I always wake up soaked in sweat, but these cooling PJs have helped me stay dry and sleep more comfortably
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Dagsmejan
- Between my partner's intense body heat and his insistence on using a thick comforter all year round, the idea of pajamas that would prevent me from sweating seemed unbelievable.
- But when I slept with a set of cooling PJs from Swedish sleepwear company Dagsmejan, I woke up much drier than if I had worn my usual cotton T-shirt.
- I wouldn't be able to afford to overhaul all my sleepwear since the pieces are a bit expensive with prices starting at $79.90, but it definitely helped me sleep more comfortably.
Product Name: Dagsmejan Women's Stay Cool Tank Top
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Product Name: Dagsmejan Women's Stay Cool Shorts
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My partner sleeps hot and insists on using a thick comforter all year round. Between his body heat and the comforter, I had already sweat through most of the summer even with my air conditioner on blast. So when I first heard about cooling sleepwear from Swedish brand Dagsmejan, I went to test it with the mindset that they'd lead to inevitably broken promises.
Dagsmejan's name comes from two Swedish words: dag, which means day, and meja, which means strength and power. The whole idea behind the brand is that you sleep better when you're comfortable and at the right room temperature, usually between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Sleep Foundation. This helps cool your body temperature, so you can sleep deeper and have "day strength."
The Stay Cool sleepwear is made from eucalyptus and is much more breathable than cotton; it kept me dry overnight even with a sweaty partner and a thick comforter
I started testing a set of Dagsmejan's Stay Cool sleepwear in early October, and it had been an unusually warm fall in New York. My partner still exuded heat like a furnace and the comforter was still on top of us. All of the ingredients for a sweaty morning were in place, but when I woke up, I felt surprisingly dry.
Dagsmejan's Stay Cool line is specifically designed to pull sweat away from your body with microlyocell, a fabric made from eucalyptus. This fabric dries in a third of the time it takes for cotton to dry, so it absorbs and then evaporates your night sweats.
Read more: The best women's pajamas you can buy
The sleepwear set is lightweight and doesn't feel like I'm wearing much at all
I have a sage green set with a loose but flattering tank top and shorts that contoured to my body, and it felt like I wasn't wearing anything at all. The fabric is extremely lightweight and smooth with subtle seams; it doesn't irritate my skin or cause any friction. The waistband on the shorts has some elasticity so they stretch as I take them on and off but fit relatively snugly while on.
Because it's a Swedish company, Dagsmejan also boasts other sophisticated yet simple Scandinavian designs. The pajamas aren't trying to be a fashion statement, and come in neutral mossy colors, like sage and aqua.
Cofounder Catarina Dahlin says the brand's claim that its microlyocell fabric is "eight times more breathable than cotton" was tested through both lab and user settings. "Air permeability measures what is more commonly known as breathability, i.e. how excess heat is released from the body," she tells Insider Picks over email."Dagsmejan fabrics are tested against a wide range of fabrics, both synthetics as well as natural fabrics such as cotton and bamboo."
I've always worn big cotton T-shirts to bed, but I didn't realize quite how much moisture they trapped until I tried out an alternative. That being said, the alternative comes at a price. The tank and shorts I have each cost $79.90, making for a $159.80 sleep outfit. That's a lot more than I'm willing to spend on most waking outfits.
Dagsmejan also has "Stay Warm" (for winter) and "Balance" sleepwear (for in-between seasons) for men and women. I've only tried the warm weather sleepwear, but they're all priced about equally, with the long-sleeve sets costing a bit more. Unfortunately, the starting prices are still quite high.
Read more: The best men's pajamas you can buy
My Dagsmejan sleep set has held up in the wash and hasn't pilled
Dagsmejan
In the past couple of months I've had them, my Stay Cool pajamas have held up. They don't stop me from sweating entirely (they're pajamas, not magic), but because they pull sweat away from my body, they keep me from drowning in sweat as I sleep. When I wake up in the morning, I want to keep wearing the silky smooth pieces throughout the day (but I don't).
After several washes, the fabric has held up nicely. My pajamas haven't pilled, and they feel just as soft and light as they did the day I first put them on. However, the waistband on the shorts have gotten a bit looser, but not enough to fall off my body.
After sleeping with Dagsmejan's Stay Cool pajamas, I've definitely noticed that I wake up less sweaty. But will I give up my cotton T-shirts entirely? Probably not. They're not disruptive or uncomfortable, and replacing them all with cooling sleepwear would be a very expensive endeavor. But on a hot night or when my partner feels like a radiator on high, will I opt for my Stay Cool tank and shorts instead? Absolutely.