The fun in sleeping naked and 5 surprising health benefits of sleeping naked
Written By
Joy EmehHuman Anatomist | Health Editor
Key takeaways:
- Health benefits of sleeping naked include improved quality of sleep, improved reproductive health, healthier skin, and weight loss
- Both the body and brain need sleep for enhanced function
- There are four stages of sleep, each with a distinct brain activity
Humans spend about one-third of their life sleeping or attempting to sleep. It is essential that every adult get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. But, the quality of sleep is also as important.
About 65% of Americans agreed that they would be more likely to exercise if they slept well the night before.
Almost everyone will want to sleep for longer. Many wake up in the morning craving an extra hour of sleep but are forced to leave bed because of daily engagements. While it is not always possible to get an extra hour of sleep, one thing that is possible is getting quality sleep.
Why you need sleep
There is a link between health and sleep.
Have you ever wondered why you feel foggy when you don't get enough sleep at night? It is because sleep significantly impacts brain function.
You need sleep to be able to adapt to input. If you don't get enough sleep, you may be unable to process what you learn, or the information received the previous day. It can also affect your future memory process.
When awake, the brain is unable to remove toxic waste products efficiently from the brain cells, but researchers believe that sleep may promote waste product removal. This is one of the great benefits of sleep to health.
Aside from the brain, sleep is also vital to the rest of the body. Inadequate sleep increases the risk of medical conditions like depression, high blood pressure, seizures, heart diseases, stroke, and migraine.
The importance of sleep to health cannot be overemphasized, as not getting enough sleep can cause mental and physical breakdowns.
Health benefits of sleeping naked
Surprisingly, sleeping naked has its benefits. Some people believe that when they sleep naked, especially with their partner, they fall asleep faster and experience improved health and wellness in their relationships. In fact, in 2019, 29% of French people reportedly slept naked.
Not many research studies have been carried out on the benefits of sleeping naked; however, some studies have provided insight into its potential benefits. Some health benefits of sleeping naked include:
1. It makes you sleep faster
If you go to bed with your clothes off, you fall asleep faster. The body’s temperature is a crucial key to falling asleep fast. This is because thermoregulation is strongly linked with the mechanism that regulates sleep.
A cool body temperature tells the body that it is time to go to sleep. So sleeping naked, which cools the body, can help you sleep faster. On the other hand, if your room and body temperature are high, it will be harder for you to fall asleep.
2. It improves sleep quality
A cool body temperature helps you sleep faster and improves overall sleep quality. This is one of the health benefits of sleeping naked.
A study from the National Institute of Health found that room temperature is vital for achieving quality sleep.
If your room is too hot or too cold, the rapid eye movement sleep, which is the dream stage of sleep that helps refresh your brain and body, may be affected. Sleeping nude is one way to keep the body cool beneath the covers.
3. Weight loss
Exercise and diet are the primary keys to weight loss. But, you might be shocked to learn that the way you sleep can affect your weight.
A 3-year cohort study found a possible link between inadequate sleep and weight gain or obesity.“People who are sleep deprived have a slower metabolism and more difficulty losing weight.” Dr. Gina Lundberg told the American Heart Association. This, again shows how sleeping naked (which improves the quality of sleep) can benefit your health.
Another study published in PLOS Medicine showed that people who don’t get enough sleep have higher ghrelin levels, which increases appetite. This indicates that getting quality sleep can help control food cravings and reduce appetite. Sleeping naked is one of the ways to put your body in a relaxed state to get quality sleep.
4. It promotes reproductive health
For women, sleeping naked is a great way to promote vaginal health and avoid yeast infections. Yeast grows in a warm, moist environment, and wearing sweaty or tight-fitting underwear can increase disease risk.
Also, sleeping with underwear on can cause itching and pain due to irritation of the vulva. By removing your underwear at night, there is less rubbing to this sensitive skin area.
You might not always have it in mind to buy loose-fitted underwear when shopping, but, to be on the safer side, it would be best to go off underwear when sleeping. Sleeping naked is an easy way to air your vagina and keep it healthy.
Sleeping nude also benefits men in terms of reproductive health. A study showed that tight-fitting underwear could be linked to a lower sperm count.
To function optimally, the testicles need a cooler temperature, and that is why they descend from their original position (near the kidney) into the scrotum, which is outside the body! Sleeping naked is easy to keep the testicles cool to function well and produce healthy sperm.
5. It makes for healthier skin
Have you heard of beauty sleep? It is not just a myth. Sleeping naked can help you get your beauty sleep as it increases your sleep quality, which further improves your skin.
A study found that people who slept well recovered from wounds faster than those who didn’t.
When you sleep, your body generates new cells and repairs itself. The skin produces collagen overnight. With quality sleep (which can be facilitated by sleeping naked), you increase blood flow to the skin, keep the skin healthy, and help it repair damaged cells.
What happens during sleep?
Yes, dream happens when we sleep, but what happens when we sleep goes beyond dreams. It is also different from what happens to the brain and body during a coma. Because unlike sleep, in a state of coma, they body cannot move and the person in coma is also unaware of their surroundings.
There are four stages of sleep that occur multiple times during a 7-9 hour sleep duration:
- Stage 1 non-REM sleep,
- stage 2 non-REM sleep,
- stage 3 non-REM sleep, and
- stage 4 REM sleep
If you are taking just a short nap, then the body does not have to cycle through the four stages of sleep multiple times as this cycle varies from 70 to 120 minutes.2
REM is short for "non-rapid eye movement". During stage 1 non-REM sleep, the body enters a light sleep with the heart rate, eye movement, and brain waves slowing down. This first sleep stage lasts for about 7 minutes.
The second phase, stage 2 non-REM sleep, is the light sleep phase just before the deep sleep. In this phase, the eye movement stops, the temperature reduces, and muscles and heart rate continue to relax. The brain waves go up a bit and then come down. In the first cycle, it lasts for about 10 to 25 minutes.
Deep sleep begins in stage 3, non-REM sleep. The muscles and eyes don't move at this point, and brain waves slow down further. This is the point where the body starts replenishing its lost strength and repairing muscles, tissues, and cells. You need to go through this phase to wake up refreshed.
Stage 4 REM sleep occurs initially about 90 minutes after falling asleep. The eyes rapidly move from side to side, increasing in movement. Brain waves, heart rate, and breathing also speed up. This is the dream phase. It is also the phase when brain information processing occurs.
Final thoughts
If you are feeling stressed or finding it difficult to sleep, you may want to consider going to bed nude. For some couples, sleeping naked helps reduce their stress levels and improves rest. This is so because skin-to-skin contact can increase oxytocin ("love hormone") levels. This, in turn helps reduce stress while increasing intimacy.