, making it the perfect choice for solo sleepers as well as partnered ones. This means silk can keep your body at the perfect temperature even on the hottest of nights or retain heat if it gets too cold. The result is a good night’s sleep and waking up feeling fresh.

Gives Unmatched Comfort

One of the most important benefits of any bedding is to give you sound sleep. Silk duvets provide unparalleled comfort, and their light and airy feeling help you sleep soundly. This type of bedding tends to wrap around your body without feeling heavy.

Reduces Allergies

Silk has many health benefits for allergy sufferers, like letting you breathe easier at night. Common dust mite-related allergies, such as asthma and sneezing fits, are caused by the mites’ droppings. When you inhale the enzymes released from these droppings, the allergic reaction begins. Silk is a naturally hypoallergenic fabric. Therefore, allergies can be reduced by the removal of extra moisture as this prevents allergens like dust mites from living in your bed.

Additionally, many people have allergies to cotton or other cheap materials whereas very few people have reported an allergy to silk. Thus, you’ll never wake up sneezing or coughing when sleeping under silk bedding.

Helps in Joint Disorders

As mentioned earlier, silk bedding and duvets tend to drape around your body, molding around it, which eliminates single points of pressure. Traditional bedding doesn’t; instead, it forms a heavier barrier that can cause pain and even irritation. Eliminating single points of pressure is the simplest way to increase your comfort and the quality of sleep.

Decreases Chemical Exposure

We’re exposed to various chemicals all day. Cotton is usually treated with various harsh chemicals to make it resistant to wrinkles and fire. Hence, when sleeping under cotton bedding, these tend to rub against your skin. You also breathe them all night long.

Pure silk bedding reduces your exposure to dangerous chemicals that may be used in other kinds of bedding. It isn’t treated with chemicals as doing so would ruin the fabric’s soft, smooth texture. Silk is naturally wrinkle-free and fire-resistant, so you’re protected against exposure to many of these chemicals.

Aids in Soothing Sore Skin

Silk soothes sore skin by being extremely soft. If you have a rash or sunburn and sleep on silk bedding, the fabric glides over these sore areas. Cotton bedding, on the other hand, catches on uneven and broken skin which can irritate it further. Silk doesn’t chafe and the rash or sunburn has a better chance of healing faster.

For relief from shingles, dry skin, and eczema, using silk bedding is a good idea. Not only does silk create much less pressure on your body than cotton, but its tightly-woven sheets allow easier movement and less resistance. As mentioned earlier, this fabric eliminates points of contact and drapes over your entire body.

The amino acids in silk also help reabsorb moisture naturally. This helps rejuvenate skin and is greatly beneficial for people with skin diseases like eczema.

Improves Your Complexion and Hair

Silk’s smooth and sumptuous texture doesn’t just help improve sore skin but your overall complexion. Since it’s so smooth, it reduces the friction caused by skin, resulting in it looking even and clear.

Buying Silk Bedding

All silk sheets are definitely not the same. There are a number of different factors that can influence the overall feel, breathability, and durability of a set of silk sheets. To help you select the best silk sheets for your bed, some of these key considerations are detailed below.

Silk Type

One of the first decisions to make before purchasing a set of silk sheets is the desired silk type. The following are the six main types of silk that are commonly used for silk sheets.

• Mulberry silk has the most consistent look compared with the other types of silk. It is made from the silk of Bombyx mori silkworms that feed on mulberry leaves. The silkworms’ cocoons are unwound into a single continuous thread after boiling. Each thread is about two-thirds of a mile long. Because of its uniform look, mulberry silk also is more expensive than the other types.
• Tussah is wild silk harvested after the adult moths break through their cocoon. Tussah silk’s fibers are a bit shorter than some other types of silk. Tussah silkworms are less delicate than mulberry silkworms, which results in a cocoon with coarser silk strands; the coarser silk strands of the cocoon produce slightly rougher silk. The Tussah silkworms feed on oak leaves and juniper leaves.
• Eri silk, like Tussah silk, is wild silk harvested after the moths break through their cocoons, leading to shorter fibers. The castor plant is the primary food source of the Eri silkworms.
• Mugasilk has a coarser feel than some other silk types. It is another type of wild silk, so the strands are shorter from the moths emerging from the cocoons.
• Dupion silk comes from double cocoons resulting from two silkworms spinning a cocoon together. Only about 5 percent of mulberry cocoons are double cocoons that will produce dupion silk. The double strands can give the silk a more inconsistent look, but they also make it more durable than other types of silk.
• Blendedsilk is a mix of pure silk with another material. In order to be considered blended silk, the fabric must contain at least 50 percent pure silk. Lyocell and polyester are commonly used to create blended silk, as these materials are also very soft and absorbent. The blend results in a soft and smooth fabric that is less expensive than pure silk.

Momme

Momme is the unit of measurement used to communicate the weight of silk sheets. Measured in pounds, the momme refers to the weight of a silk fabric that is 45 inches wide and 100 yards long. Momme can range from 6 to 30.

When purchasing silk sheets, a weight between about 19 and 25 momme is typically recommended. Sheets with a momme in this range will be durable enough to resist tearing while still offering enough breathability to keep bodies cool as they sleep. The higher the momme, the thicker the sheets and the less breathable they will be.

Momme is not the same as thread count, but it is similar. Thread count refers to how many threads or strands of fabric are found in a square inch of fabric. So, like thread count, momme can help users understand how light or heavy a sheet will be.

Weave

Silk sheets may feature different weave patterns as well. The two main weaves used for silk sheets include charmeuse weave and habotai weave.

• Charmeuse weave is the most common weave used when manufacturing silk sheets. Heavy and tight, a charmeuse weave is woven in a special way that creates a shiny top with a duller underside. Charmeuse weaves typically have a momme between 12 and 30.
• Habotai weave generally has a weight between 12 and 16 momme, making it a lighter weight weave, which means it generally won’t last as long as a charmeuse weave. As a plain weave, the surface of sheets with a habotai weave is also not as smooth as the surface of sheets with a charmeuse weave.

Care

Finally, consider how easy it will be to clean and care for a new set of silk sheets. Silk sheets are often a bit of an investment, so pay close attention to the manufacturer’s recommendations for caring for the sheets. We recommend hand-washing with cold water and air-drying to make sure the silk fibers are protected.

A good night’s rest is essential for the human body to function healthily. By reducing skin irritation, dust mite and allergen growth, and disturbances in heat regulation, silk bedding definitely prepares your bed for your best sleep.