Sharing a bed with someone you love has its obvious benefits, but there are drawbacks too. If you can’t agree on the optimum sleep temperature, heading to bed can be like going into battle.
Perhaps one of you naturally sleeps at the temperature of molten lava, and so cannot cope with a high-tog duvet - even in the icy depths of winter. On the other hand, one party may feel any breeze, however sultry it may be, searing into their very bones and must nuzzle into a covering the weight and heft of a cloud to catch their 40 winks. And if you’re both running hot or cold, it can cause a nocturnal tug-of-war over the bedsheets, with the vanquished laying shivering and blanketless on the mattress.
This night temperature incompatibility plagues even single sleepers: one second you’ll feel warm and toasty, and the next suffocated by the very duvet holding you tight. It’s exasperating stuff, especially if it comes at the expense of precious sleep.
If you’re trying to get to sleep, your body temperature needs to fall a little under what it is during the day: call it a micro hibernation.
Solutions include running a pre-bed bath, having a warm herbal tea (anything with caffeine, is, of course, completely out), and as the final resort, throwing a leg out of the duvet to bring down body temperature. But bedding can make a difference too.
Opting for climate-controlling sheets made of linen, bamboo and cotton carries clear benefits, allowing air to circulate, and keeping you fresh and comfortable through the night. Your choice of duvet matters too. While there are options for extreme seasons - think summer heatwaves and winter’s frost - a temperature-regulating design is suitable to use the whole year round.
We’ve rounded up the best temperature-regulating duvets to upgrade your sleep experience and put those sleep-setting nightmares to bed, once and for all.
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Scooms Hungarian Goose Down Duvet
Tog: 4.5 and 9
Made with ethically sourced Hungarian goose down and 10 per cent small goose feather to add some comforting bulk, Scooms’ naturally breathable duvet promises a deeply blissful bedtime.
The 4.5 tog duvet has small snaps at the border so you can attach a Scooms 9 tog duvet to create a toasty 13.5 tog duvet for winter, or you could separate the two for a lighter cover as the seasons get warmer. Given the unpredictability of British weather, this is one of the best bedding investments to cuddle up with all year long.
Buy now £390.00, Scooms
Panda London Cloud Duvet
Tog: 10.5
This wonderfully sustainable, antibacterial and luxuriously soft duvet is another all-season wonder. Panda London is known for its expertly crafted sleep accoutrements, and for ensuring that the duvets are 100 per cent bamboo - cover and filling included. Due to the fact that there are no feathers in the Cloud Duvet, it is totally hypoallergenic for those with allergies and sensitive skin. It’s on the higher end of the tog scale, so best suited for those who feel cold whatever the weather.
Buy now £129.95, Panda London
Simba Hybrid 3-in-1 Duvet - double
Tog: 7 and 3.5
If you’re already sleeping on one of Simba’s excellent mattresses, why not match it with a duvet too? This 3-in-1 hybrid design consists of a 7-tog main duvet to use over spring and autumn, plus a 3.5-tog design to use on hot summer nights. Pair the two together and you’ve got a 10.5 cover to count sheep under.
Buy now £349.00, Simba
Emma 4-Season Duvet - double
Tog: 3.5 and 7
This sustainable duvet from emma sleep offers an adjustable level of warmth, so you'll always have the right sleep environment. The two layers can be mixed and matched by clipping on to get you to a toasty level. Best of all it's 100 per cent machine-washable, so easy to keep clean at home.
Buy now £131.00, Emma
Slumberdown Made For You Two King Size Duvet
Tog: 10.5 tog and 4.5
Together this duvet will make a toasty cover of 15 tog, but thanks to the two-layer construction, you can dial it down to 10.5 tog or 4.5 tog. This means cold and hot sleepers alike can find their sweet sleeping spot. With a microfibre cover over hollowfibre filling, it's a lightweight design that will keep you warm but not smothered.
Buy now £28.99, Amazon
Soak & Sleep All Seasons Soft as Down Microfibre Double Duvet
Tog: 4.5 and 9
Offering the same level of cuddly comfort as down filling, microfibre is a superior option for allergy sufferers and so convincingly luxurious no one would guess it's not the real thing under the soft cotton casing. Pair both halves together to create a toasty 13.5-tog cover that you'll want to hibernate under all winter long.
Buy now £85.50, Soak & Sleep
Slumberdown 1 Tog Super Light Superking Duvet
Tog: 1
This super-slim duvet is ideal for sweaty, humid nights. It’s filled with synthetic hollowfibres that give you all the padding with none of the red eyes and runny noses that can come with feathers.
And if you’re not quite convinced on investing in a second duvet just for the summer, this bargain price should be enough to push you over the edge.
Buy now £16.99, The Range
Canadian Goose Down Duvet - 4.5 Tog
Tog: 4.5
For a true cloud-like feeling, catch some ultra luxurious Z’s with this Canadian goose down duvet by The White Company.
This 4.5 tog delight is filled with the large, lofty feathers, encased in cotton sateen and finished with a internal box construction for the perfectly even distribution of heat. There’s also a 10-year manufacturer’s guarantee attached.
Buy now £395.00, The White Company
Dreamland King Size Love Mornings All Season Pure Cotton Heated Duvet
The weight and coverage of a duvet teamed with the instant nuzzly comfort of a heated blanket. Dreamland's Love Mornings all-season duvet is made from pure cotton aiding breathability and can adjust through six heat settings, making it ideal for mid to deep winter.
There's an automatic shut-off for safety and an LED remote so you can tweak everything without rummaging under the bedsheets in the wee hours.
Buy now £199.99, Amazon
