The comforter should be neither too warm nor too cold, nor stuffy.
The condition of the small space between the comforter and bedding is called the sleeping climate. The temperature and humidity affect your sleep. It is said that a comfortable temperature in the bed is 33 ± 1°C and humidity of 50 ± 5% throughout the year. What is the relationship between the climate inside the bed and the futon?
1. The conditions for a good night's sleep are neither too warm nor too cold.
When you go to bed, your hands and feet gradually become warm. This is because peripheral blood vessels dilate during the sleep phase, and heat dissipation increases. As the temperature of your hands and feet increases, your body prepares for sleep, and the temperature in your brain and body begins to drop. It's well known that when infants get sleepy, their hands get hot, and the same goes for adults.
After falling asleep, the skin temperature of the body (torso) converges to around 34 to 36 degrees Celsius after a while. Ideally, the temperature inside your bed is slightly lower than your body's skin temperature. If the temperature inside your bed is higher than the surface temperature of your skin, it will be difficult for your body's internal temperature to drop. On the other hand, if your body temperature is too low, you may tense your muscles or tremble to raise your body temperature. During sleep, your body's internal temperature is lower than when you are awake. When your body temperature drops, your cat's ability to adapt to changes in temperature decreases, so you should also pay attention to changes in the temperature in your bed.
It's easier to sleep when heat is radiated little by little from the skin's surface and you don't feel cold; in other words, it's neither too warm nor too cold. Futons must have the ability to retain heat to keep the temperature inside the bed around 33 degrees Celsius.
2. When you feel stuffy, it becomes difficult to sleep.
During a night's sleep, you typically lose approximately one glass of water, including through sweating. Water release occurs most often during the first half of sleep when the surface temperature of the skin increases. When the humidity inside the bed increases, the "stuffiness" increases, making it uncomfortable to sleep and preventing a good night's sleep, so bedding needs to have the ability to regulate humidity.
The humidity inside the bed is considered comfortable at around 50 % ± 5%, and the comfort of the futon in terms of its ability to absorb moisture (hygroscopicity) and release it (humidity release) affects the comfort of the bed. The performance of these bedding is determined by the futon's filling and fabric material.
3. What is the best material for a comforter?
You won't find anything better than feathers to fill a comforter. Feathers are popular because they have many advantages over other materials. It is warm because it has heat retention ability. In addition, it has excellent ability to absorb and release moisture from your body, making you feel refreshed without getting stuffy.
Ordinary fibers such as cotton and polyester can be made into cotton and connected together, but in the case of feathers, each fiber is separated and does not connect together. Therefore, it fits easily to your body and prevents drafts from forming inside the futon even when you turn over in your sleep. It's fluffy and light, so it's easy to put up and take down the futon. It has good wicking properties, so you don't have to dry it for a long time, and it is durable and can be used for a long time. It has all the features you need in a comforter, such as being light, warm, not stuffy, and having a good fit.
And don't forget the fabric. The fabric must not impair the performance of the stuffing. We recommend 100% cotton, which is soft to the touch and highly absorbent.
Related article: How to choose bedding and mattresses. Two basics.