When women go through menopause, they experience hot flashes and night sweats, which change how their bodies experience sleep. That’s why it becomes all the more important what you’re putting on your skin every day, including when you go to sleep. Given these changes in body temperature, your skin becomes more sensitive, and staying cool becomes a priority. With comfortable menopause pajamas, you’ll feel anything but sticky and confining.
The right pajamas for night sweats can improve your sleep by helping your body breathe and stay dry throughout the night. At this is J, we know a thing or two about pajamas, which is why we’re sharing our insights into the best pajamas for menopause and night sweats.
We’re delving into everything you need to know, including the best fabrics, what to look for and avoid, and even sleep environment tips. Your skin deserves the best, so let us help you make this transition in life a little easier and more comfortable.
Understanding Night Sweats and Hot Flashes
Up to 80% of women in menopause experience night sweats and hot flashes. These incredibly annoying symptoms can last seven to 10 years. Most women dread even the thought of night sweats and hot flashes, but it's a reality best dealt with head-on, which means you need to understand what these symptoms are and how to help ease them.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, night sweats are drenching sweats that can be so intense they soak through your clothing and bedding, disturbing your sleep. Usually, sweating is helpful and your body's natural response to feeling too hot, since it cools you down. Unfortunately, night sweats are not helping you feel more comfortable or cooler. It’s quite the opposite.
Then there are hot flashes, which as many as three in four women experience in the years leading up to menopause, during perimenopause, and during menopause itself. With hot flashes, you’ll feel a sudden, intense heat, often occurring with sweating and flushed skin. As you can imagine, this can be exasperatingly disruptive to your sleep and can make what you’re wearing to bed irritating to your skin.
Usually, the treatment options for night sweats and hot flashes can include prescription medications and hormone replacement therapy. Still, these are not the only things to try to alleviate your symptoms. You can also look into lifestyle changes related to your sleep hygiene, such as adjusting your bedclothes and choosing pajamas made with better materials.
What to Look for in Menopause-Friendly Sleepwear
For lack of a better word, menopause ‘sucks.’ There’s no two ways about this, but it's something most women experience, some earlier than others.
Fortunately, you can make your life a little easier with a beautiful set of cooling pajamas for hot flashes, but you need to know what to look for.
So have a look below at a few of our insights that should help you find pajamas you love to wear, even when it feels like a raging sun is trying to burst through your skin.
Moisture-Wicking (Essential)
You’ll want to choose moisture-wicking fabrics over anything else. Pajamas made with these fabrics pull sweat away from your skin and help it evaporate. This might not seem like a big deal, but with less lingering moisture on your skin, you feel less clammy. So, look for sleepwear made from natural, plant-based fibre blends that move rather than absorb moisture.
Breathable, Natural Fabrics
If you want to breathe easier, start with your skin. You should look for lightweight and breathable materials that allow air to circulate your skin. With breathable natural fabrics, you can help your body cool down during night sweats or when hot flashes strike. These fabrics, especially bamboo-derived viscose, are soft, airy, and gentle on sensitive menopausal skin.
Temperature Regulation
Just as some people are better at things than others, the same goes for materials and temperature regulation. Some fabrics can help moderate temperature swings by balancing moisture movement and airflow. These fabrics can adjust to the changes in your body temperature, dispersing heat better, helping you get a better night's rest, since you’ll feel cooler.
Fabrics Ranked for Menopause
Some fabrics are just… better for menopause pajamas. So, if you’re looking for your next set of comfortable PJs, you might want to learn more about the fabrics that will feel luxurious on your skin. Or better yet, those that also promise to be comfortable, and, best of all, soothing when those pesky hot flushes or night sweats kick in.
Bamboo Viscose
If you care about your carbon footprint (as many of us do) and night sweats are disturbing your beauty sleep, bamboo viscose might be the pajama fabric for you. Bamboo viscose doesn’t need pesticides, making it a more environmentally friendly fabric.
It's also naturally moisture-wicking, so it will pull sweat away from your heated and flushed skin and help it evaporate faster. With less sweat on your skin, you feel drier and far more comfortable. It's also a fabric that is beautifully breathable and lightweight, especially when the blend is 93% viscose from bamboo and 7% spandex.
With a unique blend of bamboo viscose and spandex, you won't feel like your clothes are adding to your overheating problem, nor will you feel like your pajamas are sticking to you like a second skin. At This Is J, we offer quite a few pajama options with this material make-up, and every one of them is guaranteed to feel better on your skin and help you enjoy a better night's rest.
