7 reasons it’s good for you to sleep naked

People may sleep better in cooler temps than warmer ones. Why? Your natural body temperature naturally declines as you sleep, says sleep coach, Christine Hansen. As your body temperature declines, your cortisol levels go down and your melatonin levels go up. “That’s why when it’s too hot, you feel nervous and jumpy and can’t sleep,” Hansen says. Because wearing PJs or sleeping under heavy covers can disrupt your body’s natural cool-down, it can, in turn, disrupt the quality of your sleep. However, you don’t want to be too cold either: if you’re so cold that you’re shivering, you’re probably not sleeping deeply. While there’s no one perfect temperature for good shut-eye, an ideal temperature is 17 – 19 degrees Celsius – but if you’re sleeping nude and waking up shivering, feel free to turn it up.

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Admittedly, the research here is limited, but Hansen believes it’s possible that sleeping naked can make you more at ease with yourself and your body. “It’s more the idea that you’re shedding a social norm that says being naked is bad or something you shouldn’t be or do that helps,” she says.

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There’s something really sexy about sliding into bed next to your significant other and feeling their skin on yours. And that skin-to-skin contact releases endorphins like oxytocin (also known as the hug hormone or the cuddle chemical), which puts you in the mood for sex. The research is limited, but “being naked is definitely more attractive than being in an old t-shirt or pyjamas,” Hansen says. “I think it could definitely make a difference in your sex life.”

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Sleeping in underwear, especially undies that are tight, made from synthetic fabrics or are a thong style, can create a breeding ground for fungus and infection, according to a study published in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gyne­cology and Reproductive Biology. Sleeping nude helps your vagina “air out,” as it were, and also reduces the chances of bad bacteria throwing its delicate ecosystem out of balance.

It may pay to ask your guy to strip before he hits the sheets every night. Urologist, Dr Brian Steixner, indicates that sleeping in underwear increases the likelihood of chafing, irritation, or bacterial infections down there. So what’s not to like about sleeping naked?

Your body has two types of fat, white and brown. White fat doesn’t do much, but brown fat generates heat and may help you burn kilojoules as you sleep. A 2014 study in Diabetes followed five men who slept in a climate-controlled room set to varying temperatures over four months. By the end of a month, the researchers found that with the heat lowered to 18 degrees Celsius (from 23), the men had almost doubled their volumes of brown fat. Thanks to this effect, cooler temps might boost your kilojoule burn by 30 per cent. Sleeping nude in a cool room isn’t the same as putting in a strenuous workout, but hey, when it comes to losing weight, every little bit helps, right?

Read on for tips on how to sleep away your weight loss worries.

Especially if you have a really good mattress, Hansen says. A high-quality mattress that’s not full of artificial materials will allow for better circulation, which lets your skin breathe. That, in turn, helps your skin regenerate itself (your collagen production levels go up at night while you sleep) throughout the night. The result? A lit-from-within glow when you wake up in the morning after sleeping naked. Plus, research shows getting enough z’s helps skin recover and refresh. If sleeping nude helps really does help you sleep, then the skin benefits are a bonus.

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Source: RD.com