The Ultimate Guide to Your Sleep Best Ever
Between the Sheets

The Ultimate Guide to Your Sleep Best Ever

As most of us know, a good night's sleep has a tremendous impact on our health and well-being. To that end, here are the absolute essentials for creating your dream bed and ensuring your best sleep ever in 2022:

1. Good Quality Sheets: When shopping for authentic quality bedding, focus first on the raw material. Egyptian and long-staple American Pima Cotton account for some of the longest and strongest fibres in the world, ensuring durability and softness in perfect harmony. It's important to look for all-natural fibres in your bedding, as this will ensure breathability and comfort. Synthetics may try and sway you with lower price-points and "wrinkle-free" guarantees, but chemically treated cotton and polyester can't compare to natural fabrics.

Cotton Balls

Next, pay attention to the origin of weave. Italy houses some of the best weavers in the world, as does Portugal. In a nutshell: the better the quality of weave, the better the feel and durability of your sheets.

Finally, there's thread count and style of weave, which are both personal preference. Percale weaves are best described as crisp, cool, and buttery soft, while cotton satins are silky and fine with a sheen. Beyond that, the body of linen or silkiness of bamboo may be more your preference.

Au Lit Fine Linens: Request a Swatch

 Unsure of the ideal choice for you? We'll gladly send along complimentary swatches of our full thread count bar (as well as nearly every other collection on the site) so you can give each option a good feel before settling on your favourite.

 

2. The Perfect Pillow: Arguably the most important consideration for a great night's sleep is a great pillow, which can make or break your quality of sleep. While the process of selecting the perfect pillow can be one of trial-and-error, start by identifying what you like. Do you prefer a firm pillow with plenty of support? Something super soft and squishy, offering little support? Or perhaps a nice balance between the two? Whatever your tastes, we definitely recommend a pure down fill or down and feather blend depending on your preferences in terms of structure and support. Check out the chart below to get started:

*down or feather allergies? Fear not! Our Jasper Synthetic or Memo pillow get close to the feel of down without risking a flare-up of allergies.

3. An Airy Duvet: Ah, to sleep beneath a cloud...or rather, wrapped up in one. We strongly recommend a quality goose down fill for your duvet. Down's job in nature is to insulate and as it is an all natural fibre, it's extremely breathable. Unlike heavy feathers or synthetics, down is light and fluffy as can be, leading to the ultimate trifecta for your duvet: warm, breathable, and light as a cloud.

Au Lit Fine Linens: Duvets

Duvet decisions don't end with the fill though. Just as important is a good quality shell, made up of 100% breathable cotton in a high thread count. This is going to prevent any unpleasant crinkling or rustling, and keep down clusters from leaking out. And make sure to look for a baffle-box construction, as this will keep the fill properly distributed for years to come.

4. Mattress & Pillow Protectors: Okay, okay, these certainly aren't the most glamorous parts of your bed, but they are true essentials. We cannot overstate the importance of protecting your investments, and adding washable protectors is just the ticket.

Au Lit Fine Linens: Pillow Protector & Mattress Pad

The protectors not only protect against dust-mites, but they add an additional layer between the array of oils, perspiration, and dander we shed throughout the night. A pillow protector is also going to extend the lifespan of your pillow.  

5. BONUS! Add A "No-Feather Featherbed": Now, we don't quite consider a mattress topper non-negotiable, as you can still enjoy a fantastic night's sleep without one, but boy oh boy does it make things infinitely more comfy.

 Au Lit Fine Linens: Featherbed

We recommend our No-Feather Featherbed, which adds an extra layer of soft, fluffy comfort without the risk of sharp quills from poking out. When fluffed regularly, featherbeds will stay fluffier and last longer.

 Now it's time to start shopping for your best sleep ever:

Au Lit Fine Linens: Bedding Basics