Life
Some people love sleeping in the nude, but others can't stand the idea of nixing their cozy pajamas. If you're someone who lives for sleeping in your favorite flannel set, you might be wondering why on earth someone would want to get in bed unclothed. There are actually a number of fascinating things that happen to your body when you sleep naked, and most of them happen to be pretty beneficial for your health.
Most of the positive health effects that come as a result of sleeping naked occur because you stay much cooler sans clothing. "Nude sleeping might help decrease the risk that your body will get over heated," family physician Dr. Kristamarie Collman tells Bustle. "Elevated body temperatures can impact the release of melatonin. This is a special hormone made in the brain that helps our body recognize when its time to wake up and go to sleep. Sleeping fully clothed can keep the body temperature elevated, which could impact melatonin function."
If sleeping in the nude sketches you out, you may reconsider once you discover all the health benefits that come along with it. Here are six fascinating things that happen to your body when you sleep naked.
1
Better Quality Sleep
Sleeping naked helps your body naturally drop in temperature, which can improve your sleep. "We are naturally programmed to experience a drop in body temperature during the night," sleep doctor and psychiatrist Dr. Alex Dimitriu tells Bustle. "Anything that we do to accentuate this drop in body temperature helps make sleep deeper and more restorative. Scientifically speaking, a drop in body temperature during the night helps with increasing 'slow wave sleep,' which is the deep restorative sleep that it is often hard to wake from."
2
Fewer Yeast Infections
Sleeping naked may also help with your vaginal health, as sleeping without clothing gives your vagina time to breath. "For the ladies, this could help those who are more prone to yeast infections," says Dr. Collman. "It’s known that yeast thrives in moist environments, and sleeping naked can help to reduce excess moisture."
3
Fewer Bacterial Vaginosis Infections
Tight underwear or pajamas can also lead to other types of infections down there, such as bacterial vaginosis, and sleeping naked can help prevent this type of infection as well. "Bacterial vaginosis is an overgrowth of normal bacteria in the vagina that occurs as a result of altered pH in the vagina," family physician Dr. Lauren Powell tells Bustle. "For my patients that experience this often, I suggest that they wear only cotton undergarments, avoid chemicals and soaps in the vagina, and of course, sleep without underwear."
4
Increased Oxytocin
If you sleep with someone else in bed, you might even find that sleeping naked releases more oxytocin. "For the lovers, sleeping in your birthday suit may encourage intimacy between couples," says Dr. Collman. "Cuddling one another via skin to skin contact can flood our bodies with a special hormone called oxytocin which has also been called 'the love hormone.' When this hormone is released, it can have a positive impact on our emotional behaviors and get those good feelings flowing about your partner."
5
Improved Hair & Skin
"Sweating at night can majorly dehydrate you and your skin and hair," family physician Navya Mysore, MD, tells Bustle. "Staying cooler at night will prevent you from having dryer skin as well as having to wash your hair so frequently, which can lead to even more hair damage." You might even find that since you're sweating less, you're even experiencing fewer breakouts.
6
Balanced Hormones
Sleeping unclothed — and thus getting less warm at night — can even begin to affect other aspects of your health, including your hormones. "Sleeping with a low body temperature can positively regulate hormones like melatonin, growth hormone, and cortisol," says Powell. "These hormones are important for mood, [...] quality of sleep, and blood pressure."
7
Sleeping without clothes can work wonders on your health by keeping you cool and improving your sleep, not to mention bringing you closer to whoever you're sharing your bed with. Save your PJs for breakfast the morning after or lounging around your apartment.
