Living in the 21st century is not easy considering we’re all slowly turning into workaholics, barely having enough time to relax that we even take work problems to our bed. Before we know it, night becomes day, and the bad sleeping pattern turns into insomnia that starts causing overall health problems. This is why quality of sleep should be our top priority and taking into account that we spend a third of our lives in sleep, it’s important to make sure we do whatever we can to get the much needed beauty sleep every night. When we often think of quality, we think of how it’s all about the mattress choice and yet we forget the role of bedsheets as well.
The primary mistake most of us make when choosing bedsheets is looking into their aesthetic beauty, the colours, the prints and whether they’d match the bedroom interior which is why we end up with the wrong ones in most cases. Sure, style matters, but quality is what everyone should be after. You’ve probably had synthetic sheets if you can remember having discomfort all night feeling the unbearable heat of sheets, quite a nuisance in the warm spring and summer days. This happens because they aren’t breathable which is not the case with cotton. If you want to get the kind of comfort five star bed hotels provide and get the z’s every night, then you have to invest in cotton. As you’d see once you start looking from the products shops offer, the finest there are Egyptian cotton sheets. So what is it about the Egyptian ones that makes them so better than regular?
As first, the plant itself is different. The Egyptian cotton, also known as gossypium barbadense, is a type that has longer fibres and that’s why it’s also called ESL (extra strong staple) cotton. The longer the threads the more comfortable the result. If you’re looking for the cool material, just what’s needed considering colder is better for healthy dozing off, then this cotton should be your preferred choice. Its porous properties make it possible for moisture absorption so you get a pleasant sleep. Measure up your bed size properly, find the Egyptian cotton sheets that most fit your requirements and your bed turns into a haven.
Though the plant is the same as that of Peruvian (pima) cotton, there are differences mainly thanks to the moderate Egyptian climate. Grown in the Nile Delta, it has the ideal thriving conditions. This strategic location was chosen in the 19th century by Muhammad Ali Pasha and Egypt’s cotton industry has been flourishing ever since, though cotton was always abounding in the region for centuries. Unlike machine based cottons, the Egyptian one is made using old techniques, still hand picked and no use of toxic materials during manufacture, so it’s user friendly and there’s no mechanical stress put to fibres. The outcome is longer and stronger fibres, with superior softness characteristics.
The more thread count, the better, however it’s also the quality of the thread that matters and how you take care of the bedsheets. If you want to make use of your Egyptian cotton bedsheets always wash them in cold water and don’t use any bleach because it wears off the quality of fibres. Sweet dreams!