Overheating when naked

[Bibliovore]

Why is it that when I sleep butt-nekkid I get reeeeaaally hot, but when I put on some pjs or several layers of comfy bed-clothes I'm far more confortable? Surely I should get hotter if I put clothes on? Yet somehow I find that if I'm sleeping in the nudey, I wake up bathed in sweat.

How does this work? Does anyone else get this?

[Sapo]

that happens to me too except that I don't feel hot, just sweaty. It also happens that I have my arms under my body (with the resulting loss of circulation). It may be that your body is shivering so bad that you break a sweat (?)

[tremorviolet]

My guess is that you're sweating just as much clothed but the clothing wicks away the sweat so you feel more comfortable. I bet it also provides insulation from your direct body heat. I always seem to get sweatiest where skin meets skin; if there's a layer between the skin-on-skin, I'm much more comfortable.

[mlees]

Same thing happens to me.

My father told me that, when you sleep, your body does some "maintenance", like burning off some of the toxins you collected that day... is he right?

[BrandonR]

OP failed to mention the real question of whether they're a hot, naked female...

[robcaro]

When I was in Alaska and sometimes had to sleep in a sleeping bag in the freezing weather, we always slept naked in the sleeping bag because it was warmer to sleep that way. With pajamas or clothes, we were always colder.

[t-bonham@scc.net]

Besides the wicking effect mentioned by tremorviolet, sleeping nude can confuse your bodys' temp regulation. Part of your naked body is outside the covers, so it gets cold, and triggers your body temperature to go up a bit. Then the part of your naked body that is under the covers gets too hot, and you start to sweat. Pajamas moderate this fluctuation, so you don't get as much of this temperature cycling.

[Bibliovore]

Originally Posted by Sapo

that happens to me too except that I don't feel hot, just sweaty. It also happens that I have my arms under my body (with the resulting loss of circulation). It may be that your body is shivering so bad that you break a sweat (?)

I don't shiver at all when I'm naked - I genuinely feel stiflingly hot and wake up drenched in sweat, yet this never happens when I'm clothed! Does my body produce more heat when naked? I sleep under a standard duvet if that makes any difference, so maybe the duvet is doing a better job of retaining my body heat than my clothes are. But even so, I also sleep under the duvet when I'm clothed, so I should be getting double the insulation and feeling twice as hot!

Can anyone solve this for me?

[ReuvenB]

Originally Posted by t-bonham@scc.net

Besides the wicking effect mentioned by tremorviolet, sleeping nude can confuse your bodys' temp regulation. Part of your naked body is outside the covers, so it gets cold, and triggers your body temperature to go up a bit. Then the part of your naked body that is under the covers gets too hot, and you start to sweat. Pajamas moderate this fluctuation, so you don't get as much of this temperature cycling.

Cite? It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I've never heard any explanation like this before. Also, I thought you lose most of your heat through your head anyway, which (presumably) isn't covered by your pajamas.

[Telemark]

Insulation is insulation. Whether it's a sleeping bag, fleece jacket, or PJs. If you're out in the winter and your sleeping bag is not adequate insulation, taking off clothes will not make you warmer. You need more insulation, and adding layers (and a hat) will keep you warmer. There's no validity to the idea that sleeping bags work best when you have no additional layers on.

The only exception to that is if you add so many layers that you are compressing them due to the constraints of the bag. Cutting off circulation is not good.

I suspect what you are feeling is moisture trapped in layers causing greater heat transfer.

[According to Pliny]

If you look under "night sweats" in some medical sites, and ignore all the menopause portions, you will find many causes and cures.
Notably, the food and drink you have just before retiring can be the proximate cause of sweats.
Certain foods like pepper and ginger, eaten shortly before bed, will bring them on.
Also of course diseases, like malaria.