Sleep naked in winter - Harper's BAZAAR online

There are not many hills upon which I am willing to die, but this is one of them: in winter, you're warmer when you sleep naked.

I have faced many opponents in this battle against pyjamas, my indisputable defense being: "But I read it somewhere!" However, I have recently encountered a more stubborn adversary, whose claims of "That's ridiculous" have now reached a level of verbal all-caps that I can still hear ringing in my ears as I type.

So this morning, I whipped out my phone to look for this article that I swear I once read and shove it in his face.

But it turns out that no one backs me up here (the first line of the first article I opened was "Sleeping naked keeps you warmer? That's ridiculous"). There was one woman on Reddit who posted that she's warmer when she sleeps naked, but even she wasn't so sure, qualifying her statement with "but that might just be me". Stand your ground, Martha!

There may be little data (actually, none at all) to support Martha and I in our two-person naked army, but anecdotal evidence counts for something! (Welcome to the second hill upon which I am willing to die: if something works for you, it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else.)

So it turns out that article I thought I read doesn't exist, or it was peer-reviewed into the trash, but I did find some interesting facts about sleeping naked. The benefits are myriad-fold, and they all amount to naked sleepers being more successful in life than the pyjama-clad. One article published on Forbes even claims that sleeping naked can help you make more money.

Let's strip off and dive in.

BETTER SLEEP QUALITY

We all know the importance of a deep sleep and the repercussions a restless night can have on us the next day. Without proper sleep, the brain can't remove toxic proteins from its neurons, so they linger in your brain and eventually cloud your ability to think clearly, problem solve, or be creative.

The reason ditching the PJs improves your sleep is that (and I hate to admit this), being naked lowers your skin temperature, which in turn increases the depth and quality of your sleep.

CLEAR SKIN AND ANTI-AGEING

If you're a sufferer of body acne, ditching the bed clothes could help to clear your skin.

While you toss and turn and get tangled up in your flannel or silks, the friction of the fabric on your skin can irritate your pores and trap oil and debris, especially if it's been a long time between laundry loads. Some experts have also posited that being too warm in your pyjamas disrupts anti-ageing hormones and growth hormones that keep you looking young and fresh.

REDUCES STRESS

Stress is a common side-effect of poor sleep, one that quickly starts to affect other areas of your health due to irregular cortisol levels: your immune system becomes vulnerable, your risk of heart disease and depression can increase and your cognitive performance can suffer.

Resting properly helps those cortisol levels regulate themselves more effectively, so you're better able to handle Today's Stressful Thing(s).

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

This is again linked to poor sleep. Several studies have found a link between insufficient sleep and obesity. Basically, not enough rest wreaks havoc on the brain's ability to regulate appetite and energy levels. Our reward system short-circuits, increasing our cravings for junk food while also lowering our motivation to work it off.

Another study found that sleeping naked speeds up your metabolism because the body creates more brown fat to—ready?—keep you warm. Brown fat creates this heat by burning calories, which boots your metabolism during the day and can help you lose weight.

GET RICH QUICK

So how does sleeping naked make you rich? According to that Forbes article, sleeping naked also boosts your confidence, which means you're more willing to take on new challenges, while the lack of stress means you can stand strong in the face of adversity. You're better slept, so you are thinking more clearly and are better equipped to make important decisions, and you have the energy to take on new tasks.

All up, that makes you a better candidate for job promotions and more likely to ask for a raise (and deserve it).

Sleeping naked may not scientifically keep you warmer, but if you can make so many life improvements while being completely unconscious, surely it's worth a little chill.

I think Martha and I can chalk this up to a win.

This story originally appeared on harpersbazaar.com.au in July 2020.