wool improves sleep?

Wearing wool improves sleep quality, study finds

22/01/2025

A study from researchers at the University of Sydney has found that adults wearing wool sleepwear fall asleep faster.

As a starting point, the research team said there is often a link between “sleep disturbance” in adults who have no health concerns and the thermal environment.

In the study the team assessed the impact on sleep quality of sleepwear made from fibres with different thermal insulation properties. The study used garments made from cotton, polyester and merino wool.

Adults aged between 50 and 70 took part, at an ambient temperature of 30 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 50%.

What the team observed was that, on average, people wearing merinos fell asleep in 12 minutes, while the average times for the others were 22 minutes for people wearing polyester and 27 minutes for those wearing cotton.

A member of the team, Associate Professor Chin Moi Chow, said: “Wool helps regulate your body temperature, keeping you in what is known as ‘the thermal comfort zone’ for longer. You therefore not only fall asleep quicker, but also have deeper, less fragmented sleep.”

Before I give my thoughts on how this information may very well be used, I want you to know that Australia is a major producer of wool material as well as manufactured products. Therefore, I am suspected of their claim.

That said what I am concerned about is if some in the outdoor industry who sell wool underwear decide to recommend their underwear to campers to wear in their sleeping bags.

For those who are uninformed, wearing wool underwear particularly long underwear is unadvisable since the wool fiber will absorb the moisture coming out of your body and start the process of further absorbing your body heat as the wool fiber does as well. Essentially you will be in the same situation as if you were wearing long cotton underwear.

The article starts by referencing sleepwear suggesting that it is like long underwear. This means you are covering your entire body which in a sleeping bag is not a good idea.

They did the testing with a temperature of 30 degrees C which is equal to 86 degrees F.

I do not believe these people could possibly be comfortable wearing any fall sleepwear with temperatures that high unless of course they never used a blanket.

This is the first that I have heard of a “thermal comfort zone”, has any one out their knowledge of this? Some enterprising sellers of the no sleep sleeping bags might find a way to use them.

The wool supplier in this case Australia is simply looking for away to further sell their commodity.

I doubt wearing wool will improve sleep quality.