Have you recently searched for information about a cooling blanket? If so, you are likely experiencing overheating at night and disrupted sleep.
Understanding how cooling blankets work can help you find relief, address overheating, and get a good night’s sleep.
What’s a Cooling Blanket? The Short Answer
A cooling blanket helps regulate your body temperature and prevent overheating while you sleep.
Constructed from materials known for breathability, moisture-wicking, and high thermal conductivity, the blanket is designed to keep you comfortable throughout the night by helping your body maintain an optimal sleep temperature.
How Cooling Blankets Work (The Science Explained)
How does a cooling blanket work to reduce heat during the night? It’s all in the design. The best cooling blanket will have these features:
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Use moisture-wicking fabrics such as bamboo, Tencel, or synthetic blends that pull sweat away from the body.
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Textiles that excel at heat dissipation: Efficiently moving heat away from the body, some fabrics outperform traditional fabrics like cotton or wool and feel cool to the touch, providing immediate relief.
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Breathability: Hot sleepers’ bedding is usually most effective when it allows heat to escape rather than trapping it beneath the bedding, keeping your body cool and comfortable.
The Science of Thermodynamics
The main science behind cooling blankets is conduction. This is the process by which heat transfers from a warmer object, our body, to a cooler one, the blanket.
How does a cooling blanket work, based on its design?
Materials are selected for their high thermal conductivity, such as bamboo fibers. These specially designed fabrics absorb body heat quickly and transfer it away from your skin into the fabric’s structure.
Cool-to-the-touch fabrics are made from high-density synthetic fibers with high surface area and specific heat capacity, designed to dissipate heat from the skin more quickly than other fabrics.
Moisture-wicking is another consideration in the manufacturing process. The structure of the fibers in a cooling blanket is designed to use capillary action. This draws sweat away from your skin and spreads it across a larger surface area, the blanket’s surface.
Evaporation is the next important feature because once sweat is evenly distributed across the fabric’s surface, it evaporates, further cooling the blanket’s surface.
Finally, airflow and convection occur through the direct transfer of heat from your body to the fabric. The blanket then releases heat into the surrounding air, keeping you cool beneath it.
Do Cooling Blankets Work for Better Sleep?
Cooling blankets can help with sleep disturbances, especially for specific issues like:
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Those who wake up hot during the night
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Are post-menopausal and dealing with hot flashes
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Sleep with a partner who generates a lot of heat
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Live in a warm climate
How does a cooling blanket work to solve these issues? Breathable fabrics that wick moisture away from your skin allow heat to dissipate more quickly and keep the blanket cool to the touch.
Among all the ways to stay cool at night, a cooling blanket is your most effective solution for improving sleep comfort and preventing nighttime wake-ups.
Temperature Regulation & Sleep and Why It Matters
One of the most overlooked factors influencing a good night’s sleep is temperature regulation and its effect on sleep quality.
Sleep begins hours before you actually go to bed. Your brain starts by lowering your core body temperature, signaling that it’s time to sleep. All of this is based on a 24-hour cycle called your circadian rhythm.
As we enter the evening hours, several changes prepare our bodies for sleep. Melatonin levels begin to rise, core body temperature falls, blood vessels in your hands and feet widen to release heat, and sleepiness increases.
Researchers have discovered that the ease of falling asleep is greatest when your core temperature is dropping most rapidly.
What are the effects of being too hot during this process?
As your body struggles to remove heat buildup, this is what happens:
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You struggle to fall asleep
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Wake more during the night
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Experience less deep and REM sleep
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Wake up feeling tired
Women who are pre- and postmenopausal notice this a lot because hormonal changes also disrupt sleep by interfering with the body’s temperature regulation. This disruption makes it harder to stay cool during the night.
Sleep scientists now understand that thermoregulation, our bodies’ ability to manage heat, is connected to the same brain systems responsible for sleep regulation. Temperature has now been shown to be an integral part of how sleep is controlled and of sleep quality.
How to Use a Cooling Blanket
1. Use as your top layer: The most effective way to maximize the benefits of a cooling blanket is to use it as your top layer during warmer months or to place it directly over a lightweight sheet.
Thick comforters or heavy quilts trap heat, reducing the cooling blanket's effectiveness at regulating your body temperature.
