Our customers very often ask us questions such as: ‘My husband sweats a lot, what type of bed linen do you recommend?’; ‘I’m often too hot under my duvet which makes me sweat, how do I choose bedding that doesn’t make me sweat too much?’; etc.

Do you recognise yourself? Do you or your partner sweat a lot at night? Haven’t you always been informed (or even not informed at all) by shops specialising in this type of issue?

Then you’re in the right place. We thought it would be worthwhile to write an article limiting certain beliefs and giving specific advice on which sheet material and duvet to choose to guarantee a good night’s sleep and feel good in bed.

To give you the best possible guidance, we’re going to take a look at the different elements of your bedding and bed linen that can make you feel too warm. We’ll also give you details of the characteristics of the different bed linen materials. Everything you need to be well informed and make the best choices.

About mattress protector

It is very important to use a mattress protector that is not waterproof (even if it is technically breathable). Choosing a mattress protector that is waterproof and breathable is very relative… By way of comparison, it’s a bit like running a race in a Gore-Tex(R) jacket that’s both waterproof and breathable: at the end of the race, you’re totally soaked because only a tiny fraction of the perspiration passes through the ‘breathable’ membranes. In short… if you use a mattress protector, it’s essential that it’s a totally breathable fleece without any waterproof membrane!

Choose the best material for duvets and pillows

To be avoided at all costs: synthetics! Duvets and pillows with synthetic fillings increase perspiration enormously. It’s a bit like sleeping on plastic with plastic on top, even if the cover is made of natural material (cotton, for example).

When it comes to filling, we recommend pillows and duvets with a natural filling such as down/feather, wool or silk.

It’s also important to choose duvets and pillows with a 100% natural cover, such as cotton (or possibly an artificial cellulose material such as Lyocell (Tencel(R)) or Modal). We recommend cotton!

The adapted type of duvet

Most people use the same duvet all year round, often for budget reasons (a bit like 4-season tyres for the car). However, it’s not ideal for comfort or sweating.

For winter, we recommend investing in a temperate duvet. Note that for our climate, real 100% winter duvets are far too warm. It’s better to choose a warm, temperate duvet if you’re a chilly person, or a light duvet if you tend to feel too hot, even in the middle of winter.

For summer (April/May to September/October), we recommend investing in a light summer duvet. Be aware that even a summer duvet can be too hot in heatwaves or on 30°C nights! In this case, we recommend removing the duvet and sleeping only with the duvet cover or a flat sheet.

Which material for your bed linen?

The material of your bed linen plays a vital role in whether you feel cool or warm at night, and also in whether you have night sweats. The raw material, the type of weave and the quality of the fabric are all factors to consider when buying bed linen. Here are a few explanations of the characteristics of the different Kalani bed linen materials. How do you choose between washed linen, washed cotton gauze, cotton percale, cotton sateen and cotton premium jersey? We can help!

Washed linen is the ideal fabric for warm nights and/or for people who suffer from excessive night sweats. Linen has many intrinsic advantages: it is naturally highly breathable, thermo-regulating (feels cool in summer and warm in winter), anti-bacterial, anti-odour, anti-static and anti-mite.

When it comes to sleeping in natural linen, you either like it or you don’t! Linen is not as soft as cotton. However, Kalani has developed a collection of bed linen in washed linen, meaning that the fabric has undergone a high-temperature industrial pre-wash. As well as stabilising the fabric, this pre-wash gives it an exceptional softness for linen (even if it’s not as soft as cotton).

The only disadvantage of linen is its price… It is a noble raw material produced in very small quantities (80% of the world’s linen is grown in Belgium, Holland and Northern France in the Normandy/Le Touquet/Lille triangle) because very specific climatic conditions are required. Its rarity justifies its price. What’s more, the coveting of this timeless, authentic and chic material since the 2020s has driven up its price to almost double that of organic cotton!

Washed cotton gauze is a versatile fabric that is highly appreciated in the world of furnishings and fashion. Known for its lightness and softness, this textile is made from natural cotton fibres, giving it unique and highly prized properties.

Thanks to its light, airy and breathable texture, cotton gauze is ideal for household linen, summer clothing and baby items. Its open structure (not too tightly woven) allows air to circulate freely through the fabric. This makes it feel cool and comfortable in hot weather, and warm and soft in autumn/winter.

Cotton gauze’s ability to regulate moisture by absorbing sweat makes it an ideal choice for bed linen. Thanks to its natural properties, cotton is soft and non-irritating to the skin. So it’s also an excellent choice for people with sensitive skin or those prone to allergies.

The little extras: from a practical point of view, cotton gauze isn’t too bulky, so it’s easy to store; cotton gauze never needs ironing.

Cotton Percale 300TC is the material of choice for 90% of hotels, which choose it for its resistance to abrasion (so that it doesn’t get damaged when guests put their wheeled suitcases on the bed and when hotels have their sheets washed in industrial laundries at over 90°C with aggressive stain removers).

The tight weave of Cotton Percale is structured with one thread above/one thread below, and so on. This gives the weave of the fabric more rigidity, and therefore a crunchy feel (as if the sheets were starched, even though they’re not) and a feeling of freshness, even on nights when the temperature is over 30°C.

The only disadvantage of cotton percale is that, because of its stiffness/crunch, it crumples badly in the wash and needs ironing. Ironing cotton percale is sometimes a little difficult for the first 10 washes, before the fabric naturally softens with use. Hotels don’t have to worry about this, as the sheets are ironed in laundries using a calender. At home, to minimise the crumpled appearance of cotton Percale and make it easier to iron, it is advisable to wash it with the spin cycle set to 800-900 rpm.

Cotton Sateen 300TC is a very pleasant, soft, luxurious fabric that’s great all year round. What’s more, it’s a very supple fabric, so you don’t have to iron it (and if you do, cotton sateen is easy to iron). It’s warm to the touch, so it’s not recommended if you or your partner tend to get too hot.

Premium Cotton Jersey is an ultra-soft fabric, and clearly warmer. Cotton Jersey sheets are an ideal choice from October to April/May.

Cotton Jersey is known as the modern flannel because it’s warmer, but not too warm thanks to its ultra-breathable nature.

Unlike most flannels, jersey doesn’t lint or pill. It’s also a warmer material, so it’s not recommended if you tend to sweat at night.