What is a Top Sheet and Do I Need One?

A top sheet is a common option when shopping for linen bedding, but few understand what it’s meant for, and more importantly, how a top sheet can benefit their bedding and sleep. Here’s everything you need to know about how it works with your other bedsheets and how to get the most out of yours.

A top sheet (referred to by some as a bed sheet) is a singular flat sheet that is meant to lie on top of the sleeper as an extra outer layer. The term is not quite as literal as the name suggests.

Think about it like a sandwich or a trifle, there’s a layer system to your bedsheets. A fitted sheet will lie at the bottom, covering your mattress, and a top sheet will lie on top of the fitted sheet. Then, there’s the main filling – you! Top sheets are meant to be on top of the person sleeping, with a typical duvet and its cover as the outer layer.

The top sheet creates a barrier between the person and the outer duvet. The function here is to protect the duvet from contact with natural human functions like sweat, hair loss, and accumulation of dirt – all of which are shed from the body during sleep. It also protects the person from dust mites, pollen, and other allergens.

The idea is to allow the duvet to go longer between washes, which will help the duvet stay intact for longer and prolong replacement. For allergy sufferers, this will prevent irritants from reaching the body, which can cause skin or breathing discomfort.

The answer is both. A top sheet can act as an extra layer of warmth, which is ideal for winter nights. Some may benefit from a weighted blanket during the cooler nights – a heavy blanket with internal weights, as an extra layer of warmth, as well as the de-stressing, anti-overstimulating effects they can offer, placed as a layer above the sheet.

On the other hand, top sheets can also prevent the sleeper from getting too hot by creating a small barrier between them and their duvet – or on hotter nights, function on their own, taking the place of a duvet.

A high-quality top sheet should be able to adapt to both the external temperatures of the room to create a comforting contrast for sleeping. When choosing a top sheet, shoppers should look for premium materials that can adapt and wick away moisture.

Top sheets, despite the extra layer, can offer temperature control – especially if your room can pivot from too hot to too cold. This would, of course, depend on buying quality material – so reading up before you purchase is important.

While some may dislike an extra piece of laundry to wash, it is only a tiny, thin, sheet, which can easily join any load of laundry. Additionally, in the long run, top sheets can prevent the need for frequent washes, as it helps to keep the much larger duvet cover clean. This is an especially great benefit for allergy sufferers or those with sensitive skin, as they should be washing their sheets more than a minimum of once every two weeks.

Some materials, such as linen bedding , should not be washed too frequently, as this can cause damage, both to its internal and external natural, breathable qualities.

However, a top sheet may not be for you if you don’t like to be bulked down by too many layers – which can make create the feeling of overheating for some. In this instance, linen duvet covers or silk duvet covers are cooler, thinner materials for bedding.

For those who toss and turn in their sleep a lot, a top sheet may get all tangled around them, or come off of them completely, getting lost in the sheets or falling out of your bed altogether. Too many sheets are often not friendly for fidgeters.

Some may find they have a high quality duvet that adapts to temperature well and that they do not need a top sheet. Those with duvet fillings that adapt to heat and cold, or that they have two duvets for summer and winter, may not need a top sheet. As stated above, those who turn around a lot in their sleep may find a top sheet irritating if they find it gets tangled in the sheets or keeps slipping away from them to the bottom of their inner duvet.

However, those who use the same duvet all year around, and want to keep its quality intact for as long as possible, would benefit from a top sheet for added temperature control and climate flexibility. This will keep it clean and better-looking for longer, with less washes required for the duvet covers. This especially the case for allergy sufferers, as they come into less contact with pollen, sweat, dust, pet fur, and other allergens.

While more common practice in the United States compared to Europe, top sheets can be bought in almost any bedding retailer worldwide – although they can vary in quality. Americans are more likely to have thinner sheets than fluffy duvets, so this extra layer can certainly be beneficial.

Europeans have good reason to benefit from top sheets, too. As their weather – British weather especially – can be highly temperamental, coining the phrase “four seasons in a day”. A top sheet that can adapt to such swift extremes would be highly beneficial.

Europe tends to also have much colder winters in general than the U.S., so an extra layer would create more warmth and comfort. Additionally, Americans have dryers, something most Europeans do not, so the less laundry benefit speaks especially to that demographic.

A top sheet is like a blanket of sorts in that is it a typically-bed length material that sleepers place on top of themselves. However, they are generally a much thinner material. A top sheet is more of a functional layer rather than providing warmth on its own. If your bedroom tends to be freezing cold, it is unlikely that just the sheet on its own will do the job.

For extra warmth, a fleecey or weighted blanket is much better at actually trapping and retaining heat. Top sheets, however, work as a small bonus rather than a radical temperature change.

Top sheets are often more plain in colour or design, and are not meant for decorative purposes, as they go under the duvet, hidden from plain sight. For blankets meant to go on top of a duvet and add an extra layer of décor, a throw blanket is designed for this purpose.

Before buying a top sheet, is best to weigh up the described pros and cons to see if you would benefit from purchasing one. If you desire more temperature control from your duvet without requiring much more warmth, you can certainly benefit from the small layer with a big difference.

If keeping your sheets clean is a big issue, then a top sheet would be highly beneficial in tackling this problem. Toss and turners who hate fuss and don’t suffer greatly from allergies or sensitivities, however, may find top sheets to be more of a hindrance than a help.