Written by Jill Zwarensteyn, Editor
In the movies, we often see scenes depicting a woman or a man waking up from bed with little to no piece of clothing at all. Aside from being an eye candy and the thoughts of being sexy, sleeping without clothes or having barely anything on has a lot of benefits and many scientific studies backing it up.
Sleeping naked brings many benefits to people. It’s a surprising fact that only 8% of individuals sleep this way and reap the benefits that come along. Before we delve further into the amazing benefits of sleeping in your birthday suit, here are some facts that most people aren’t aware of when it comes to sleeping with your clothes.
Why Sleeping With Clothes is Bad for You?
Sleeping With A Brassiere For Women
Although there’s no scientific evidence to support that wearing bras to sleep causes breast cancer for females, there are still a lot more reasons not to wear it during rest, especially for extended periods. For one, a tight bra can impede the circulation of blood and can cause pain in the torso.
Another reason why going to bed with a bra is a bad choice is because it can cause hyperpigmentation. An increased level of melanin causes this condition. Melanin is a pigment which is responsible for the color of a person’s skin. Ill-fitting bras can rub against the skin which can cause irritation and damage to the skin.
Sleeping With Tight Boxers Or Fit Underwear For Men
Whenever men wear tight boxers, they are unknowingly increasing the temperature in their private parts. When the temperature increases, the testicles produce dead sperm cells. More scientifically, these sperm cells have more fragmented DNA than those who wear nothing to sleep at all.
Now that we get the idea of how terrible sleeping with clothes on is, here we present you the benefits of sleeping without any piece of garment.
The Benefits Of Sleeping Naked
1. Functioning Becomes Much Better When Waking Up Naked
While sleeping, the brain quietly removes toxins present within the body. These toxins come as a by-product of neural processes which get left behind when a person is awake. This cleaning process begins when an individual begins to enter into a deep sleep. Whenever someone fails to achieve a good rest, the toxins in the neural passages are left behind.
These toxins are like clutter which hinder the signals that the brain sends to specific parts of the body. This situation is the reason why some people feel slow or tired when they don’t get adequate amount of sleep. The mind begins to slow down, in effect, slowing other functions such as problem-solving, cognitive abilities, understanding, creativity, etc.
A good way to raise the quality of sleep you get is by lowering your skin temperature without altering the surrounding temperature around. A study by researchers at the University of Amsterdam found out that lowering one’s internal temperature increases the body’s ability to filter out toxins.
Want to find out more? Check out how thermoregulation works during sleep.
2. Regulates the Level of Cortisol
Although cortisol has numerous positive effects on the body, it also has some adverse reactions as well. Sleeping overheated or having to rest with a lot of clothes on can cause the body to raise its temperature, elevating cortisol levels. When there is an excess of cortisol in the body, some of its negative effects begin to appear.
Wound healing becomes much lengthier, immunosuppression can develop as a side effect and high blood pressure can appear. Those are just a few of the things that can happen to the body when there are elevated levels of cortisol present. Sleeping with no clothes on is a good practice if you want to avoid elevating cortisol levels in your body.
3. It Makes You Feel Confident
Sleeping unclothed can make you feel confident. It wakes you up feeling fresh and reinvigorated. This fact is another reason why many of movies depict their actors and actresses naked when waking up from sleep. This scene presents the person playing the role as an active presence in the film to the audience watching.
4. The Importance of Skin to Skin contact
There’s a reason why it’s called a “Birthday Suit.” An important practice that doctors and nurses do is they let naked newborn babies latch on their mother, hence, skin to skin contact. The reason for this practice is that it helps infants “thermoregulate” or slowly adapt to the right temperature. Latching on also creates a bond between mother and baby.
When we eventually have relationships, couples sleeping together becomes an inevitable part of a person’s life. Sleeping naked creates a warm feeling that enables couples to have a stronger relationship. Cuddling allows the body to release Oxytocin, the hormone responsible for a sense of well-being in the body.
