I have always held that wool is the absolute best material to sleep on and under, making it your best friend in bed. It does for your body exactly what it does for the sheep: keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
What? How is that possible?
Today we will start with part one on the wonder that is wool.
Wool is the perfect bedroom companion!
Wool has some very unique characteristics that make it the most amazing fiber in the world and perfect for bedding, both in and around your body. To begin with, wool is a natural fire retardant. The wool fibers will burn if held to fire, but when the fibers are removed from the flame, it will immediately stop burning. Each strand of wool fiber contains moisture inside the strand.
Wool is also a very flexible and durable fiber, making it perfect for mattress fill. One fiber can be bent back and forth over 20,000 times without breaking and is stronger than steel (1). Compared to a more common mattress fill like cotton, cotton fiber can only be bent 3,000 times before it breaks. Wool's natural elasticity makes it tear-resistant as well.
As an insulation material, wool is perfect. It can keep you warm or cool depending on your body's needs. It keeps you warm without overheating your body. Bedouins wear wool to keep their bodies cool in the desert heat. The way wool is able to perform in both hot and cold is the tiny pockets of air within each wool fiber that provide both insulation and breath-ability. And of course, because of wool's makeup, it is resistant to mold and mildew.
Natural wool is able to absorb up to 30 percent of its own weight in moisture without feeling wet, which is one of the reasons it can still keep you warm even in the rain Wool fibers have a natural crimp which helps to wick moisture, or pull it away, from your body. Removing this moisture off your bare skin is the key element to keeping warm in moist conditions.
There are more complex elements to the wool fiber that help keep you warm in the wet conditions, which we will discuss in the next installment on wool here on Pillow Talk.
Be sure to check out all of our wool products, from pillows, blankets, comforters and pads. Looking for a vegan alternative to wool bedding? We carry a full line of cotton and kapok fiber materials as well for our vegan friends.