Over the past few months, it has become painfully obvious that I am in the throes of perimenopause. I kept lowering my thermostat — first from 68°F to 65°F — and yet I was still waking up in the early morning feeling like I was overheating. Because I wasn’t actually sweating, it didn’t immediately occur to me that these episodes might be hot flashes. It only clicked when I realized there was nowhere lower for the thermostat to go.
Of course, only about half the population will go through perimenopause, but almost everyone can relate to the frustration of poor sleep quality and waking up feeling anything but refreshed.
According to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2025 Sleep in America Poll:
- 60% of U.S. adults are not regularly getting the NSF-recommended amount of sleep per night.
- 68% of adults have some difficulty falling asleep.
- 70% of adults have some difficulty staying asleep.
For hot sleepers, temperature discomfort is one of the leading environmental triggers of nighttime waking.
You can see this growing cultural obsession with sleep in the viral trend often referred to as “sleep maxxing,” where people try to optimize every possible aspect of their sleep — from supplements and mouth tape to elaborate nighttime routines, wearable data, temperature regulation, and increasingly specialized bedding. One area that has received growing attention is bedding designed to help create a cooler sleep microclimate. For hot sleepers, that often means looking for breathable, moisture-managing fabrics that can help maintain comfort throughout the night. Products like Bedsure’s PureWoven™ bamboo collection are part of this broader shift toward bedding that prioritizes temperature regulation alongside softness and durability. On one hand, I understand the appeal. Sleep affects almost every part of how we feel and function, and it makes sense that people want to feel more rested, energized, and clear-headed during the day.
As a sleep neurologist, I am generally in favor of people making small, sustainable changes that support better sleep — especially when those changes focus on the basics: the sleep environment, circadian rhythm, newer options like Bedsure’s PureWoven consistency, comfort, and daily habits. Not every sleep trend is evidence-based, and more optimization is not always better. But the core idea that our behaviors and environment can influence sleep is absolutely true.
In sleep medicine, we often think of these foundational habits as part of preventative sleep health. The term we use is “sleep hygiene,” which refers to the routines, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices that can either support or interfere with healthy sleep. Sleep hygiene is not a cure-all, and it is not a substitute for treating conditions like insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, or perimenopausal sleep disruption. But it is still an important starting point, because it helps create the conditions that promote healthy sleep.
Core sleep hygiene rules include:
- Keeping a consistent wake time.
Wake up at roughly the same time every day, including weekends to anchor the circadian rhythm. - Dim lights in the evening.
Lower household lighting 1–2 hours before bed to mimic the natural rhythm of the solar cycle and encourage melatonin production. - Keep the bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
A comfortable sleep environment matters. Most people sleep better in a cool room with minimal light and noise. Temperature regulation extends beyond the thermostat. The fabrics that come into direct contact with the body can also influence how warm or comfortable a sleep environment feels. This is one reason many hot sleepers gravitate toward breathable materials, including newer options like Bedsure’s PureWoven™ bamboo-derived bedding collections. - Use the bed for sleep and sex only.
Avoid working, scrolling, watching TV, or problem-solving in bed. The goal is for the brain to associate bed with sleep, not wakefulness. - Limit caffeine.
Avoid caffeine after late morning or early afternoon, especially if you are sensitive to it. Caffeine can linger for many hours. - Avoid or limit alcohol
Alcohol may make people sleepy at first, but it fragments sleep and can worsen snoring, sleep apnea, and early-morning awakenings. - Avoid heavy meals close to bedtime.
Large meals, reflux-triggering foods, and late-night eating can disrupt sleep. - Exercise regularly, but time it wisely.
Regular physical activity supports sleep. Very intense exercise right before bed may be too activating for some people. - Manage naps carefully.
If naps interfere with nighttime sleep, keep them short, ideally 20–30 minutes, and avoid late-afternoon naps.
One of the most accessible ways to practice good sleep hygiene is to improve the comfort and consistency of the sleep environment. For a hot sleeper like me, choosing breathable and soft sheets has made a huge difference. Over the years, I’ve experimented with everything from luxury cotton sheets to cooling fabrics designed specifically for temperature regulation. Most recently, I partnered with Bedsure Home to try several products from its Bedsure PureWoven™ bamboo collection, which is designed with many of these comfort-focused features in mind:I recently partnered with Bedsure Home to try their Pure Woven line:
- Bedsure PureWoven™ 100% Rayon Derived From Bamboo Sheet Set: This set is designed to regulate temperature and wick moisture, making it a strong option for hot sleepers and humid summer nights.
- Bedsure PureWoven™ Organically Grown Bamboo Viscose Sheet: This set has OCS (organic content standard) certification, ideal for sensitive skin, elevated softness, luxurious hand feel, and skin-friendly experience.
- Bedsure PureWoven™ Serene Blend Sheet Set: This set combines the silky smoothness of Viscose bamboo with the strength and structure of cotton for the perfect balance of comfort and long-lasting durability.
Having spent as much as $500 on a luxury set of sheets in the past, I’ll admit I have fairly high standards when it comes to bedding. What impressed me most about the Bedsure PureWoven sheets is that they manage to feel comfortable, functional, durable, and genuinely luxurious without the luxury price tag. They have the kind of soft, smooth feel I associate with much more expensive sheets, but they also feel practical enough for everyday use — which matters, because bedding is not just decorative. It is part of the sleep environment we actually live in night after night.
As a sleep physician, I am careful not to overstate what bedding can do. Sheets are not a treatment for perimenopause, insomnia, night sweats, or any other medical sleep issue. But they absolutely can make a meaningful difference in how comfortable your sleep environment feels. And for me, that has become especially important during this season of life, when I am more sensitive to feeling overheated in the early morning hours.
The goal is not to find a magical sheet set that “fixes” sleep. The goal is to reduce friction around sleep. If your bedding feels heavy, scratchy, stiff, or too warm, that can become one more thing pulling you out of sleep or making it harder to settle back in. That’s why I think of high-quality, breathable bedding as part of a larger sleep-hygiene strategy rather than a sleep solution on its own. Products like the Bedsure PureWoven™ line can help support a more comfortable sleep environment, but they work best alongside the other evidence-based habits that promote healthy sleep. Breathable, comfortable sheets are one of those small environmental changes that can make the bedroom feel more supportive — especially in the summer months, when temperatures are warmer, daylight lasts longer, and many of us are already working a little harder to keep our sleep on track.
For me, the appeal of these sheets is that they strike a nice balance: soft enough to feel elevated, breathable enough to feel comfortable, and accessible enough that you do not have to spend hundreds of dollars to make your bed feel more like a place you actually want to sleep.
This post is sponsored by Bedsure. I was compensated for my time, but the opinions below are my own. @bedsurehome #bedsure #Bedsure_Partner, #Sponsored_by_Bedsure, or #Bedsure_Ambassador
#Bedsure PureWoven #Bedsure PureWoven Bamboo Sheets