Making a case for sleeping in the buff for better health
Love to sleep naked? You’re in the minority. According to a 2012 study published in Sleep Journal, less than 10% of Americans admit to sleeping nude on a regular basis. In this case though, science overrules the majority when it comes to whether you should sleep in pajamas or the altogether. According to researchers, there’s strong evidence that suggest sleeping in the buff is as good for your sleep health as it is for your overall long term health.
Before you roll your eyes and reach for your onesie pajamas, read through our incredibly logical reasons why you should start sleeping in the buff. Tonight.
1. Sleeping naked can help regulate body temperature
Getting a good night’s sleep is easier said than done for people who sleep with their internal body furnace cranked up high. But sleep doctors agree that the best sleep of your life starts with regulating your temperature – to fall and stay asleep.
According to sleep specialists, your body temperature naturally drops the more tired you get – giving your organs the signal that it’s time to quiet things down for the night. During sleep, a slightly cooler room temperature (or a mattress designed to help cool you during sleep) will keep you slumbering without disruption. Sleeping without pajamas naturally regulates temperature by allowing perspiration (your internal air conditioning unit) to evaporate more quickly. If that perspiration is trapped in pajamas, you’ll overheat and wake up.
2. Sleeping naked can improve your skin and hair health
Being hot and sweaty doesn’t just wake you up at night, it also disrupts the production and release of the growth hormone, melatonin. But you’re all grown up, you say. Why do you need a growth hormone at your age? Well, that growth hormone is what keeps your skin and hair healthy (with a youthful glow) as you age and it works best at night. When you sleep. It’s called beauty sleep for a reason…
3. Sleeping naked can reduce stress and make you happier
We all know prolonged stress is bad news. It suppresses your immune system and increases risk of heart disease, depression and obesity. Sleeping naked though allows for a whole lot more skin-to-skin contact with your partner. And all that healthy nighttime touching releases feel-good hormones, such as oxytocin, which helps reduce stress. It’s called the cuddle (or feel-good) hormone for a reason.
4. Sleeping naked can help you lose weight
There’s lots of proof that better sleep leads to better food choices during the day – talk about the ultimate sleep diet. And since you’re sleeping so much better naked, get ready for a buffer you.
5. Sleeping naked can help keep your reproductive organs healthy
Male and female bodies both suffer when temps get too hot for too long. For men, a cooler sleep environment keeps testes (and sperm) cooler and healthier – very important if you’re hoping to be a father someday. For women, yeast infections are a sad and sorry fact of life but more a more arid sleeping environment can greatly reduce that joy. Sleeping naked is also good for other parts of your body that never seem to get enough air – armpits and feet, for example.
6. Sleeping naked can improve your sex life
“When you and your partner both sleep naked, the skin-to-skin contact will release the feel-good hormone,” Dr. Fran Walfish, psychotherapist and author, The Self-Aware Parent, told Medical Daily. “Even further, you may have more sex and we all know orgasms are Mother Nature’s best answer to insomnia…better than bottled milk and Ambien!”
You may feel more comfortable in your pajamas at first but once you begin to sleep naked, you’ll find it’s easier to change positions (no shirt tugging at your neck or your pants twisted) and that you wake up feeling refreshed and relaxed. And now that you know the scientific reasons for sleeping in the nude, there’s no reason not to start tonight, right?
