How to sleep in the heat

Hot nights and cool wool

Warm evenings, cold nights, young kids (both human and goat), young business, big hopes, little knowledge. Poor sleep. So began our first summer with The Wool Company.

As the summer continued we noticed to our surprise a sudden rush to buy our wool blankets. We were delighted but flummoxed, so we called our customers and asked them why? Without exception they said they were too hot and sweaty under their duvets. Everyone we asked thought they would sleep better under one or two wool blankets. Eureka!  Ever since, we have always kept a good summer stock of wool blankets for poor sleepers.

We looked into it further and found that for sure this was a thing. 

Why buy wool blankets in summertime?

Heady summer days and long hot evenings come with a price; hot, sweaty nights, that leave you twisting and turning, kicking off the covers only to wake up, chilled, in the early hours.

That’s because most duvets are made from plastic/petrochemical fibres (or down) and become hot and sweaty as the temperature level rises, leading to more wakefulness and less restful sleep.

Other than our pure wool duvets which are different of course, the not-so-secret secret of sleeping well in hot weather is wool blankets because wool keeps you in your "thermal comfort zone" better than any other fibre.

When we sleep under, over, on, or in wool, the heart rate actually lowers: we enjoy a more restful night’s sleep and wake the next morning refreshed. Bouncy.

This is due to wool’s extraordinary thermoregulatory powers that make it the perfect textile for hot sticky nights.

Our bodies keep cool by releasing moisture onto through the skin which by then evaporating, cools us. 

Wool acts like an extension to our skin, increasing the cooling effect by absorbing water vapour, yet still magically feeling dry.

It’s normal to lose around half a litre of moisture even on a cold night, but because highly breathable wool wicks away so much water vapour our skin, it cools us down, keeps us dry, not sticky. And asleep! For those nights when we want to cocoon ourselves under a cover just to feel secure and it’s too hot for a duvet, a natural wool blanket is perfect. 

Science backs sleeping with wool

If you’re interested in the science, the key findings of the latest research study by the University of Sydney were:


• Sleeping in wool resulted in less total wake time for poor sleepers after sleep began

• Sleeping in wool resulted in less fragmented sleep compared to  other fabrics, especially between wool and polyester sleepwear

• Wool reduced the time taken to get to sleep compared with sleeping in cotton and polyester for older participants aged 65 or more
• Overall, wool performed better than cotton and polyester. 

Cellular Best Seller 

Sometimes there’s just no improving on perfection. Our best-selling Wool Cellular Blanket is traditional yet outperforms all modern so-called ‘technical fibres’. 

These British-made Pure New Wool Blankets have been manufactured in Bradford by A W Hainsworth since 1828, so you can expect yours to last a lifetime. The cellular structure traps enough warm air within the knit but still breathes, preventing you from overheating. Being also very light in weight and trimmed with softest satin, we think you’ll sleep like a baby. 

Make mine a merino  

We use the finest Australian merino lambswool for our ultra-fine, light as a feather, smooth as silk merino wool blankets. The wool fibre itself is naturally long, which creates a strong, soft yarn, that’s long-lasting and drapes so elegantly over the bed that you’ll want to insta it immediately. Our range also includes the best of British (woven in Yorkshire), Italian, and French superfine merino lambswool. We recommend the Lightweight Merino Blanket from John Atkinson for summer months or if you live in warmer climates. All their blankets are manufactured from raw wool to the hand-finished product at the mill in West Yorkshire. 

Secret cashmere

When only the finest will do, our cashmere blankets made in England are simply divine. The thermal regulatory qualities are the same as for sheep’s wool, buthis extraordinarily soft cashmere is carefully combed in the Spring from the bellies of goats that live high up in the Mongolian grasslands, by their nomadic goatherds. The result is a super soft, light and airy blanket, finished with a velvet binding.  Luxe. Comfort 

Waffles anyone?

The deep honeycomb texture of our Cotton Lambswool Waffle Weave Blanket is gorgeous to touch and perfectly weighted for summer months. Woven in Portugal just for us, we like to layer these up in winter too. We know it’s about style just as much as function, so we’ve made sure the fabric drapes beautifully too. It's not wool but it's gorgeous so it made the cut.

Wool inside and out

When you’re not sleeping with your new best friend, you’ll be sure to find it thrown casually over sofas, armchairs, or the garden chair, ready for an evening under the stars… Let us know if you need help choosing which wool blanket is best for you. Drop us a line. 

Plastic or Fantastic?

Remember wool is sustainable too. Find out more here.

Let us know if you need help choosing which wool blanket is best for you and drop us a line.