Some top tips from The Natural Linen Cupboard on how to give your guests a good night’s sleep.
Guests who experience a good night’s sleep are more likely to return time and time again. So what can you do to make sure your guests will wake up in the morning fully rested? The need for a good quality bed and mattress to achieve this are common knowledge. You might also want to look at what goes on top of the bed, i.e. mattress toppers, duvets, pillows and bed linen.
Synthetic fibres as well as feather and down filling materials are very good insulators however they will lead to overheating and excessive sweating as they lack the ability to help the body regulate its temperature. Being too hot or too cold will lead to less restful sleep and frequent waking. On top of that overheating and sweating also creates conditions in which dust mites thrive (they love warm and humid conditions). A study by St. Barts and the London NHS Trust led by Dr. Tucker has found that within 2 years 1/3 of a standard pillows’ weight can comprise of dead skin cells, bugs, dead dust mites and their droppings. It is the droppings of dust mite that cause allergic reactions (asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis, other skin conditions) in many people.
Wool is a natural and breathable material providing warmth without overheating the wearer thus ensuring your guests won’t wake in the middle of the night because they are too cold or too warm. Wool also draws any moisture due to normal perspiration away from the body (wicking effect making it a less attractive habitat for dust mites. In addition, the lanolin contained in most types of wool has antibacterial properties. Aside from the obvious benefits this also helps to eliminate the food source for dust mites as they are decomposer animals, which means they feed on material that has already partially been broken down by fungi. Hence, wool is naturally hypo-allergenic.
Using a natural wool mattress topper also prolongs the life of your mattress due to less perspiration in general and protecting the mattress by adding an extra layer.
Whilst using wool bedding products can make a huge difference to your guests’ sleep it is crucial to make sure you also use 100% natural (silk, cotton…) bed linen and nightwear – as again, poly-cotton or synthetic sheets, duvets covers and pillow cases can lead to overheating – detracting from the benefits of wool. What’s more, you will find that a bed made up with a wool mattress topper, duvet, pillow and natural bed linen offers the ultimate in luxurious sleeping environments. Your guests may not want to leave bed at all.
As well as providing your guests with the perfect sleeping environment you can also rest easy knowing that no animals were harmed or lost their lives in order to produce wool bedding products and being 100% natural their impact on the environment is minimal.
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