In a recent OGT Team meeting, someone posed the question of whether or not you sleep with flat or top sheets. It turned out that the team was split about 50/50 on the issue. (I was, and still am, firmly in the “pro-top-sheet” camp. Honestly, until the topic came up in our meeting, I wasn’t even aware many people don’t like or use top sheets!)
After our enlightening conversation about this debate, I wanted to know where you guys stood on the issue. So I posted on my Instagram account to ask my followers about where they stand on the top sheet debate. That post ended up having one of the highest number of comments I’ve EVER gotten on an Instagram post. It’s obviously an issue that people have strong feelings about! :-)
So today I thought I would distill “the great top sheet debate” down for you. I’ll lay out the arguments on both sides of the debate so you can decide where you stand! (Feel free to offer your two cents in a comment at the bottom of this post — there’s nothing wrong with a healthy discourse on bedding preferences!)
Related: The One Thing You Need to Do Before Switching to Lighter Bedding
The Argument Against Using a Top Sheet
The argument against using a top sheet is usually one of comfort or convenience. Regardless of whether the sheet is tucked in or not, it can easily get tangled or twisted up overnight. Top sheets can also trap in more heat, which could be nice during the winter, but may be too warm in the summer.
As far as convenience goes, using a top sheet means you have another piece of bedding to wash regularly. It also adds time and effort to the process of putting clean sheets on your bed. And finally, there’s the fact that it’s usually cheaper to buy one fitted sheet than it is to buy a set with a top sheet!
In Defense of the Top Sheet
On the other hand, arguments in favor of top sheets tend to center around hygiene, functionality, and tradition. Advocates for top sheets often say that it’s more hygienic to use one. It acts as a barrier between your body and the comforter, quilt, or duvet, which can keep germs and sweat away from the blanket.
There’s also a functional aspect to using a flat sheet. During warm summer nights, sleeping with just the top sheet can feel cooler than sleeping uncovered! And as I mentioned above, the top sheet can also provide an extra layer of insulation during the winter.
And finally, there are the traditionalists who argue that using a top sheet is just the right way to make a bed! Whether because Mom always used one, or because they would feel weird without one, some feel that the top sheet is a long-lasting bedding tradition worth honoring.
The Right Way to Ditch Your Top Sheet
If you’re ready to leave your top sheet behind, it’s worth considering that the hygiene argument is a valid one. Without that extra layer, your blanket will be subjected to more sweat and body oils than usual. That’s why I suggest using a duvet with a removable, washable duvet cover.
Just wash your duvet cover as often as you wash your fitted sheet and pillowcases (about once a week.) It’s an easy way to enjoy the benefits of sleeping without a flat sheet without any of the potential drawbacks. I love a good win-win situation! :-)
Oh, and one more thing… if you’re considering ditching your top sheet, don’t throw it out! There are plenty of ways to put your old bedsheets to good use. Learn all about them at the link below!
Related: 17 New Ways to Use Your Old Bed Sheets
Where do you stand on the subject of top sheets?
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I am a top sheet person. I really don’t want to wash my comforter as often as a top sheet. As for the duvet, they are expensive. It’s probably cheaper to just use the top sheet. I guess you can always sew 2 top sheets together to make your own duvet
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve always been a top-sheet person. We go camping a lot between May and October. Having a top sheet helps with the hygiene factor as well as providing a barrier between my skin and the black flies and mosquitoes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m going with a top sheet, myself. I don’t want to wash blankets or comforters every week. SURE don’t want to wash duvet covers weekly!! The hassle of putting them back on is far greater than the ease of floating a top sheet with tucked corners! In Florida, I don’t worry about winter and prefer the sheet plus a cotton blanket for the AC. Just me but I’m afraid my mom would haunt me if I gave up a top sheet!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m with you as far as simple convenience goes! Yes, losing the sheet means one less thing to wash & replace – but duvet covers are about three times as heavy as a sheet, and for those of us who live alone, massively annoying to don and doff. And a simple sheet in a sumptuous fabric on a hot night is a sensual pleasure.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.75 yr old who uses top sheet in summer because it provides a light covering. In cold weather, I dump the top sheet for my favorite toasty warm blanket that feels great against me, adding others as necessary. Yes, it requires me to add that blanket to my weekly wash but is well worth it. Guess it’s my blankee.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband and I have been sleeping with a top sheet only with a duvet cover on our light down comforter since the 80’s ( way before anyone else) when we found The Company Store……I am a die-hard NO top sheet fan. Of course you must have a duvet cover on your comforter in place of your top sheet, just like using a mattress pad to protect your mattress, and I feel it’s even a bit more sanitary. especially if you are a active movement sleeper. When I used a top sheet, in the morning it would be all twisted up, sometimes all the way up between my legs like a log…..log….lol. I sleep more comfortably with a light down comforter with a duvet. As I learned from The Company Store back then, your feet are free to point straight up and not folded down because of a top sheet, and if you are always kicking the tops sheet loose so your feet are free, whats the point of a top sheet, and the bed is a mess in the morning. Using a duvet cover with a comforter of your choice, you wake up in the morning and you just lightly flip your comforter and your bed is made!! Now when we are in a hotel, no matter it’s a 4 or 5 star Hotel, the first thing my husband and I do is pull up the corners of the bed so our feet can move around……no I do not have any affiliation with The Company Store, but it changed our sleeping for the BETTER!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My hubby and I use a top sheet, and it MUST be put on upside down — as in, the printed sides are touching. Especially nice in the winter when we have flannel sheets! Cozy! All three of our grown daughters, however are anti-top sheet. Ages 22-29. (shrug)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh thank you for addressing this issue! Yes, so much more hygienic to use the top sheet. Adjustments with your layers should be done seasonally. This younger generation just drags their blankets everywhere no top sheet and wonders how their stuff gets so dirty! They complain about top sheets but won’t make their bed! That’s why your always sleeping with only on corner of the blankets. If nothing else gets done make the bed at least you cone home to a satisfying sleep! It’s a simple task quick any easy to complete. Also weekly washing. no growing science projects! Lol
