What Sleepwear to Choose for Each Season
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of comfort. It may be the most crucial detail of all when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep. Think about how much you’re affected when something doesn’t feel quite right—like when your pajamas are too short, or your top doesn’t keep you cool or warm enough. Those little details can have a huge impact on your ability to get quality sleep, which in turn can make it challenging to get through the day.
The secret isn’t quite so secret after all, however. It all comes down to selecting the right sleepwear for the season. Some fabrics are destined to keep you toasty through the final months of the year, while crisp, light and airy materials are just right for seeing you through spring and summer. Here’s a breakdown of the best women’s pajamas to wear from one season to the next.
Cold-Weather Pajamas
Curling up by the fireplace. Watching your favorite holiday movie with your loved ones. Sipping a mug full of hot cocoa piled high with marshmallows. Wearing your toastiest fleece pajamas through it all. It’s the little things that make fall and winter so much more tolerable. And why is fleece the go-to fabric? In one word: warmth.
Fleece locks in body heat, helping you stay toasty when it matters the most. It’s essentially an insulating fabric, but it’s not so heavy that you’ll feel overwhelmed by its volume or fabric content. Its lightweight nature makes it especially wearable, and you never have to worry about itchy skin.
Another option for combatting the cool and staying cozy indoors is a pair of flannel pajamas. Gently brushed on the inside and outside, flannel also traps body heat, so you stay warm when temperatures take a dive. Studies have even found that wearing flannel may help you fall asleep faster.
What’s best about fleece and flannel pajamas is that they’re available in a wide array of festive patterns. If you want to go all out for the holidays, you’ll find fun patterns for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas. Turkeys? Piles of presents? Classic Fair Isle? Find them all in an array of rich colors, including red, green, purple, navy, and deep pink. Long sleeves and pants that are long enough to cover the length of your leg make it easy to handle brisk nights with ease.
Warm-Weather Pajamas
It’s best to wear lightweight fabrics that breathe when it’s warm outside. Whether you tend to feel warm most of the time or don’t want to wake up feeling sticky and uncomfortable, a breathable fabric like linen or cotton will help you feel your best throughout the night. On especially hot evenings, a nightgown offers a pretty option that is light and airy. Nightgowns promote adequate air circulation, preventing you from perspiring and helping you feel your best through the night.
For a superior touch, try Supima cotton. It’s the cream of the crop—a rare material that accounts for a mere 3% of all of the cotton harvested in the United States. What makes it so special? Maybe the fact that it’s made with longer than average fibers, lending it greater durability and softness. You may even notice that your Supima pajamas become softer the more you wash them. From robes to nightgowns, this is nightwear that will help you drift off to a deeper sleep while helping you stay cool and comfortable no matter how warm it may feel.
Look to the cuts of your pajamas, too. Cropped women’s pajama pants are breezy and carefree, with a shorter length that keeps you even cooler when it means the most. Many styles are so versatile that you can also wear them while lounging around the house or even when popping out to pick up the mail or walk the dog around the neighborhood.
A-line nightgowns are perfect in a way that is not just forgiving, but also completely relaxed. That type of silhouette makes all the difference, preventing materials from clinging to your skin and causing unnecessary discomfort. You might even choose to wear a pair of shorts with a matching T-shirt to stay as cool as possible. Look for styles made with soft cotton; they’re breathable and easy to wear all day long, something you’ll appreciate if you’re spending a lazy and well-deserved weekend at home.
No matter what you select, focus on fit and fabric before anything else. A little extra wiggle room is usually best since restrictive fits can take away from your comfort when you’re trying to sleep. Avoid anything too oversized, as the excess material could prove distracting. Then think about the fabrics, which have a dramatic effect on how you feel. From cotton to flannel to fleece, these are the materials that help you feel your best—so you can enjoy a good night’s sleep every night of the year.