Home Improvement

Comfortable sheets are essential for a good night's sleep, but with so many options available, choosing the right ones can feel overwhelming. At the Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab, my team and I have dedicated years to testing hundreds of sheets, evaluating factors like comfort and durability to identify the best choices for every need and preference.

Whether you live in a particularly warm climate or are just prone to hot sleeping, cooling sheets can improve your sleep quality and comfort, regulating your temperature as you snooze. Inherently, human beings’ body temperatures drop during sleep,1 which means that promoting a cool environment can be a useful tool, and a good set of sheets is an excellent place to start. While many sheets are marketed as “cooling,” we wanted to see for ourselves whether or not they actually delivered on this claim. We’ve tested over 270 sets of sheets over the past few years for a total of over 27,500 hours

If you’re like me, lightweight bedding just won’t cut it when temperatures drop and daylight hours dwindle. I can’t stand being cold, so chilly weather calls for heftier flannel sheets—even though this makes it just a little bit harder to get out of my warm bed each morning. Because finding a quality flannel sheet set that’ll hold up over time is no easy feat, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you and put 45 options to the test in The Lab and at home.

A restful night’s sleep starts with the quality of your pillows, which should provide both support and comfort. Memory foam, a popular material used in bedding and filling, contours to the body and accommodates any sleeping position. It can also help support your spinal alignment and create a more comfortable sleeping environment.

I may live in the warmer climate of California, but I’m something of a blanket snob–especially when it comes to faux fur blankets. Come cool fall nights and cold winter days, I love wrapping up in thick, luxurious-feeling faux fur that’s warm enough to keep the thermostat at an energy-efficient temperature. Even if they don’t look like real fur, the softer and fluffier, the more a faux fur blanket will invite you to use it. In addition to my firsthand experience with faux fur blankets, we’ve tested hundreds of blankets here at The Nexradar, wrapping up in and laying underneath colorful and boldly patterned throw blankets, lightweight layers meant for your bed, and thick, plush options

If you’ve spent good, hard-earned money on top-tier pillows that perfectly cradle your neck and a comfortable set of silk pillowcases, you want to make sure they all last—and for that, you need a good pillow protector. Pillow protectors are additional cases you slip onto your pillow before adding a pillowcase. They usually feature zipper encasements designed to make sure nothing gets through to damage your pillow, such as makeup or allergens (or even bed bugs. ) They can also feature other perks, like waterproofing, to further protect pillows from sweat and spills

If you’re in the market for some new sheets, you've definitely seen retailers' claims of a “high thread count,” a phrase that’s often used to indicate a product’s top-notch comfort and quality construction. Thread count indicates how tightly the fabric is woven, and a higher number can mean sheets have a smoother texture and a more luxurious feel. However, there’s more to it than just a number.  Although a higher thread count is typically better, that's not always the case

If your current pillow is too hot, too soft, or doesn’t hold its shape well, consider a latex pillow. Responsive, supportive, and naturally breathable, latex pillows can deliver a host of benefits that your average memory foam, down, or down-alternative one can't. As Dr. Seema Bonney, MD and Mattress Firm’s sleep doctor, explains, “Natural latex is organic (a natural type of foam derived from the rubber tree's sap), hypoallergenic and antimicrobial, [as it] keeps away pollen, molds, allergens, mildew, and dust mites