5 Ways To Get a Better Night’s Sleep By Fixing Your Bedding

It’s no secret that getting a good night’s sleep is important to your overall health. In fact, getting quality sleep allows your mind and body to repair overnight, and without it, your brain and body cannot function properly.

Yet many of us struggle to get quality sleep. And while you’ve probably heard about using blackout curtains, having an evening routine, and limiting cell phone usage, one important thing people aren’t talking about is how your sheets impact your sleep quality.

As it turns out, your bed sheets and pillow cases could be the reason you’re not refreshed when you wake up each morning. And surprisingly, this has little to do with a higher thread count.

Here are 5 ways to get a better night’s sleep, simply by fixing your bed sheets.

THREAD COUNT ISN’T AS IMPORTANT AS YOU THINK

Everyone talks about having a high thread count as a mark of the quality of your sheets. But while thread count can mean softer sheets, the experts state that anything over 400 is a manipulation of fabric or thread. If the package states a count higher than 400, those sheets have been treated with a synthetic finish, which, unfortunately, will wear away and leave you with a low-grade sheet.

Instead, look for a 400 count sheet and you will have a quality sheet that feels soft to the touch.

BED SHEET MATERIALS MATTER

If your sheets are made of a synthetic - polyester or a polyester blend - it will trap heat, leaving you hot and sweaty. Instead, choose a pima cotton or an Egyptian cotton that is breathable, soft, and resilient.

WASH NEW SHEETS BEFORE USING THEM

It is important to always wash your sheets when you first remove them from their packaging. In fact, some sources recommend washing them twice, to eliminate the chemical treatments applied to sheets - toxins that can cause skin irritation and other health issues if not washed off.

Even “organic” sheets can be treated with bleach, dyes, optical brighteners, biocides,  stabilizers, emulsifiers, and other chemicals - so be sure to always wash new sheets as soon as you get them.

WASH YOUR SHEETS WEEKLY

Did you know after one week, your pillow cases can harbor 17,000 more bacteria than your toilet seat?

Gross, we know, and that doesn’t include the skin cells, sweat, and other body excretions that end up on your sheets, causing a breeding ground for more bacteria and blocking the airflow through your bedding. This not only raises your body temp and disrupts your sleep, but can cause skin irritations and infections.

This is why at OrangeBag, we recommend washing your sheets once a week. Sleeping on clean sheets feels amazing and will help you get a better night’s sleep.

CHOOSE YOUR DETERGENT CAREFULLY

It turns out, what you wash your sheets in could be even more important than the actual textile itself.

While you may think that all laundry detergent is created equal, it is not. There are many toxic chemicals used in conventional laundry detergent - from fragrances to cancer-causing agents. 

And while you would think that laundry would be designed to wash off the detergent and simply those toxic chemicals down the drain, these toxic detergents are intentionally made to stick to fabrics. This is why clothing washed with commercial detergents smells “clean.” Then, when you wear your clothes and sweat, these chemicals break down and are being absorbed through your skin. 

Instead, opting for a “free and clear”, toxin-free detergent like we do at OrangeBag, is a smart investment. Your sheets will not only smell cleaner without the chemical scent conventional detergents have, but you will sleep better without the chemicals impacting your health as you sleep.

A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

As you can see, getting a good night’s sleep could be as simple as fixing your bed sheets and keeping them clean. And while it may be tempting to put off washing your sheets (who likes making their bed?!), it’s a habit worth implementing.

This is one of the reasons OrangeBag exists. We are committed to helping our clients optimize their time and helping people and the planet be healthier by eliminating toxins. 

Knowing that all you have to do is take your sheets off your bed and magically have them returned to you cleaned and folded the next day, eliminates the hassle and worries about “having to do laundry”. And it can be the difference between waking up rested and rejuvenated or not.

Let OrangeBag help you keep your sheets and other laundry clean. Find out how and you’ll be feeling like sleeping beauty in no time!