Wool Is the True Technology: Rethinking the Modern Bed

Wool the true — a quick note to anchor this piece for readers.

Wool the true: Quick notes

I began the process of remaking my own bed. I’m mildly obsessed with my mattress, so that stayed, but I started integrating wool in layers. A thin but effective wool mattress topper earned its place almost immediately. It is truly thermoregulating: I run cold but my partner runs warm, and so far the wool has accommodated us both. Then came the bedding. I’ve always associated linen sheets with summer, but I redressed the bed in linen for winter and put the cotton percale away. Linen, due to its breathable nature, doesn’t overheat among all the wool.

For years, I’d been sleeping under a feather duvet—entirely against medical advice, given a down allergy I’ve known about (and ignored) for nearly a decade. That, too, changed. I swapped it for a wool-filled comforter, layered with a linen flat sheet and a heavyweight wool blanket (380 GSM). The bedding layers now look like this:

• Mattress
• Wool mattress topper
• Linen fitted sheet
• Wool comforter (used as a duvet)
• Linen flat sheet
• Wool blanket

Above: The Sonoma Wool Company Mattress Topper is a favorite.

Then there are the add-ons. I love the Sanger hot water bottle—particularly the small ones, which we keep two of. I fill them and place them at the foot of the bed about half an hour before getting in. A friend swears by a galvanized steel Japanese hot water bottle which is also quite chic and versatile (for camping etc)—but you must wrap it in fabric to avoid burns. I also learned that warmth in the hands and feet promotes quicker sleep onset. I first encountered this research in the context of children (a top parenting bedtime tip), but it applies just as well to bodies of any age. A pair of ultra-soft merino wool bed socks has become part of the routine as well.

Above: A curtained bedroom—a very 19th century technique for keeping the bed warm—at Berdoulat in Bath, England (see our post Berdoulat & Breakfast: A B&B in Bath).

The verdict after my heirloom bed overhaul: we fall asleep faster, no one overheats, and we’re able to keep the thermostat lower at night—improving indoor air and humidity while reducing our energy bill. But one of the most meaningful benefits, as I see it, is less visible. Wool bedding doesn’t off-gas, shed microplastics, or leave behind chemical residue. Looking to the past to inform the present has clarified something for me: the innovation was never the gadgetry. It was the material intelligence—time-tested over centuries. Wool, it turns out, is the true technology.

For more wool bedding resources, see our posts:

(Visited 31 times, 29 visits today)

We reference Wool the true briefly to keep the thread coherent.

A short mention of Wool the true helps readers follow the flow.