2. Pair your blanket with a cool room: The best sleeping environment is achieved by adjusting your bedroom temperature to between 60°F and 67°F. This temperature allows your body to lower its core temperature in preparation for sleep.
3. Use breathable bedding: Pair a cooling blanket with breathable bedding made from cotton, bamboo, Tencel, or linen. These fabrics wick away moisture from the skin and help dissipate heat during the night.
4. Follow cleaning instructions: Always follow the manufacturer’s care instructions to preserve the temperature-regulating fibers and their moisture-wicking abilities.
A cooling blanket can be especially helpful for women experiencing hot flashes and night sweats. It can improve sleep quality by reducing heat buildup around the body, promoting better airflow, and providing a more comfortable sleep environment overall.
Hot Sleepers Bedding: What Actually Helps
Hot sleepers should focus on the entire sleep environment to reduce sleep disruptions. Follow these guidelines:
1. Sheets: Choose lightweight, breathable fabrics.
2. Use a cooling blanket as the top layer.
3. Evaluate your mattress and mattress topper. Memory foam can trap heat. If your mattress sleeps hot, choose a cooling topper made from breathable materials to improve airflow and reduce heat retention.
4. Choose the right pillow: Your head releases a lot of heat at night, so make sure your pillow is made with breathable fillers, ventilated foam, latex, or cooling fibers to prevent overheating.
5. Layer correctly: Use a lightweight sheet, a cooling blanket, the right pillow, and keep the room cooler. Avoid adding extra layers that trap heat.
Choosing the Best Cooling Blanket
Always consider your entire sleep environment. A cooling blanket will be hard-pressed to work if you have flannel sheets, a heat-retaining mattress or topper, and a warm bedroom.
Set up the right system as we discussed earlier, then look for these qualities when choosing the best cooling blanket:
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Check the material for breathability and moisture-wicking properties
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Choose the right weight for your needs. Lightweight means maximum airflow, and added weight shouldn’t cause heat buildup
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Evaluate for maximum moisture-wicking ability
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Look for maximum breathability for good airflow.
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Choose the right blanket for your climate
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Follow customer care instructions
How YANA Helps You Improve Deep Sleep
Yana Sleep products are designed to improve your sleep and provide the comfort you need to stay asleep.
Our new product, the Yana Cooling Sleep Blanket, is another example of how we use innovation to maximize deep sleep.
Our blanket is available in white and charcoal grey and has all the characteristics needed for optimal cooling.
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Made with 100% bamboo Lyocell fabric for an ultra-soft, silky-smooth feel that’s gentle on the skin and naturally breathable.
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Engineered to dissipate heat and keep you cool and comfortable all night long.
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Lightweight for year-round use without the bulk. Airy and breathable.
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Premium bamboo with a down-alternative fill that combines plushness with easy-care durability, unlike traditional down products.
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Washable and easy to maintain.
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Promotes airflow to reduce overheating and night sweats, maximizing breathability.
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OEKO-TEX Standard 100% certified. Tested for harmful substances to ensure safer, skin-friendly comfort.
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The perfect size at 80 x 60 inches for lounging, sleeping, couch cuddling, or layering on a bed.
To design the perfect sleep space, consider adding one of our complementary products to enhance your sleep environment.
The Yana 360° Full-body pillow: Your best sleep starts with perfect spinal alignment. Our unique design supports your head, neck, shoulders, belly, and hips, helping keep your spine aligned for a pain-free, comfortable sleeping position all night long.
The Yana Side Sleeper pillow also provides much-needed spinal alignment during sleep and is designed specifically for side and back sleepers.
The Yana Weighted Aromatherapy Eye Mask is another great addition that helps prepare the body for the deep relaxation needed to induce sleep.
It comes with a cotton-infused satin cover and can be heated or cooled for maximum comfort. It is infused with lavender aromatherapy to enhance sleep-inducing effects and reduce eye puffiness.
Yana Sleep offers the right products to tackle any sleep issues. Deep, uninterrupted, restorative sleep is what Yana is all about.
Our new cooling blanket, specialized body pillows, and accessories will keep you comfortable all night long.
Safe and free from harmful chemicals, Yana has you covered. Shop our line of premium sleep products today!