Bedding for Hot Flashes in Summertime

July 7, 2020 9:42 PM

Picking out the best comforter/duvet insert for the heat

I'm menopausal (and cannot safely take supplements for my symptoms) so I get hot & sweaty at night. I'm also needing to buy a new comforter/duvet insert. I want something very light weight and cool. What materials am I looking for? (Down vs synthetic?) Any specific recs?

Budget is $100-300 for queen size.

posted by CancerSucks to Shopping (11 answers total)

A wool filled duvet!!!! Also consider a wool topper. I wool everything apart from my duvet covers which are cotton in the summer and silk in the winter. It’s helped me A LOT. I got mine from the home of wool in Bulgaria.
posted by pairofshades at 12:35 AM on July 8, 2020

Not quite flashing yet but I run hot - what Ikea sells as light summer duvet is what I use in winter. In the summer I just use a heavy weight cotton sheet or thin throw. If I want a bit more warmth I add a a thin blanket and only cover enough of me with the blanket to hit the sweet spot, normally just my feet, in spring/autumn up to my waist. This allows me to feel covered, I can pull my sheet up to my neck even in summer, without making me all hot and bothered and sweaty.
posted by koahiatamadl at 2:33 AM on July 8, 2020

I recently discovered linen bedding. I recommend it
posted by eotvos at 4:04 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

(Also, to be specific, Ikea sells a couple of really nice linen duvet sets for less than $100USD. Combined with their lightest insert, it's been a really good change for me. I'm not experiencing the same thing as you, but I've always slept hot and have to air out my pillows every day so they're dry by evening after sweating into them.)
posted by eotvos at 4:32 AM on July 8, 2020

Not fond of a/c so I use a flannel top sheet, two if it gets a bit cooler.
posted by Botanizer at 4:53 AM on July 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

Seconding koahiatamadl above; I tried using a duvet, but found that I was too hot, and also found that it might have been exacerbating my allergies. Instead I use just one of those mandala tapestries that get sold as wall hangings; they're lightweight, they're cheap, and they're decorative enough to serve as a coverlet. When it gets hot I sleep just under the tapestry and that's it (and when it gets really hot I sleep on top of that).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:50 AM on July 8, 2020 [3 favorites]

2nding a wool batting comforter (and people make their own if they are into quilting) which is more breathable than down or cotton batting according to reviews I've read. Lightweight options are: sewing two cotton sheets together around the edges or getting a very, very large cotton terrycloth towel/blanket.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:54 AM on July 8, 2020

Another vote for wool duvets. We have a summer weight and a winter weight and frankly they both can do about 10 months of the year, they are so flexible in terms of temperature maintenance. My partner tends to run very hot at night, while I am cold, and we both manage under the same one.
posted by AFII at 8:01 AM on July 8, 2020

If it has to be a duvet, then definitely a pure wool insert with pure cotton cover. Avoid all synthetics. Also don't forget a wool topper for your mattress & cotton base sheets, I found them very helpful too. In summer a thin cotton blanket & sheet ended up working best for me which broke my heart as I love snuggling under a duvet, but I still use a wool duvet with pure cotton cover 10 months of the year.
posted by wwax at 8:30 AM on July 8, 2020

I need both weight and coolness to sleep. In the winter I use an Ikea duvet, which I wash on high heat every two weeks to reduce my allergies. The cover gets replaced every week. (Allergies can make you feel hot too, not to mention the other ways they are uncomfortable).

Now that I’m hitting perimenopause, and I live in Arizona, that’s too much. So I have a weighted “cooling” blanket that I use a top sheet under (and folded down over the top edge). It’s not exactly cool, and I still have to stick a leg or an arm out sometimes to stay a decent temp and get to sleep. But it’s definitely heavy enough (15lbs) and temperature wise it is cooler than the lighted duvet. It also gets washed on high heat once every two weeks and is still in one piece; the top sheet gets replaced every week.
posted by nat at 9:48 AM on July 8, 2020

I feel you--I bought the lightest weight of a pricey down comforter a few years ago, hoping I'd finally stop with the goddamn hot flashing, but no such luck and I'm frequently throwing it off to get a break. I wish I'd seen this temperature regulating comforter from Cuddeldown then. The poly fill one linked here is the only one in your range, but they do have down ones.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 9:52 PM on July 8, 2020