There is a particular kind of tiredness that only July can produce. You go to bed late, the room has held its heat all evening, and at two in the morning you are turning the pillow over for the third time.
Most people blame the weather. In our experience, the weather is only half the story. The other half is what your mattress is made of.
The heat is not the problem. The trapped heat is
Your body sheds warmth and moisture all night. That is normal, and a good bed is built to deal with it.
A bed struggles when the materials around you hold that warmth close instead of letting it move. Man-made foams are the usual culprit. They are dense, they sit tight against the body, and they give warmth nowhere to go. The mattress is not creating heat. It is simply refusing to let yours leave.
Natural fibres work the other way. They are hollow, springy and loosely structured, so air moves through them and moisture is carried away from your skin. Nothing clever is happening. The materials are just doing what they have always done.
The mattress is not creating heat. It is simply refusing to let yours leave.
What each natural fibre does
Wool absorbs moisture from the air around your body and releases it slowly. That is why wool works in both directions: warmer in winter, cooler in summer.
Horsehair is the quiet hero of traditional bedmaking. Each strand acts like a tiny spring, holding the fillings open so air can circulate inside the mattress itself. It also lasts for decades.
Cotton sits closest to the sleeping surface in many traditional builds. It is soft, it breathes, and it wicks.
Cashmere, mohair and silk appear in the finest beds for their softness, and they carry the same advantage: they are natural, so they breathe.
What this looks like in a real bed
This is not theory to us. It is what is on our floor.
The Relyon Heritage Braemar is upholstered with British wool, cotton, cashmere and silk. The Relyon Peerless Cranleigh is filled with lamb's wool, horsehair, mohair, cotton and cashmere. Even the sleeping surface matters: a wool and viscose damask cover, as used on Relyon's Elegance, is chosen because it is soft and breathable rather than because it photographs well.
Fillings like these cost more than foam. We will not pretend otherwise. But you are buying a bed that manages temperature every night for decades, and that is a very different purchase from a slab that fights you every summer.
Three things you can do tonight
A new mattress is not the only answer, and we would rather you slept well either way.
- Swap to linen or cotton bedding. A synthetic sheet on a natural mattress undoes half the good work.
- Drop your duvet weight. A lighter summer duvet, or a flat sheet alone on the hottest nights, lets the mattress do its job.
- Air the bed in the morning. Fold the duvet back for an hour before you make the bed. Moisture leaves, the mattress recovers.
Frequently asked questions
Do cooling gel mattresses work?
Gel layers can feel cool when you first lie down. They cannot breathe the way a hollow natural fibre can, so the effect tends to fade as the night goes on. We would rather solve the cause than chill the symptom.
Is a natural mattress worth it if I only overheat in summer?
If you sleep warm, you sleep warm in February too; summer just makes it obvious. A breathable bed helps all year.
How do I know what is inside a mattress?
Ask. It is our favourite question. The label rarely tells you, which is exactly why we think you should buy a bed from people who can.
Sleep is worth a proper conversation, and warm nights are where we usually start in summer. Come into the showroom, tell us how you sleep, and lie on a bed built to breathe. Fifteen minutes on real horsehair and wool will tell you more than any label.
Call us on 020 7723 2925 or get in touch to arrange a visit.