I'm the resident Sleep Editor here at Homes & Gardens, and there are lots of perks to my job. I get to travel the world and see how mattresses are made everywhere from in the heart of Arizona versus the slopes of Scandinavia. I've interviewed bedding designers from specialist sleep stores, including Shleep and Pure Parima, as well as major home retailers, such as IKEA.
The best part of my job is that I get to carry out my testing from the comfort of my own bedroom. I lead a team of experts across America in the search to find the world's best bedding. I get to keep everything I test, which means my linen closet is filled with smooth sheets, plush pillows, and fluffy comforters.
When I'm not testing a particular product, I'm free to sleep however I choose. These are the pieces I reach for time and again. I've pulled the prices from the best places to buy bedding, where you'll find all these items listed for less in the Sleep Week bedding sales.
Top bedding picks, chosen by an expert tester
I've just started testing the Essential Fit Cotton Sheet Set. In terms of look and feel, it's classic cotton percale: the sort of crisp, cool sheeting I'd expect to see in a high-end hotel. Sleep Number stands out from the crowd with their smart features: their fitted sheet is elasticated all the way around the edge and ruched in the corners, keeping the fold nice and tight under the mattress. I move around a lot in my sleep, and I've resigned myself to having to remake my bed most mornings, but I haven't had this problem with the Essential Fit Cotton Sheet Set.
These are the sheets I reach for during hot nights and heatwaves. Out of all the bed sheet types I've tried, linen is the only material that can keep my night sweats under control. Made from hollow flax fibers, these are the best cooling sheets for eco-conscious shoppers. Linen is low-maintenance, able to withstand washing machine cycles without wearing, though I've had to learn to embrace the wrinkles as part of linen's rustic charm. In my experience, linen can feel a little coarse, which is why Piglet in Bed pre-washes theirs for softness. I built my own bedding bundle with Piglet in Bed, so I could take advantage of their wide array of warm and cool colors and retro prints and patterns.
If you're a hot sleeper, like me, and you suffer from night sweats or hot flashes, then you need the best cooling comforter to regulate your temperature and wick away moisture. I'd also recommend a cooling comforter for anyone who lives in warmer climates or wants to sleep without AC. I started testing the Buffy Cloud Comforter at the end of spring last year, and found it wasn't quite weighty enough to keep me warm on colder nights, but it really came into its own over summer. I put that down to the cooling cover: the Buffy Cloud Comforter is wrapped in eucalyptus lyocell. Inside, you'll find shreds of recycled plastic, spun into light and airy fiber clouds, which makes the comforter look nice and puffy on your bed.
When the long, cold nights draw in, I find myself reaching for the best warm comforter to keep me cozy. I favor the Brooklinen Down Comforter: it comes in Lightweight, All-Season, and Ultra-Warm to suit all weathers. Where most down comforters are filled with individual feathers, which can poke through the cover to scratch your skin, the Brooklinen Down Comforter is filled with fluffy clusters of duck and goose down for natural loft. As an eco-conscious shopper, I want to know that any animal products in my bedding are sourced responsibly. I'm pleased to report that the Brooklinen Down Comforter is certified by DOWNMARK for ethical practice from farm to factory.
If you've read any of my bedding buying guides, you've probably come across the Marlow Pillow: I think it's the best pillow on the market. Over the years, I've tested my fair share of adjustable pillows. Some of them are filled with loose fibers, which you can remove and replace in handfuls until you reach your desired firmness and feel, but you'll need to find somewhere to store the surplus fluff (and keep it out of your carpets). Others are filled with pillow inserts, which are quicker and cleaner to remove and replace, but you don't get as much control over the look and feel of your pillow. For me, the Marlow Pillow gets it just right. You push and pull the zippers to let air into and out of the pillow: no mess, and a much greater degree of accuracy.
After a lifetime of blow drying my hair straight, I'm trying to embrace my natural hair texture with a combination of curl creams, serums, and leave-in conditioners. When I lay my head on my pillow, I need to know that those products aren't going to seep straight out of hair and onto the pillowcase. That's why I've made the switch from moisture-wicking cotton to moisture-retaining silk: to keep my skincare and haircare products on my face, where they belong. The best silk pillowcase doesn't have to cost a fortune: this one from Brooklinen retails for around $50, and it's available in a range of cute pastels and retro prints.
A mattress pad is what you get when you cross the best mattress topper with the best mattress protector. The Cozy Earth Bamboo Mattress Pad adds an extra plush inch to my mattress while protecting the top and sides from dust, dirt, and dander, as well as sweat, stains, and spills. If I wanted 360-degree protection, I could invest in a mattress encasement, such as the SureGuard Mattress Encasement, which is best for mattress storage, but it's harder to wrap encasements around thicker mattresses. At any rate, I prefer the luxe look and feel of the Cozy Earth Bamboo Mattress Pad to keep my mattress clean and dry.
I want to get the best sleep I can, every night, even when I'm away from home. Whenever I go back to my childhood home, I bring the Linenspa Memory Foam Mattress Topper to soften up the uncomfortable innerspring in the guest room. As a light sleeper, I appreciate the motion-isolating properties of memory foam, especially when I'm sharing a bed. It's true that early iterations of memory foam were known to trap heat, but this topper is filled with gel memory foam, which is better for thermoregulation and more suitable for hot sleepers, like me.
When I visited the 3Z mattress factory in Glendale, Arizona, I sampled a grand total of 43 mattresses from brands as diverse as Brooklyn Bedding, Helix, and Nolah. Out of all the mattresses I tried, the Bear Natural Mattress is my favorite. Impressed by the buoyancy and cooling properties of natural latex, I called the mattress home for long-term testing. As the months go by, I've grown to appreciate the zoned support inside the mattress that works to keep my spine straight, whether I'm sleeping on my front, back, and side.
If you've enjoyed browsing my favorite bedding, then you might like to learn about the favorite bedding of interior designers. I interviewed the likes of Kathy Kuo and Sarah Henry to learn more about how they make the bed and where they like to shop.
