Ashley Reid
October 21, 2025
Re-claim Your Sleep - How Natural Fibers Can Help Your Night Sweats
If you’ve been unfortunate enough to experience night sweats, you know that it's much more than just being a bit warm under the sheets.
If you’ve been unfortunate enough to experience night sweats, you know that it's much more than just being a bit warm under the sheets. You wake up drenched, even when the weather is chilly, feeling wrung out and miserable. It’s not a fun time. Women are most prone to night sweats due to hormonal changes. While there's no hard and fast cure, you can get some relief from those pesky night sweats, and benefit in other ways too.
What Causes Night Sweats
One of the realities of being a woman is that our bodies are constantly changing. From our menstruating years, to pregnancy, postpartum to peri/menopause. Our bodies are powerful in the ebb and flow of our hormones. These shifts are part of what makes us who we are. Through these cycles we nurture and sustain life. But some of these shifts can bring on uncomfortable side effects, like night sweats.
What Causes Night Sweats
One of the realities of being a woman is that our bodies are constantly changing. From our menstruating years, to pregnancy, postpartum to peri/menopause. Our bodies are powerful in the ebb and flow of our hormones. These shifts are part of what makes us who we are. Through these cycles we nurture and sustain life. But some of these shifts can bring on uncomfortable side effects, like night sweats.
Hormones aren’t the only factor that can cause this response.
Our environment can play a role in turning up the heat. A humid room, for example, with no air flow or ventilation can cause our body temperature to rise.
Stress pumps up our cortisol and adrenaline, making our bodies warmer in response.
A diet heavy in alcohol or spicy foods can contribute to overheating.
Even our bedding and sleepwear can be culprits — synthetic fabrics or heavy comforters hold in heat, while breathable natural fibers allow your skin to regulate temperature more easily.
At times it feels like relief just will not come. Thankfully, making some simple switches can help in aiding to a comfortable rest.
At times it feels like relief just will not come. Thankfully, making some simple switches can help in aiding to a comfortable rest.
The Wonder of Natural Fibers
Natural bedding can make a remarkable difference for anyone dealing with night sweats. Unlike synthetic fabrics that trap heat and moisture, natural fibers such as cotton, linen, bamboo, and wool are breathable and allow air to circulate freely. They help wick away sweat instead of holding it against the skin, keeping you cooler and drier throughout the night. Which is nothing short of a miracle for someone dealing with the discomfort of waking up drenched.
Choosing natural-fiber sheets, throws, pillows, and even mattress toppers creates a sleep environment that works with your body’s temperature shifts rather than against them. The result is a more comfortable, restful sleep—and fewer 3 a.m. wake-ups to throw off the covers. Not only will natural fibers improve your quality of sleep by working with your body temperature in a regulating manner, but they can help with your body’s healing too.
Sheepskin is believed to be a grounding material due to its natural electrical conductivity, meaning it helps you to absorb all the good free electrons being given up from the Earth, aiding in neutralizing those pesky unstable atoms from your body. By connecting to the Earth in this manner it helps balance your body’s natural charge. This act improves your anxiety and wellbeing, and attributes to a fine tuned circadian rhythm, as well as neutralizing the free-radicals in your body, which can reduce inflammation. This is important, especially during menopause, a decrease in estrogen can lead to chronic inflammation, which can exacerbate those feelings of brain fog, joint aches and pain.
How to Make the Change
Thankfully there are options to choose from when making the switch from synthetic fabrics to natural. Although I encourage everyone, at any stage in life, to make the switch from synthetic to natural fibers, if you’re sweating a lot that change is even more important. Synthetic fabrics often contain petro-based chemicals and PFAs, which act as endocrine disruptors. Sweating makes these chemicals more easily absorbed through your skin and into the bloodstream.
What you wear matters, cotton and silk pajamas are readily available at many retailers these days. Just make sure you read the tag and it indicates 100% pure fiber and not a mix with a synthetic counterpart. I really like Pact, as they offer organic cotton at reasonable prices, and often run sales.
Your bedding is the next big consideration. Since I am all about a multi purpose product, I love a big sheepskin throw on my bed. This sheepskin can be used on your bed, your kid’s room, or living room. If your nightsweats are making it impossible to use any kind of covering, a sheepskin mattress protector is a great choice. You can still get all the benefits of a medical grade sheepskin but without the feeling of being “covered.”
East Perry does a great job at complimenting whatever bedding pieces you may already have. But if you need to switch up your bedding, I always suggest Quince. They are affordable, reputable and versatile. I have had a great experience with their organic cotton sheets, while my best friend loves her European linen duvet. The new buzz of Piglet in Bed and their fun but practical Okeo-Tex certified cotton bedding, is definitely worth checking out as well.
Night sweats may feel out of your control, but your sleep environment isn’t. By surrounding yourself with natural fibers, you create a breathable, grounding, and restorative sanctuary that supports your body’s natural rhythms. With the right bedding, you don’t just survive the night—you reclaim it.
