Why you should choose wool bedding over all other bedding

Although everyone benefits from the sleep-enhancing properties of wool bedding, Niki and Bob Wilden Owners of The Woolroom Sleep Studio in Ipswich, explain the types of people for whom wool bedding can make the biggest difference – and how and why it works.

Wool bedding can make sleep far better for people who suffer from night sweats, allergy suffers – particularly those with asthma or a dust mite allergy, and babies and young children, as their bodies are not yet able to manage temperature effectively.

Wool offers a variety of natural sleep-enhancing properties that other bedding materials can’t match. For example, it is proven to be more effective at absorbing moisture than either polyester or feather/down, making it ideal for people who suffer with night sweats. It is also highly effective at regulating body temperature, helping you to stay cool when you’re hot and warm when you’re not, making it a popular choice for both cold and hot sleepers. And finally, it also provides a hypoallergenic sleeping environment, ideal for allergy sufferers.

Why is wool bedding so good for people with allergies?

It’s a common myth that wool is not suitable for people with allergies, but this isn’t the case. Here at Woolroom, our bedding is not only hypoallergenic – it has also received the Allergy UK seal of approval for its anti-allergy properties.

How is this possible? Because it absorbs and then releases moisture so effectively, wool does not provide the warm, damp environment that dust mites and fungal spores need to thrive. These are the allergens that trigger night-time allergies – so by eliminating them from your bedding, allergy sufferers can get a better night’s sleep.

What about wool allergies?

True wool allergies are not very common. In fact, wool is very similar in construction to human hair and unlikely to cause an allergic reaction by itself. While some people can experience an irritation when they wear woollen clothing, this is more commonly caused by the sensation of coarse (and often poor quality) wool fibres rubbing directly against the skin.

That’s where wool bedding is different. We use platinum grade wool for our bedding – these are softer, high quality fibres. Furthermore, they are encased in high quality cotton outer, meaning that the wool shouldn’t come into direct contact with your skin. Plus, all the wool we use within our bedding goes through a scouring process to clean it. This removes 95% of the lanolin within the wool.

Ideal bedding for babies

Wool’s heat-regulating properties make it ideal for babies, as it can help prevent them from overheating at night. Overheating is a particular problem for babies and young children as their bodies are not yet fully able to manage temperature effectively.

With this in mind, we’ve created a range of nursery bedding suitable for babies and toddlers. For babies under 12 months old, we recommend that they use a baby sleeping bag for a safe and comfortable night’s sleep. For babies and toddlers aged 12 months and over, it is possible for them to continue using a sleeping bag or to sleep under a wool duvet designed for cots instead.

Wool is naturally fire retardent

Yes. It’s a little known fact that wool as a fibre is naturally fire retardant, making it ideal to use in beds and bedding.

No nasty chemicals

We believe that a natural sleep environment is the key to a healthy night’s sleep. That’s why we keep all our wool bedding free from nasty chemicals.

During the manufacturing process, our wool is washed with a chlorine solution to smooth out the fibres. This prevents felting and helps to enhance its heat regulating properties. The solution is then double washed out of our wool – at the end of this process the amount of chlorine in the product is less than you would find in regular tap water.

Wool sounds warm. What tog duvet do I need?

Before choosing the right duvet, it’s important to understand the difference between how synthetic duvets and wool duvets are measured in terms of warmth.

Tog is a measure of thermal resistance that was invented during the 1960s to help synthetic bedding manufacturers rate the warmth of their duvets. As such, this measurement is suitable for fibres which are inert – such as polyester – but not as suitable for wool. Because wool fibres “breathe”, absorbing and releasing moisture into the surrounding environment, they are never constant, meaning that a tog measurement is never truly accurate.

That’s why on all our wool duvets, you’ll see an indication of tog rating range e.g. 3-6 tog or 11-14 tog, to help you understand how warm each of our duvets is. As well as this, you’ll see our own warmth rating – from “Super Light” through to “Super Warm” and also “All Season”, giving you a clearer indication of whether a duvet is right for you.

When choosing the right duvet, you need to take into account a few different factors, including the time of year you’re buying for and also whether you’re a light or warm sleeper. Lighter options tend to be best for the warmer months of the year, and also for warm sleepers year round. For the colder months, medium and warm duvets tend to be best for most people. If you’re buying for all year round, our All Season duvet is a popular choice, providing three different warmth levels, so you can adjust to the level that’s right for you.

The sleep guarantee…

We’re big believers in the power of wool to improve sleep quality. Our Sleep Guarantee allows you to try our wool bedding or a wool mattress for yourself – safe in the knowledge that if you don’t sleep better after 30 days, or 100 days for our mattresses, you can return your purchase and receive a refund. This is available on specific products – we would be happy to talk to you about this when you visit.

How do you make your duvets machine washable?

We’ve worked hard to make our wool duvets machine washable. It’s achieved firstly through the quilting design and secondly, through a cleaning process that our wool goes through. Together, these keep the wool fibres secure and in good condition, even after machine washing.

Visit the Woolroom Sleep Studio at Bramford, Ipswich to discuss your bedding requirements and see how wool can transform your sleep. It is open Tuesdays & Thursdays 10 -4 or call to arrange a visit 01473 831723 or 07477090745.