Pillows and bedding for night sweats
That is why a cooling gel does nothing for them. It borrows twenty minutes of cold and gives it back, while the sweat stays exactly where it was. Wool moves the moisture into the fiber and away from your skin.
Wool, and if the sweats reach past your pillow, the wool duvet as well. Wool takes up to 30 percent of its own weight in moisture before the surface feels damp at all, which means the air right at your face stays dry through a night that would leave a foam pillow clammy. It also gives off a little heat as it absorbs and draws heat back as it releases, so it flattens the swings rather than following them. Buckwheat is the pick if it is surface temperature rather than sweat that wakes you.
Most people fix the pillow and find that is enough, because the air at your face is what wakes you. If the sweats are reaching the whole bed, the duvet is the next thing to change.
Takes the moisture off your skin into the fiber, so the surface at your face stays dry through a sweat instead of going clammy.
Best for waking damp, or with your hair wet
Hand-tufted organic wool doing the same moisture work over the whole bed rather than only under your head. Corner-loop tufts, so it does not bunch.
Best for sweats that soak more than the pillow
Air moves through the gaps between the hulls all night, so the pillow never builds a warm hollow. This is the one if temperature wakes you rather than damp.
Best for a warm pillow rather than a wet one
Cooling buckwheat on one side and moisture-moving wool on the other, each set on its own. Useful when the nights vary.
Best for working out which of the two problems you have
300 thread count organic cotton sateen. A synthetic or heavily finished sheet blocks moisture from moving and undoes the fill underneath it.
Best for not sabotaging the pillow you just bought
As featured in
“Best for allergy-resistant wool”
“I love their Organic Cotton pillow!”
“Basically two pillows in one!”
“One of our favorite options”
“Why a certain fill will likely work for you”
“Crafted from exclusively natural materials”
“Best of both worlds!”
“Among the healthiest pillows I’ve evaluated”
“Plant fiber start to finish”
“Complete sourcing transparency”
“The easiest switch on this whole list”
The cooling shelf is built around making something feel cold to the hand in a shop. Night sweats are not solved by cold, and that mismatch is why so much of it disappoints.
1
Often several times, and often without fully waking, which is why the tiredness is worse than the count suggests.
2
A gel pillow, a cool-touch cover, a cooling sheet. All of them do feel cold when you first lie down.
3
About twenty minutes in, the gel has absorbed all the heat it can and is now the same temperature as you are.
4
It is still against your skin, which is what your body is reacting to, so the waking carries on regardless.
Move the moisture and the signal that wakes you never arrives. That is a property of the fiber rather than a temperature trick, so it works on the fortieth night the same as on the first.
Wool holds up to 30 percent of its own weight in moisture before the surface ever feels damp. A cooling gel takes in your heat for about twenty minutes, reaches your body temperature, and then has nothing left to give. Wool has no such limit, because it is moving moisture rather than storing cold.
It also releases a small amount of heat as it absorbs moisture and draws heat back as it releases it, which is why the same duvet suits a cold January and a humid August. It evens out the swing instead of following it.
A pillow handles the air at your face, which for most people is where the waking signal comes from. When the sweats are heavy enough to soak sheets, the duvet is doing the trapping and no pillow will fix it.
Our wool duvet is hand-tufted, with corner loops tied by hand so the wool stays spread rather than migrating to one end of the cover. It is also the piece couples tend to notice most, because it handles two people running at different temperatures without either of them compromising.
This is the most common way people accidentally sabotage good bedding. A polyester or heavily finished cotton sheet puts a layer your moisture cannot pass through between you and the fill, so the wool underneath never gets the chance to do its job.
Use a breathable natural sheet and pillowcase. Ours are 300 thread count long-staple organic cotton sateen, cut and sewn by hand, and they are the cheapest part of this to get right.
Two mechanisms work and most of the market sells a third that does not.
| What you might buy | What it does | How long it works |
|---|---|---|
| Organic Wool pillow | Takes moisture off your skin into the fiber | All night, and it is the fiber so it cannot wash out |
| Organic Wool duvet | The same, across the whole bed | All night, for 10 to 15 years |
| Buckwheat pillow | Moves air through the gaps and carries heat out | All night, best when it is heat rather than damp |
| Organic cotton sheets | Lets the moisture pass through to the fill | For the life of the sheet |
| Cooling gel pillow | Absorbs your heat until it matches your temperature | About twenty minutes |
| Cool-touch cover | Feels cold to the hand on first contact | Until the surface warms up |
| Synthetic sheets | Traps the moisture against you | It makes the problem worse, not better |
Wool. That is moisture rather than temperature, and wool is the only fill here that moves moisture off your skin into the fiber.
Organic Wool Pillow ›Buckwheat. Air moving between the hulls is the most direct fix for a warm surface, and it never builds a hot spot.
