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From wool to bamboo, these duvets will keep your temperature regulated as you sleep
With warmer nights on the approach, you might be finding yourself kicking off your winter duvet as you struggle to sleep. To keep your cool, you may want to invest in one of the best summer duvets, and we’ve found some fantastic contenders for you to consider.
Temperature regulation at night is one of the main reasons people can’t sleep: “Our core body temperature is crucial to determining how we are able to fall asleep, and this is why it is often really important to get bedding right, including how thick your duvet is,” explains Dr Maja Schaedel, clinical psychologist at the Sleep Disorder Centre at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital, and founder of The Good Sleep Clinic.
“If our body temperature is too high, it signals to us that we need to stay alert and awake and we are not yet in a safe place to go to sleep,” explains Dr Schaedel. “Despite needing our core body temperature to drop, we do in fact need our hands and feet to remain warm. This is harder to achieve during the summer months, and people often prefer to change their bedding.”
So, what makes for a good summer duvet? Something lightweight, obviously. Also consider natural fibres, such as wool, down and bamboo, which are fantastic at regulating your body temperature – they can be expensive, though.
There are also plenty of great synthetic fibre duvets out there, which may be a little more budget-friendly. The bonus of these is that they tend to be easier to care for than natural-fibre duvets – you should be able to stick them in the washing machine without worry, for example.
To help you decide which is right for you, we’ve rounded up a wide range of the best summer duvets.
We’ve spent well over a year testing summer duvets during the warmer months. What we – and you, probably – want is a duvet that doesn’t overheat us, but gives us that snug, secure feeling while we sleep. Price was also a consideration, and whether the duvet represented good value. These are the best summer duvets we tested.
When it comes to choosing the perfect summer duvet for you, it’s important to consider the material from which it is made. Natural duvets, such as those that have duck and goose feather filling as well as down, tend to be more insulating, which means they can feel much warmer with less filling. However, if you pick one with a low tog, it should still be breathable enough to be suitable for the summer months. When your duvet has a higher down-to-feather ratio, it will be more lightweight.
Wool duvets are chunkier, denser and hypoallergenic. While they are typically reserved for winter, they retain air well, which can keep you cool in the summer, too.
Alternatively, synthetic duvets are filled with hollow fibres or microfibres. The former is more effective at trapping warmth, while the latter is a higher quality option that mimics down filling but with a more lightweight feel, which makes them great choices for those who want lighter duvets, or suffer from allergies.
The higher the tog rating, the warmer the duvet. So, when shopping for a summer duvet for your bedroom, an ideal tog rating is 4.5 or less.
However, you can also buy specially designed cooling duvets that are perfect for summer, which can measure up to 11 tog.
Sleeping in the heat can affect even the deepest of sleepers and, while some people simply choose to sleep under a sheet during the summer months, there are others who still prefer to use a duvet.
If you fall into the latter category, the good news is it is possible for a duvet to keep you cool. The weight, or tog, of the duvet will play a significant role, so make sure to invest in one that measures no more than 4.5 tog, or choose an all-seasons duvet that you can alter, depending on the weather.
Some more hi-tech styles are even made with Nasa-designed thermoregulating technology that help regulate your temperature by absorbing heat away from your body, and then returning it to you if you happen to get a chill.
The cover you use matters, too, as some fabrics will help to keep your body at a more consistent temperature through the night than others. Linen and cotton are both ideal for sleeping in the heat, as they are woven from natural fibres that breathe really well, which is key for staying cool.
However, linen is often the top choice, as it is also a natural temperature regulator and insulator, which means it actually keeps you cooler in the summer and warmer in winter.
We are in love with our Next goose-feather-and-down duvet. Even though it’s a thinner summer duvet, it still makes us feel like we’re sleeping in a cloud, without it ever overwhelming us. We slept incredibly well under it and this it’s great value considering the premium filling. Shout out to Woolroom, too, which has created a gorgeous duvet that did a brilliant job of keeping us temperate. Meanwhile, Dunelm and Silentnight offer some good budget options.
Now that you have your summer duvet sorted, read our edit of the best mattresses to buy in 2024