Trying to sleep in soaring temperatures can be a miserable experience but shoppers are praising the ‘ultimate’ nightshirt for high temperatures, with many fans saying it actually ends up being cooler than sleeping naked. What’s more thanks to a new sale they’re a fraction of their usual price.
Sleeping in an Oodie in this heat might sound like a recipe for an uncomfortable night, but the Aussie brand well-known for the fleecy hooded blankets has unveiled a brand new summer version. As a devotee of the winter staple – I actually have two, a blue one I can just about get away with wearing on video calls while working from home and a Christmas Disney-themed one – I couldn’t wait to try the lightweight option – especially when I saw some happy customers had described it as ‘cooler than sleeping naked’ during heatwaves.
The Oodie sleep tee is one of a host of new products launched by the brand including footwear, button-up Oodies for breastfeeding, beach and outdoor Oodies. With many of the products now in the brand’s huge mid-year sale reduced to as little as £20, it’s a great time to bag a bargain but with the warm weather incoming it was definitely the sleep Oodies that caught my eye.
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I am a recent convert to the sleep tees. Having initially assumed they were an attempt by the brand to combat the fact that pretty much everyone in the UK must have bought either an original Oodie or one of the many alternatives now available at M&S, John Lewis, Amazon and beyond, I dismissed them when I first saw them – especially when I saw their premium price tags.
But I saw posts on social media where some women said they were the only sleepwear to give them respite from their menopausal hot flushes, meanwhile some happy customers even said they were cooler than sleeping naked. I was tempted, but at the time with the prices high I didn’t take the plunge, wondering how I could justify spending that on what I still had suspicions was a nightshirt with delusions of grandeur.
Then one of Oodie’s sales came along – and I haven’t looked back since. The sleep Oodie harnesses the bamboo wicking power many of us know from workout gear and brings it to nightwear instead. Bamboo fibres offer thermo-regulating properties that it turns out, are not just excellent for exercising but also makes it the perfect fabric for nightwear, helping keep you cool in summer but warm in winter.
The Sleep Oodie is similar in size and shape to the brand’s traditional one-size-fits-most fleecy versions, although the kangaroo style pocket is replaced with generous side pockets instead. While it is generously proportioned – my husband describes it as a sack – the weight of the fabric hangs really nicely so, despite it being baggy I don’t end up tangled in it in bed as I sleep, no matter how much I move around.
It’s comfortable, the perfect length for lounging around in and basically the best nightshirt I’ve ever owned. Plus the bamboo fibres make it perfect for changing temperatures in your bedroom. Previously I’ve gone to bed cosy because we’ve had a blast of heating just before bedtime but then woken in the night freezing as the temperature has dropped and my PJs aren’t warm enough. The bamboo cotton allows your body to adjust as the heat in the room dissipates, meaning I’m sleeping through and remaining cosy until morning.
Bamboo nightwear is definitely on trend and there are some premium brands that are offering PJs in the fabric. But suddenly full price sleep tees are looking more reasonable, with Cozy Earth’s posh PJs coming in at more than £100 a pair although arguably they’re less likely to make your other half recoil in horror at you going to bed in a (delightfully) comfy tent. Amazon also has similar oversized nightshirts from £13.99 although they’re not bamboo. , it’s definitely a solid option.
However, having finally had the chance to experience a heatwave with my sleep Oodies, I am convinced there is nothing better to sleep in during warm weather and I’m totally converted. I wouldn’t pay full price for them, but with the current sale meaning depending on your choice of design you can get one between £22 and £29 it works out the same sort of price as other nightshirts and pyjamas I’ve bought over the years and is a cut above all of them.
What’s more, unlike a traditional Oodie it will year-round so if you’re using the shopping logic of ‘cost per wear’ it’s got to be the best value thing Oodie sells. Also, while there are plenty of other retailers now selling their own Oodie-style hooded blankets, including John Lewis’ sherpa-lined fleece hooded blanket, which comes in grey, black, blue, pink, purple and cream for £40 and Dunelm whose Oversized Teddy Blanket Hoodie is £16, so far as I can see no-one yet has replicated the bamboo sleep tees in this kind of style.
So for now at least if you want to upgrade your sleepwear for the hot weather, Oodie is the only game in town and, if you want to sleep well no matter the temperature fluctuation in your bedroom, in my opinion it’s also the best one.
