When was the last time you woke fresh, hopeful, rejuvenated and invigorated. Que? Has it been a while? You’re not alone. In fact, very few adults manage a full night’s sleep! Could sleeping naked help?
The Naked Truth…
There was a time when people didn’t worry too much about sleep. If you held a job – or if you were training for a career, the ethic was not to complain.
People generally saw it as a badge of honor – a fool’s proof of dedication to duty and calling. After all, you could ‘catch up’ on Sunday… maybe.
For some, the above scenario still holds true. However, the rest of the sleep-deprived world has started to wake up to the sobering realities – and costs -of sleeplessness.
Sleep deprivation makes you eat more than you need, stunts your ability to learn, and literally, eats your brain.
Even worse, the National Sleep Foundation says lack of sleep accounts for 1.2 million car crashes a year in the US alone.
Can Sleeping Naked Change Everything?
Do you think that sounds a bit too hopeful? Think again. Medical science has finally risen from its centuries-long torpor and addressed this very subject.
There’s now an entire scientific discipline devoted to the biology of repose. Sleep medicine has even become a specialty!
Not that all that has helped the sleepless get their coveted eight hours a day.
In fact, recent research reveals that 51 percent of adults worldwide are still not getting enough sleep.
Some 80 percent of those surveyed, say they use weekends to make up for sleep lost during the week. That’s according to Princess Cruises’ ninth annual Relaxation Report.
The cure might be easier than you think…
If you’re one of the work week’s walking dead, sleep experts suggest that you try a sexy solution: sleep naked!
That may not sound like much of a change, but sleep psychologists and medical professionals say it helps in multiple ways:
1. Fall asleep faster, sleep better.
Countless studies show that sleeping in lower temperatures – an inherent advantage of sleeping in the nude – improves the quality of your sleep.
Researchers have found a link between insomnia and skin and body temperature. People with insomnia generally have higher core temperatures than those who sleep well.
Sleeping naked helps your body cool down faster, which, in turn, can help you fall asleep and reach that much-needed deep-sleep phase earlier.
The National Sleep Foundation sets the best bedroom temperature for a good night’s sleep at between 15.6 to 19.4°C.
2. Get that youthful glow while boosting your immune system.
Because sleeping in the nude helps you sleep better, it also helps boost your immune system even as it allows your body to recharge faster.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people who lack sufficient sleep are more likely to confront health issues like depression, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Since sleeping in your birthday suit almost guarantees a better night’s sleep, it’s also good for your body’s collagen production. Collagen is a protein that helps give you youthful, glowing skin.
3. Good for your skin and metabolism.
That glow doesn’t just make you look good, it’s an indication of overall physical hardiness. A 2018 study found that sufficient sleep helps your skin recover more quickly from wounds.
Clearly, the weight of common sense and empirical evidence is on the side of sleeping naked rather than sleeplessness, here. Yet sleeping naked just might help you shed a few pounds, too.
Can you lose weight while you sleep?
Research funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that men who sleep in cooler temperatures gained more brown fat, which helps increased metabolism.
Brown fat, also called brown adipose tissue, is a special type of body fat that is activated when you get cold. This type of fat regulates your body temperature and burns sugar and calories for energy in the process.
The results of the NIH research were so promising that scientists suggest that brown fat may one day help treat conditions like diabetes and obesity.
While that doesn’t mean sleeping naked gives you a free pass on exercise, it does give you one more reason to ensure a full night’s sleep.
4. Sleeping naked means a healthier vagina and better male fertility.
Sleeping naked is healthy in much sexier ways, too. Ladies who sleep in snug, sweaty undies provide a rich breeding ground down below for yeast infections. Going commando allows your bits much-needed respite from moisture by allowing better ventilation.
For men, the cost of going without sleep may be even higher. Sleep deprivation isn’t good for the robust, hard-working man’s much-vaunted virility.
The fact is some scientists have suggested that men in America and Europe are experiencing a worsening decrease in fertility.
While there is some disagreement in the scientific community as to why that’s happening, researchers have suggested that tight underwear just might be overheating the family jewels.
That said, many studies have already established a link between sleep and sperm count. One particularly telling research effort involving men in Europe has associated poor sleeping habits with inferior semen quality.
The study shows that men who regularly grappled with sleep disturbances had a 29 percent lower sperm concentration as well as some instances of low-quality sperm.
5. More cuddling leads to more sex.
But none of that would matter if you and your partner miss out on sex you could otherwise be having, anyway.
Sleeping in the buff next to your partner can help strengthen your bond as a couple courtesy of the “cuddle hormone,” oxytocin.
Studies have found oxytocin is released during skin-to-skin contact and positive interactions between humans, making them feel relaxed – even almost euphoric.
Often enough, those feelings will lead to sex, of course. You’ve already got the clothes out of the way and those feel good hormones are going to kick-in.
You don’t need science to tell you what is likely to happen if, perchance, you had a warm, naked body lying next to you.
6. Sleeping naked improves your relationship and self-esteem.
Recently, Cotton USA polled 1,000 people in the UK and found that those who sleep in the nude have happier marriages and relationships.
That’s not to say that you’ll be having better sex right away. But sleeping au naturel does help you get comfortable within your own skin, which helps.
In 2018, researchers conducting a study among nudists found higher rates of people with a positive body image. The scientists said this was likely because others saw and accepted their bodies as they are, without judgement.
Granted, some people simply don’t feel comfortable sleeping naked. That’s quite understandable.
Still, few will disagree that there is no harm in looking good for bedtime, especially if you share a bed with your partner.
If you don’t feel comfortable getting into bed completely naked, you might try wearing something that covers less of you for comfort and for cooler body temperatures.
Some soft, sensual, sexy lingerie might help. But then of course, wearing something sexy to bed usually means you’ll end up naked, anyway – and that can’t be a bad thing.
