14 Good Reasons To Sleep Naked

Since I was in my late teens, I have always preferred to sleep naked – for me, it was simply more comfortable. Even my first wife stopped wearing a nightie shortly after we were married – for exactly the same reasons, I might add. 🙂

Years later, when I was dating the American lady who was to become my second wife, I discovered that people’s attitudes to not wearing any clothes in bed was very different in the USA to the UK, where I grew up.

It appears that about 17% of Americans sleep naked, although more and more younger people are beginning to shed their nighttime wear. By contrast, it is estimated that about one third of British people go to bed in the nude.

So, is sleeping naked nothing more than a personal preference, or are there any benefits to this practice?

Well, it turns out that there health benefits, which is what this article is all about.

Anti-Aging

When your body is too warm at night, it reduces the release of two important hormones that help slow down aging – growth hormone, and melatonin.

Better Sex

When the two of you are lying together naked, the amount of direct skin-to-skin contact is obviously much higher.

This increases your oxytocin levels – this is the hormone that is often known as the love hormone, the hug hormone, or the cuddle hormone.

And that (including easier access) will put you in the mood for sex more often, which, it turns out, is often better sex too because your body is already primed by all of those feel-good chemicals coursing through your veins.

Even if you don’t have sex, you will enjoy the increased intimacy that being naked offers, which can also help strengthen your relationship.

Fall Asleep Faster

Body temperature plays a part in how quickly you fall asleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Fewer Infections

When you sleep with your crotch area covered by underwear, it gives any bacteria that are around a chance to multiply and cause infections.

When you leave your groin uncovered, it allows air to circulate freely, which keeps you clean and healthy.

Healthier Hair

When you sweat in bed, all of that salt it contains can dry out both your hair and your scalp, which can lead to itchiness as well as broken strands.

Sleeping naked, which keeps you cooler, can help reduce this problem.

Immune System Boost

The fact that your stress levels will be reduced (see below) also means your immune system has a better chance of recovering and functioning optimally (all other things being equal of course, since your diet also plays a huge role in maintaining a healthy immune system).

Improved Sleep Quality

As I mention in at least one other article, it is better to be slightly too cool than too warm when you’re sleeping – the recommended temperature for your bedroom is 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit (16 – 19 Celsius),

Wearing clothing in bed can increase your body temperature, which in turn can lead to a night of restless or disturbed sleep.

Increased Male Fertility

Sleeping naked helps keep a man’s testicles cooler, which is why they are outside the body cavity in the first place (according to many scientists).

Your testicles are apparently highly sensitive to temperature variations – and they produce more sperm when they are cooler.

Physical Well-Being

One of the jobs that growth hormone (see above) does is contribute to muscle growth and weight loss.

So again, by remaining cool enough to allow your body to release growth hormone, you’re actually doing your body a favour.

Just remember – sleeping naked is not the same as going to the gym for a full work-out session! 🙂

Reduced Stress

Levels of cortisol, the so-called stress hormone, decrease when you are sleeping, so by staying cooler during the night and not being woken up by feeling sweaty, you give your body the opportunity to relax from the previous day’s stress.

Self-Esteem

Sleeping naked helps you to become more comfortable with your own body, which is one factor that can affect your self-esteem – and having a high sense of self-esteem has its own benefits too.

Skin Repair

One study found that high-quality sleep allows your body to heal from wounds more quickly – and I’ve already talked about the fact the sleeping naked can lead to a better night’s sleep.

Non-Health Benefits

There are a few other benefits that are not directly related to your health too, including:

1. Comfort. Many people sleep naked for the simple reason that they find it more comfy. That was certainly why I started, but there again, I’ve never liked wearing any more clothing than was necessary.
2. Cost. Sleeping naked saves you money, both on nightclothes (if you’re the type who wears pajamas or nighties or nightshirts), and on air conditioning during the warmer months. In terms of laundry, you will probably need to wash your bedding more frequently (although less so if you take a bath shortly before bedtime, which is a great way to help get a good night’s sleep), but there again, you won’t have any nightclothes to wash.

Caveats

Sleeping naked may not be for you if any of the following apply:

1. You happen to be one of the 3% of people who sleepwalk (also known as noctambulism or somnambulism). There is no shortage of stories about people who sleep naked and walk in their sleep, only to end up in an embarrassing situation. I actually know a lady that had this happen to her when she was staying in a hotel one night.
2. You have super-sensitive skin.
3. You are a parent who believes that your children should not see you naked.
4. You share your house or apartment with roomies who insist on entering your bedroom without knocking.
5. You are worried about what you’ll do in an emergency. (The simple answer is to make sure you have something you can put on quickly, such as a robe, just in case.)
6. You are worried about being seen naked during the night if you have to go to the bathroom. (Again, a robe is the simple answer.)
7. The person you share your bed with is not mature enough to realize that being naked does not automatically mean you want sex 24 x 7.

Conclusion

Notice how most of these benefits stem from the fact that you should not be too warm in bed?

And even if you don’t want to sleep completely naked, this does mean that you should still try to sleep with as few clothes on as you can, and the thinner and looser, the better.

In fact, gradually reducing the number of clothes you wear to bed is one way to transition from fully-clothed sleep to nude sleep.

These benefits also reinforce just how important sleep is to us.

And if the health benefits don’t inspire you to cast off your nightclothes, whatever they may be, then if you share a bed with your partner, the sex benefits speak for themselves (and I’ll probably write an article about that sometime soon too).