It’s hard to believe that a single piece of cloth can be so contentious, yet it turns out that it can.
Whether you ask a group of friends and family members if they use a top sheet, you’ll receive a broad variety of replies, from enthusiastic support to outright horror at the prospect of an additional layer of bedding.
To decipher the top sheet issue, we chatted with a few bedding experts.
Meet the Professional
- LOOK Lifestyle, a bedding firm, was founded by Elizabeth Dorsey Fertitta.
- Byron Golub works at Saatva, a mattress firm, as the Director of Product & Merchandising.
Top sheets, once a mainstay of every bedding set, have faded in popularity in recent years, as some people have chosen to replace them with the ever-popular duvet (with duvet cover, of course).
But can a top sheet and a duvet coexist, and what exactly is the role of a top sheet?
Related: How To Put A Fitted Sheet On A Bed?
What Is a Top Sheet, Exactly?
A top sheet, also known as a flat sheet, is similar to a fitted sheet in that it sits between you and your blanket or duvet cover, but the fitted sheet is securely fitted around the mattress.
While utilizing a top sheet may seem to be nothing more than an extra layer of comfort on top of a comfortable night’s sleep, there is another, equally useful purpose for doing so.
According to Elizabeth Dorsey Fertitta of LOOK Lifestyle, a bedding manufacturer, “the goal of a top sheet is to keep your blanket or duvet cover clean for a longer length of time since dust mites, perspiration, and germs concentrate on the textiles closest to your skin.”
Pros
Laundry is easier to do once a week.
For warm or hot conditions, use a lighter layer.
It has a layered, warm feel about it.
Cons
It adds a step to the everyday bed-making process.
It has the potential to irritate restless sleepers.
Technically, it’s pointless.
Related: What Size Is A Full Bed Sheet?
The Benefits of Using a Top Sheet for Sleeping
Top sheets have been around for a long time, so it’s understandable that there are several reasons to use one.
One benefit is that it eliminates the need to wash your comforter or duvet cover on a regular basis.
“Is there anything more inconvenient than having to wash filthy sheets?” “It’s like washing a large, wild blanket,” Byron Golub, Director of Product & Merchandising at Saatva, a mattress business, said.
Anyone who has changed and laundered bedding once (or a hundred times!) understands how time-consuming it can be.
Who loves carrying their comforter to the laundry or washing machine every week, or unbuttoning and rebuttoning their duvet cover to wash it?
“You’ll want to wash it more regularly if you don’t use a top sheet and your comforter doesn’t have a protective cover,” Golub added.
Unless you use a top sheet, a duvet cover should be cleaned as often as you change your sheets.
If you do use a top sheet, you may get away with cleaning your duvet cover less frequently (we recommend every two to four weeks).
If you use simply a duvet with no cover (or a comforter) without a top sheet, you’ll want to wash the complete duvet or comforter once a week to keep your sleeping space clean (as often as you wash your sheets).
With a top sheet, however, you may just wash your sheet set once a week rather of washing the whole duvet.
If you already find it difficult to follow regular sheet-washing instructions, utilizing a top sheet may assist by keeping harder-to-wash layers cleaner for longer.
During the summer, a top sheet is an excellent alternative to sleeping beneath a thick blanket.
It may be used as your only blanket in the spring and summer.
A top sheet also adds to the overall comfort of the situation.
Simply said, “sleeping with a top sheet is comfy and reminds me of the lovely sensation you get when you get into any hotel bed—a snug, layered cocoon,” Golub explained.
Related: RV Bunk Sheets: How To Make Camper Bunk Beds The Easy Way
The Negative Effects of Sleeping With a Top Sheet
On the other hand, there are a variety of (quite reasonable) reasons why individuals do not want to sleep with a top sheet.
One of the biggest disadvantages of a top sheet is that it makes making your bed a bit more difficult by adding another layer to keep care of.
“Having one less layer to smooth down makes this procedure a bit simpler,” Golub said.
Restless sleepers, who have greater ability to move about without top sheets, may have difficulties.
“Some individuals don’t appreciate being buried behind a thick layer of clothing.
“Getting rid of your top sheet allows you to move about more,” Golub said.
However, another disadvantage of the top sheet is that it is eventually superfluous.
One of the most common objections to top sheets is that they provide no value to your bed.
“What’s the sense of keeping an extra sheet on the bed when you can cuddle beneath a blanket if you clean all your bedding frequently?” According to Golub.
The major disadvantage is that top sheets are heavy and prone to tangling.
A duvet on its own allows you to move about more freely and makes making your bed in the morning a joy!
Is It Necessary to Keep Your Top Sheet?
It all boils down to your particular sleeping habits in the end.
Bedding firms have lately made it simpler than ever to forego the top sheet by providing sheet sets without them—while still allowing customers to add one if wanted.
Top sheet detractors may now buy sheets without paying for a layer they won’t use, while top sheet devotees can keep their favorite layer.
Whatever you pick, Dorsey Fertitta advises that “if you want to skip the top sheet, you should treat your duvet cover like you would the top sheet and wash it once a week.”
