Wearing pajamas VS sleeping naked, which is healthier? The truth is surprising

What is the happiest thing in a day? Of course it is lying comfortably in bed and sleeping.

When it comes to sleeping, some people like to sleep in pajamas, while others like to sleep naked. Which one is healthier? Let's analyze it today.

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Sleeping in pajamas,

What are the benefits?

Pajamas are a relatively new type of clothing, and they really became popular in the 20th century, not too far from now. Pajamas in English are pyjamas, a word that comes from Hindi and is usually defined as a two-piece suit, including a top and a pair of loose pants.

There are indeed many benefits to sleeping in pajamas.

First of all, in the cold winter, wearing pajamas can reduce the trouble of catching a cold after kicking off the quilt and ensure basic warmth.

Secondly, from a hygiene point of view, sleeping in pajamas can prevent the skin from direct contact with sheets and quilts, which helps to keep the sheets and quilts clean (of course, if the sheets and quilts are dirty, it can also prevent direct skin contact).

Our skin will be renewed, and many dead skin cells will fall off and fall onto clothes, sheets, and quilts. Where there is dandruff, there are often many mites. They contain special enzymes in their bodies and live by digesting these fallen dandruff. In addition to mites, there are also a considerable number of mite corpses, eggs, and even feces.

Sleeping in pajamas can reduce the chances of skin stains getting on sheets and quilts to a certain extent. After all, clothes are easier to clean.

In addition, wearing pajamas has another benefit that only dermatologists are more familiar with - reducing the risk of transmitting skin diseases.

Many skin diseases are mainly transmitted through skin contact, such as athlete's foot (tinea pedis) and onychomycosis (onychomycosis). They are all common fungal infections, and sometimes they can be transmitted through skin contact, such as athlete's foot spreading to the thighs, causing tinea cruris, and of course, it can also be transmitted to people sleeping next to you. Sleeping in pajamas can reduce the chance of infection to a certain extent.

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What are the benefits of sleeping naked?

Anyone who has slept naked should have experienced the freedom of being naked. Staying in bed is like a fish in water, moving freely and without restraint. From this perspective, sleeping naked can provide a lot of emotional value. As long as you feel happy psychologically, it means that sleeping naked is beneficial.

In addition to the emotional value, sleeping naked can also improve sleep quality.

We know that if the body temperature drops slightly, people will calm down more easily, sleep better and fall asleep faster; if it is too hot, people will toss and turn in bed. Sleeping naked eliminates the overheating caused by pajamas and avoids the risk of affecting a night's rest.

In addition, sleeping naked has some health benefits.

For women, sleeping naked can reduce the risk of Candida infection to a certain extent. If you wear tight underwear or pajamas, the heat will be trapped in the thighs. The relatively high temperature and airtight environment will be more conducive to the growth and reproduction of Candida.

Sleeping naked (including wearing loose cotton underwear) can allow local air to circulate better, keeping the area cool and dry, which helps reduce the chance of Candida infection.

For men, sleeping naked may improve fertility.

This is because studies have found that when the testicles are exposed to higher temperatures, the number of sperm will decrease. Some studies have even found that men who wear boxer briefs have higher sperm counts than those who wear briefs because the former are looser.

Similarly, data from about 500 men in the United States showed that those who wore boxers during the day and nothing at night had a 25% lower risk of sperm DNA fragmentation than those who wore tight underwear day and night.

However, this statement is still controversial. Some researchers believe that the above results are not universal. There is no research showing that people who sleep naked are more likely to get pregnant or get pregnant faster. In addition, some scholars have summarized some previous studies and found that "there is no significant difference between underwear type and sperm quality."

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Sleeping in pajamas vs sleeping naked

How to choose?

Since both wearing pajamas and sleeping naked have their advantages, how do you choose?

In fact, from a health perspective alone, neither of these two options has an absolute health advantage, and this slight difference in health basically does not play a key role in decision-making.

Moreover, most people’s choice of whether to wear clothes when sleeping is not considered from the perspective of health, but also includes:

Habit: Many people do not know whether pajamas are necessary or not, simply because of the habit of wearing pajamas or not.

Convenience: Many people do not wear pajamas because they find it troublesome to change into pajamas before going to bed. They would rather wear daytime clothes, such as T-shirts and underwear.

Miscellaneous reasons: These are mainly some more individual reasons, such as feeling that pajamas are too expensive, not wanting to spend money on pajamas, not feeling the need to wear pajamas, and preferring skin-to-quilt contact (rather than pajamas).

It’s just like eating tofu pudding. It doesn’t matter whether it’s sweet or salty. The choice depends largely on personal experience and preference.

In a word, whether you wear pajamas or sleep naked, just do whatever makes you happy!

References

[1]MunkelwitzR,GilbertBR.Areboxershortsreallybetter?Acriticalanalysisoftheroleofunderweartypeinmalesubfertility.JUrol.1998;160(4):1329-1933.

[2]SharmaR,BiedenharnKR,FedorJM,etal.Lifestyle factors and reproductive health:taking control of your fertility.ReprodBiolEndocrinol.2013;11:66.

[3]Mínguez-AlarcónL,GaskinsAJ,ChiuYH,etal.Type of underwearwornandmarkersoftesticularfunctionamongmenattendingafertilitycenter.HumReprod.2018;33(9):1749-1756.

[4]Clevelandclinic.Isithealthytosleepnaked?https://health.clevelandclinic.org/will-sleeping-naked-help-you-sleep-better

[5]YanJ,Wing-sunL,RahmanO.Howintimatecoulditbe?astudyonthepajamasmarketinHangZhou,China[J].ProceedingsoftheATMT.2005.

Author: Tang Jiaoqing, attending physician of dermatology department

Reviewer: Li Jingjing Professor and Chief Physician, Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital