
Did you know sleeping naked can be beneficial for your health? Not only does sleeping in the buff help improve circulation, but it also prevents infection. Though only 8% of people sleep naked, it is a practice that is encouraged by many experts. While there are numerous benefits of sleeping naked, let us first delve into the various disadvantaged of sleeping with your clothes on.
- Also read: How much sleep do I need?
Why is sleeping with clothes bad for health?
Sleeping with a bra on
The biggest myth surrounding sleeping with a bra on is that it causes breast cancer. A study done by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle found that no aspect of bra wearing (including wearing one at night) has any effects on breast cancer.
However, wearing a bra at night can be uncomfortable and can cause hyperpigmentation. When ill-fitting bras rub against the skin, they can irritate and damage the skin.
Sleeping with tight underwear
If men wear tight boxers to bed, they unknowingly increase the temperature of their private parts, which can lead to you having dead sperm cells. Also, if you’re too sweaty, bacteria can gather around your private parts.
Women should forgo wearing panties at night as this could lead to chafing, irritation and skin infection. This problem can become worse for women who suffer from hot flushes during menopause.
The benefits of sleeping naked
Sleeping naked is excellent for health. Here are some of the reasons why it’s better to strip down before you hit the bed.
1. Better sleep quality
It is a well-known fact that quality sleep is good for the brain. A study at the University of Rochester discovered that our brain removes toxic proteins from its neurons when we sleep. So, good quality sleep is essential for a healthy brain. One way to improve the quality of your sleep is to strip down.
Sleeping naked helps cool our body down. Lower body temperature means deeper sleep, hence healthier brain.
2. Regulates cortisol levels
Sleeping with clothes can cause our body temperature to rise, which leads to higher cortisol levels in the body. Excessive cortisol levels can have some adverse effects on the body like high blood pressure, delayed wound healing and immunosuppression. Sleeping without clothes lowers cortisol levels in the body.
3. Helps create stronger bonds
Skin to skin contact is considered very important by the doctors. This is the reason why doctors let newborn babies latch on to their mothers. This practice helps the infants thermoregulate and adapt to the right temperature. Similarly, sleeping naked together creates a stronger bond between couples.
Cuddling leads to the release of the hormone oxytocin, which is responsible for the well-being of the body. When our skin touches another person’s skin, oxytocin hormone is also released. Oxytocin reduces stress, blood pressure and raises sex drive.
4. Great for the skin
Sleeping without clothes is great for our body. Since most parts of our body are covered during the day, our skin does not get a chance to breathe. Sleeping naked allows air to pass freely over parts of the body like armpits and groin. This lowers the chances of skin infections.
5. Reduces stress
We already know for a fact that sleeping naked helps you sleep better. A good night’s sleep is essential to keep our stress levels down. Stress can increase the cortisol levels in our body. Increased cortisol levels increase our risk of heart disease and depression.
6. Helps in weight loss
According to a study conducted by the US National Institutes of Health, keeping your body cool during sleep speeds up the metabolism. This happens because the body creates more brown fat to warm you up while you sleep naked. Brown fat produces heat while burning calories and this boosts your metabolism all day long.
7. Keeps you looking young
Keeping your body temperature cooler by sleeping naked allows the anti-ageing hormone melatonin and growth hormone, to work well. A cooler body allows melatonin to function as an antioxidant by scavenging for free radicals like oxygen and nitrogen. Cooling of the body temperature also enables growth hormone to work correctly.
8. Maintains healthy sex organs
For women, sleeping nude can help reduce yeast infections. Yeast thrives in moist environments, so it is important to air out your private parts. For men, sleeping nude can help improve fertility. Keeping the testes cooler helps enhance the quality of sperm.
9. Improves circulation
Tight clothes and elastic waistbands ban restrict blood circulation. Restricted blood circulation can affect your cardiovascular system. Sleeping naked helps to improve blood circulation and keeps you relaxed.
10. Strengthens muscles and bones
We are aware that sleeping naked brings our body temperature down. When our body tries to regulate its temperature, it awakens the growth hormones. These growth hormones strengthen our muscles and bones.
11. Builds confidence
Sleeping without clothes makes you more comfortable with your own body and boost your self-esteem. As we all know self-confidence is the key to success in all aspects of life, be it work or relationships.
Try it out
So, go on and lose your pyjamas and get into your bed without your clothes. Enjoy the benefits of better sleep and better health.