Is Sleeping Naked Good for You?
Everyone agrees that getting good sleep is essential to proper body function, reduced stress, and increased efficiency at work and life. However, if you ask for how to achieve this “good sleep,” you are in for a significantly more complicated answer.
There is no shortage of sleeping strategies that all tout themselves as the one, with everything from grandma recommendations to conflicting research studies entering the foray.
However, what if all you needed to do to improve your sleep immediately was to lose the nighties?
In one survey by Mattress Advisor, almost 65% of the respondents who were millennials reported sleeping in the buff compared to under 35% for the general population, with the nude sleepers citing the fact that it made for a more comfortable and relaxing sleep.
Are young people onto something consequential that the rest of the population is slow to pick up on? Does sleeping in the buff enhance your health and sleeping experience?
Is Sleeping Naked Good for You: 8 Benefits
Short answer? Yes.
One primary reason why sleeping in the buff is excellent for you boils down to its crucial effect on body temperature, and consequently, our circadian rhythms and body clock.
Keeping our bodies at its optimal temperature is critical to proper body function, and minor changes in temperature can significantly impact central body systems. Hence, the brain expends considerable amounts of energy in a bid to keep your body at around 98.6°F throughout the day.
However, when it is around nighttime, in response to the release of melatonin, the sleep hormone, your drops by a few degrees, and continues to taper even while you sleep.
This drop in temperature is essential to getting a good night’s sleep as it is one primary parameter your body clock keys into to regulate your sleep-wake cycle.
However, these mechanisms that regulate your body temperature also responds to external stimuli from your surrounding environment. Here, how warm your room is or how much clothing you have on can have a dramatic impact.
Consequently, the National Sleep Foundation recommends that sleepers set their room to a chilly 60–67°F to improve their chances of getting better sleep. Losing the pajamas presents a possibly even faster way to achieve that effect.
Sleeping naked can help your body cool down faster, stay cool through the night, and as a result, can help you fall asleep faster and lead to improved sleep.
The quality of your sleep is a critical factor that can affect their well-being, general health, and life satisfaction. Consequently, sleeping in the buff and hence improving your sleep can positively impact your health, mental performance, memory, and energy levels during the day.
Note: For people who are uncomfortable with sleeping entirely nude, you can opt instead for loose-fitting breathable and lightweight pajamas. To get the best possible experience, stick to natural fabrics like bamboo, flannel, and silk.
However, you should consider steering clear of cotton, as while it can make for some of the comfiest lightweight materials, it is terrible at wicking moisture.
On the flip side, consistently getting inadequate sleep can significantly increase your risk factor for acute or chronic illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, as well as sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea.
Hence, while sleeping naked may seem like a small inconsequential change at first glance, it has the potential to create considerable value to your health and well-being.
However, the potential benefits of sleeping in the nude do not end there. Other possible gains include:
1. Enhanced Genital Health
Besides its ability to foster better sleep, one of the primary motivations for many who sleep in the buff is the impact the practice has on the genitalia. One session of naked sleeping is enough to convince you of how much more comfort you gain in your groin area.
However, keeping things loose down there helps with more than just comfiness. Sleeping nude can also significantly reduce your risks of contracting genital infection, especially in women.
The warm, moist environment of the vagina creates an ideal breeding ground for infections like yeast, especially when you smother it with tight underwear that traps moisture. While such clothing may be unavoidable during the day, sleeping naked at night gives your genitals ample time to breathe, releasing moisture, and reducing the risk of bacteria or fungal growth.
2. Improved Fertility in Men
Furthermore, in men, going commando can also help to reduce the risk of fertility issues.
In one 2018 study, researchers, from a sample size of 656 men, found that respondents who wore boxers regularly posted a higher sperm concentration and total count as well as lower FSH levels compared to those who wore briefs.
Consequently, the researchers inferred that loose-fitting underwear like boxers might be responsible for the increased function of the testicles, as they help to keep them more relaxed. With tighter underwear, the increased scrotal temperature may impair fertility.
Hence, sleeping may provide considerable boosts to sperm production and fertility as it helps to keep the testicles cool through the night.
3. Better Relationships
Losing those night clothes may also be the boost your relationship needs. For people who are married or living with a partner, sleeping naked promotes increased skin-on-skin contact, which can significantly increase the likelihood of a more active sex life, a closer bond, and a healthier relationship.
Plus, the fact that more skin-to-skin contact enhances your relationship has some scientific backing. According to one 2015 review of the leading research on the subject, skin-to-skin contact results in the release of oxytocin, a neurotransmitter that fosters bonding between individuals and reinforces positive connections and feelings.
Furthermore, other possible effects of oxytocin release include a boost of social interaction between both parties, increased overall state of well-being, and stress reduction—all factors that help connect couples further.
4. Improved Sleep in Menopausal Women
Menopause brings a cascade of physical, psychological, and hormonal change in women, with symptoms that can range widely from person to person. However, one common problem that many women aged 50+ face is hot flashes that occur due to fluctuating levels of estrogen.
Hot flashes occur as abrupt changes in body temperature all over the body that causes profuse sweating. These episodes often last for around three minutes and may interrupt sleep and lead to reduced sleep quality.
In addition to sleeping in a cooler room, one effective way for menopausal women to mitigate these symptoms and ensure more restful sleep is to sleep in the nude.
5. Confidence Boosts
Several indications point to the fact that sleeping in the nude can indirectly result in increased confidence and help boost your self-esteem.
In Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Author Travis Bradberry explains that sleeping in the buff makes you more attuned to your body and comfortable in your skin, which often translates to increased confidence in all aspects of life.
Most people are rarely ever naked, except for when they are in the bathroom. This state of being clothed all day, every day, can decrease our familiarity and confidence in our body as we rarely ever see ourselves in full glory.
Hence, since sleeping naked results in more time viewing our naked bodies, it could lead to an improved body image, which can have dramatic positive effects on confidence and self-esteem.
One 2018 research paper throws some weight behind this claim, suggesting that participation in naturist activities may result in improved life satisfaction due to its positive impacts on body image and self-esteem.
6. Waking up Active
With a boost in your self-esteem and confidence comes the possibility of having more positive mornings. People who feel good about themselves are often more likely to fight those dreary mornings and start the day on a high note.
Plus, if you wake up naked, the chances are that you are less likely to lounge around your home and are more likely to jump in the shower and get the day started.
7. Improved Skin
May skin problems stem from dirt clogging the pores and creating spots, blackheads, and other skin conditions. Hence, giving your skin space to breathe by sleeping in the nude can help reduce the chances of skin pore blockages and lead to healthier, smoother skin.
8. Reduce Cooling Costs
For people in the Sun Belt, sleeping during the summertime can be quite unbearable. To make things work, you typically have to crank up the air conditioners, and if you don’t have air conditioning, you are in for a wild ride.
In such conditions, sleeping naked can significantly ease discomfort as it helps keep your body cooler.
Plus, since you don’t need as much air conditioning when you are in the nude, sleeping this way can help cut down on electricity costs, and it is significantly more environmentally friendly.