Buckwheat Pillow ›The wool duvet. Once the sweats reach past your head, the duvet is what is trapping them and no pillow will reach it.
Organic Wool Duvet ›Check what is over it. A synthetic or heavily finished sheet blocks moisture from moving and undoes the fill underneath.
Organic Cotton Sheet Set ›Wool, without much competition. Night sweats are a moisture problem before they are a temperature problem, and wool is the only fill here that pulls moisture into itself and away from your skin. It holds up to 30 percent of its own weight before the surface feels damp at all.
Because they store cold rather than move moisture. A gel takes in your heat until it reaches your body temperature, which happens in about twenty minutes, and then holds that warmth till morning. Meanwhile the sweat is still against your skin, which is the part your body is reacting to.
It is the opposite of what people expect. Wool regulates rather than insulates in a pillow, giving off a little heat as it takes moisture in and drawing heat back as it releases it, so it flattens the swings instead of amplifying them. That is the behaviour a hot flush calls for.
Start with the pillow, since the air at your face is usually what wakes you, and see whether that is enough. If the sweats are heavy enough to reach sheets, the duvet is what is trapping them and the pillow will not reach that far.
It can make them less disruptive to your sleep by keeping the moisture off your skin, which is the part that pulls you out of deep sleep. It does not do anything about the flushes themselves. If they are affecting your life, that is worth raising with a doctor rather than solving with bedding.
Wool suits that better than anything else, because it responds to each person rather than holding one fixed temperature. It is the most common reason couples end up with a wool duvet after one of them wanted it for the sweats.
Wash the cover and leave the wool alone. Machine wash the cover cool, hang it to dry, and give the wool a few hours of sun on a dry day two or three times a year. A washing machine will felt loose wool, so keep it out.
More than most people expect. A synthetic or heavily finished case puts a layer your moisture cannot cross between you and the wool, which stops the fill doing the only thing you bought it for. Use a breathable natural case instead, and the wool underneath can do its job.
Wool if you are waking up damp. Buckwheat if the pillow feels hot to you but you are not sweating into it. If you cannot tell which, the Buckwool Hybrid puts both in one pillow and you find out within a week by flipping it.
No, and this is the misconception that stops people trying it. Wool moves moisture away from your skin, which is what you want in a warm room, and sheep wear it year-round in climates hotter than most bedrooms.
Start with the pillow, add the duvet if the sweats reach past it, and check what you have put over both. Sixty nights to be sure.
See the pillowsIf you've sent more pillows back than you've kept, you're our customer.
The three-star ones are in there too.
“I have owned more pillows than I have owned houses and I have owned 12 houses.” This is by far the only pillow to use if you don’t want to wake up with sore shoulders or neck. I have replaced all the pillows in my house with this pillow.
I have compressed discs in my neck, and I have spent hundreds of dollars over the past 6 months trying to find one that will help me sleep. Every pillow I bought caused me to wake up in even more pain than the night before!! The buckwheat pillow is life-changing!! I have slept through the night and wake up with no pain!!
I was leery to try another expensive pillow without some sort of trial period after being very let down by a different company's natural fiber pillow… I don't hear anything at all with the buckwheat! It does stay fresh and cool as well, but most importantly it actually holds my head/neck up and in place. Which allows me to actually get rest instead of always adjusting.
I've been a buckwheat pillow customer for the last 7 years and I can say that Circadian has the highest standards of quality paired with incredible customer service. Very very impressed and would not hesitate to send anyone their way.
I have spent years searching for a pillow that feels supportive and comfortable all night. I have finally found it. I absolutely love the Buckwool pillow. I removed a bit of the material to get it to exactly how I want it… I rarely wake up with neck pain now.
I find myself switching between the two and loving the feel of both. I haven't woken up with a sweaty head with either and that's an amazing feeling especially in the AZ summer. The buckwheat side is a lot quieter and more comfy/soft than others I've tried in the past.
I have tried at least 10 different pillows in the last 3 years. Nothing has worked out except for this wool pillow. I have chronic neck pain which has been greatly reduced. I am very happy with my new pillow.
I have pretty bad chemical sensitivity (housebound most of the time)… I try to only buy totally safe, non-toxic products. I found this pillow to be very safe and non-toxic, and the packaging was fragrance free which is always a huge plus.
I ordered this pillow to replace my very old (but beloved) down pillow and I'm so glad I did. It is heavenly!… I advise you to heed the recommendation given by the quiz. I ordered cotton initially despite the quiz giving me kapok as a result… the quiz was right.
The quality craftsmanship and materials is evident… when I asked if extra stuffing were available for the second one I'm using as a knee pillow, they not only pointed me to the right place on their site, but also created a new, smaller 1-lb. refill size based on my request.
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