Modal
We don’t blame you if you enjoy a silky, smooth, cool-to-the-touch feel against your skin. If, for some reason, bamboo viscose is out the door, modal might be your next best bet for menopause pajamas.
This fabric is softer and far more breathable than traditional cotton, and it doesn’t do too badly at handling moisture. However, we’re keeping it real with you, modal doesn’t perform as well as bamboo viscose when it comes to moisture control and that long-lasting fresh feeling.
Cotton
Cotton is one of the top choices for pajamas because it's breathable and comfortable, but it isn’t the very best choice for menopause pajamas because it's a basic solution for temperature regulation and moisture management. That said, it is still a good option because it does absorb moisture, but it tends to hold onto it during night sweats.
When you sweat, the fabric becomes damp and stays that way until it dries, which can leave you feeling chilly and uncomfortable at night. However, if you’re after mild warmth or are someone who enjoys feeling cool, it's still a good choice. You just might want to consider bamboo viscose or modal over cotton if you’re experiencing frequent hot flashes or night sweats.
Fabrics to avoid
Unfortunately, not every fabric type works for menopausal night sweats and hot flashes. In fact, there are some materials you might want to avoid, just as someone living during the 18th century would want to avoid the plague.
Here’s a look at them. You’ll notice most are synthetics or heavy materials that are a no-go for menopause pajamas.
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Polyester: Do you want to know how it feels sleeping in cling film while you’re experiencing a hot flash that feels like you’ve been involved in an HIIT session at the gym? No? We didn’t think so; that’s why you need to avoid polyester. This fabric traps heat against the skin, is terrible at moisture wicking, and can be itchy and uncomfortable.
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Nylon: You know that fabric they use to create tents? The cheaper ones? Yes, that’s nylon, and it's not something you want your pajamas to be made out of. Nylon, as a synthetic material, often traps heat and can cause significant discomfort during hot flashes. If you’ve ever been in a tent on a hot summer's day, you have an idea of how uncomfortably hot this can become.
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Satin: It might look like silk and be its cheaper counterpart, but it's not a good option for menopause pajamas. Satin has almost no give, making it uncomfortable in general, but during hot flashes and night sweats, the fabric traps heat and sweat, hindering temperature regulation.
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Flannel and Fleece: In the winter, a flannel or fleece pajama set can be incredibly warm and cozy, but…you guessed it… not when you're in menopause. These fabrics tend to be too insulating, which can leave you feeling overly hot and downright awful during night sweats and hot flashes.
Beyond Pajamas: Sleep Environment Tips
Pajamas matter a great deal when it comes to countering hot flashes and night sweats, but your sleep environment matters too. Here are a few sleep environment tips you might want to adopt to doubly ensure you’re getting a good night's sleep during menopause:
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A cool and ventilated environment: If your environment is cool, you’ll feel far more comfortable when sleeping. So open windows, run on an AC, or get a standing fan and ensure the room is well ventilated. Doing these things will immensely help with hot flushes and night sweats.
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Develop a calming bedtime routine: Your nighttime routine matters more than you know. A calming and thoughtful routine can help ease the transition into sleep. Usually, the best routines include activities such as listening to soothing music, reading a book, or practicing relaxation techniques, such as gentle yoga.
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Avoid stimulants at night: We’re all guilty of wanting a nice cup of coffee before bed or, in the case of those going through menopause, an iced latte, but this is a no-no. Stimulants not only keep you awake at night, but they can also make you feel hot and flushed. So, try to switch to decaf or a nice glass of iced tea or water instead.
Bamboo Viscose Works for Menopause: Choose This Is J Sleepwear
Finding the best pair of menopause pajamas can feel like you need to put in as much effort as you would trying to climb an almost insurmountable mountain… so basically, effort for naught.
With This Is J sleepwear this isn’t the case. We offer bamboo viscose blend pajamas that are perfect for women fighting the menopause battle who are trying to simply get a good night's sleep. If you want to get a set or two or even three, you can click the link here. Our pajamas come in different styles for winter and summer, several colour options, and sizes.
Trust us, your body will thank you when it's not soaked in sweat, and you don’t feel like you’re about to burst out of your clothes from overheating when all you want to do is get some shut-eye.
