As winter sets in and temperatures drop, being warm and cozy starts to climb higher on my list of priorities.
Despite layering myself in warm wools for sleep (wool socks for sure, a worn and somewhat hole-dotted long merino skirt around my legs and a cashmere or merino sweater long past its prime on top), I’ve still often felt chilly when climbing into bed.
Yes, of course, I had wool blankets nearby and ready to pull over me, and I do advocate for the pull-the-wool-blanket-over-your-head approach to falling asleep. I discovered this trick while attending many festivals, often in the woods, where temperatures would drop at night and I’d find myself shivering. Creating a wool-blanket “tent,” so to speak, over my head has many benefits: First and foremost, it traps my breath and the warm air I’m expelling inside a small zone and warms up the air around my head, which I’m breathing. The wool-blanket “tent” also helps block out light, which helps me sleep better.
But for all my wool-wool-wool focus, I only recently discovered this trick, simple as it is. Rather than pulling a wool blanket on top of my bedsheets and bed spread, I place a wool blanket between my mattress sheet and top sheet. When I climb into bed, the wool blanket is th e first layer on top of me; it covers me in all that cozy wool goodness, providing instant warmth and comfort.
I don’t know why I didn’t discover this trick earlier in life, but now that I have, I’m golden! At least in terms of being warm and cozy on a cold winter’s night.
TIP: If you’re shopping for wool blankets at a thrift store, bring a lighter and light a small bit of fiber to test it. If it smells like burnt hair, it’s wool. If it smells like plastic, it’s plastic.