5. It’s good for the skin
Sleeping without clothes allows the body to breathe at night. Clothes cover most of the body during the day, and being naked while sleeping is a good way to let air through your private parts, armpits, groin, and other areas in the body where air and sunlight don’t get to shine. Since air can freely pass through, this allows lesser chances of catching skin disease.
6. It Brings Better and Deeper Sleep
For the light sleepers, getting a good night’s rest is something that’s easier said than done. They often have vivid dreams that wake them, they turn and toss throughout the night, or they’re simply too busy thinking about things that they barely even sleep. Getting the optimal amount of sleep is connected to the room’s temperature – studies have found that it should be between 60° and 68°.
A study from 2008 says that the sleeping environment with this kind of temperature helps the core temperature of your body to drop so that it can prepare for sleeping. If you’re too hot, this won’t happen and you will have a restless night. Sleeping naked, of course, will prevent your body from overheating and you will sleep better.
Read More: Body Temperature Regulation at Night
7. You’ll Lose Weight Much More Easily
As you might already know, sleeping well is an excellent way to fight stress – which creates the belly fat. During the night, the growth hormone is produced much faster, while the levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) decreases. Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., our body is resting, and that’s when the levels of cortisol are at their lowest.
In the morning, they quickly reach their highest point, giving us the energy for the rest of the day. That’s where the problem comes in – if you didn’t sleep naked and thus well, you’ll wake with abnormal levels of cortisol, which will immediately trigger your appetite and make you eat more than usual.
8. Your Skin Will Look Healthier
Have you ever heard of the term “beauty rest”? Well, that’s not just a myth! If you maintain a room temperature that never exceeds 70° during the night, your anti-aging hormones (the growth hormone and melatonin) will function much more properly. When the sleep environment is too hot, your body won’t be able to cool itself in a natural way, and the release of these hormones will be disrupted.
At lower temperatures, these hormones will work a lot better, and allow the body to properly regenerate and cause better-looking hair and skin. It’s yet another perk of sleeping naked! We should also mention that a 2012 study from the Sleep Journal found out that getting a good, restorative sleep significantly improves athletic performance, due to the release of the growth hormone.
Get More Info: Effects of Sleeping in a Cold Room
9. Sex Is Better
When you’re sleeping naked with your partner, the release of the so-called “love” hormone (oxytocin) is much bigger than when you’re wearing pajamas. The reason behind this is, of course, the skin-to-skin contact, which increases the sexual responsiveness and the pleasure of the orgasm. Sleeping naked also fights off the effects of high blood pressure and cortisol, and those would be stress and depression. We’re not telling you that removing each other’s clothes isn’t sexy – it’s just that sleeping naked together takes the “middleman” between you.
10. Summertime Sleeping Is Finally Bearable
This one is a no-brainer. Summer nights are very warm, and it can be really tricky to get proper sleep. Pajamas (combined with the sheets without which most of us can’t fall asleep) only make the situation worse, and that’s exactly why you should take them off and sleep completely naked – and if you’re still feeling too hot, just turn on the fan. Using the fan instead of an air conditioner is much healthier, and is guaranteed to save some money on your electric bill.
View Our Guide: Best Fans for Sleeping
Takeaway
It is indeed a surprising fact that only 8% of people sleep naked. Sleeping naked has a ton of benefits that may astonish some individuals. For example, this habit can make you more active during the waking hours. Sleeping without clothes, believe it or not, can make your immunity to diseases and infections much higher than the average person.
The benefits mentioned above are just a few examples. If you’ve always slept in your pajamas, sleeping naked might feel strange in the beginning, and that’s why we advise you to do it gradually, by taking off one piece at a time during a course of a few nights. If you’re sleeping with a partner, the whole process will be even easier and a lot more fun – help each other with it and enjoy the benefits of sleeping naked together!
If you’re looking for your dream mattress to benefit from sleeping naked, check out our Best Mattresses of 2024 for more options.
Jill Zwarensteyn
Editor
About Author
Jill Zwarensteyn is the Editor for Sleep Advisor and a Certified Sleep Science Coach. She is enthusiastic about providing helpful and engaging information on all things sleep and wellness.
Combination Sleeper