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What a fun discussion! I am a fan of quilts, so top sheet is an essential with the top edge turned over the quilt. When I previously used a heavier blanket in addition, my husband was getting rid of the top sheet and blanket at night and using just the quilt. Though he is a very hygienic person, I can still see the difference in our sides of the quilt, though it was laundered properly. I like to wash the sheets with very hot water and a bit of bleach. The amount of body oil, sweat, and skin cells that come off of the body is amazing. (Did you know house dust is primarily composed of dead skin cells?). Keep the top sheet, untucked!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The very best thing I have found for less-than-aromatic sheets/pillow cases/seasonally stored or sports clothing is to wash with the recommended amount of detergent and add a 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax. It is a non-bleach color brightener and odor neutralizer that comes in a box. Looks like powdered detergent and is found in the laundry detergent section. You can also use it to get rid of ants and roaches.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think it is both easier and more hygenic to use the top sheet. Even if you use a duvet cover, i can’t imagine that it is easier to wash that each week and then wrestle it back onto the comforter. It takes very little time to wash, make and change the bedsheets-it is honestly, not a big deal in my book
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I agree! Getting into a freshly made bed with nice cotton sheets is so great. I dry my sheets outside and they smell wonderful. I helped my daughter with trying to stuff the duvet in its cover which was just ridiculous. I don’t think duvet covers get washed very often beause they are a lot of trouble, so will stick to my routine of using a top sheet along with beautiful bedspreads and quilts. There is nothing quite as nice as coming home to a bed with fresh linens.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I didn’t know there was a controversy about top sheets. Always have had one on my bed. I don’t understand why top sheets are so large. They hang halfway to the floor. Maybe buying them separately. I have a king size bed and could get a queen size top sheet. The king sets always have the huge pillow cases. I don’t have king size pillows and always tuck them in like an envelope on the pillow.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I run hot year round (I live in Detroit, Michigan) so even in the dead of Winter I wear just a tank top to bed and often just have the top sheet on me throwing my covers off which my husband who is always chilled then steals.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Because we need to have an adjustable bed, we have a split King bed, with two extra-long twin mattresses and box springs. Side-by-side that works out to King size, but we can adjust each side separately. We use extra-long fitted twin sheets on the mattresses, and used to use a King-size duvet with duvet cover, no top flat sheet under the duvet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I got real tired of wrestling the King duvet and duvet cover, so eventually switched to double sheets. Some hotels use this method. You have fitted sheets on the mattresses, a flat top sheet, blanket/s or a comforter, and a 2nd flat sheet on top. When it’s time to do the laundry, all the sheets get washed at the same time, like you would with a duvet cover.
When the budget permits, I’d really like to go to two extra-long duvets, with duvet covers, to simplify bed-making. I could handle stuffing the twin-size duvets into their covers much more easily than the King-size one. Using that method, since the duvet covers and fitted bottom sheets get washed regularly, I don’t see the need for separate top sheets.
I have recently started using a top sheet again after years of not. I was using a flannel duvet cover for my “sheet”, adding a blanket on top if it was cold. I am still using the duvet cover as my blanket but on top of the sheet. Not convinced I’m going to continue with the sheet, like you stated, it IS more work…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just to clarify, I use a duvet COVER, no duvet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Interesting! I hadn’t ever thought to use a duvet cover without the duvet!
A sheet feels so much better against my skin than a quilt does. We use a flat sheet and a light weight quilt. We have a queen bed and it’s takes five minutes to make our bed and 20 minutes to strip and make our bed. My grandchildren don’t use a flat sheet, and it drives me crazy. I will continue to use my flat sheet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Keep the top sheet. The biggest reason is hygiene. However, I do remember ages ago of a trick to making the bed quicker but I never got around to doing. The trick was sewing button holes in the top sheets and then placing button on the comforter or bed spread. So when you make the bed, you pull or adjust the bedspread/comforter you are also automatically straightening the top sheet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That’s an interesting method. I must have smooth taught sheets so my top sheet is tucked in with hospital corners. J sleep on my sides so my feet are not hampered. Would never sleep with body parts hanging over the bed. LOL…..must be from a scary Twilight Zone episode!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Top sheet? YES!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I had a period of time in which I didn’t use a top sheet on our beds. I was a single mom of 3 kids, 1 of which was/is very disabled. Any way I could reduce my workload I was on it. No top sheet on 4 beds was at least one less load of laundry a week. That was many years ago and the kids are all grown & (mostly) gone (1 has flown back to the nest temporarily). I’m using my top sheets again and frankly, much prefer it. Sometimes blankets, bedspread, duvets, etc can develop pilling and that used to drive me crazy when going top sheet-less. I’m glad to be back to having a silky smooth layer between me & the blankets. Funny the timing of this topic – my youngest daughter and I were just discussing this a couple days ago. She prefers NOT using a top sheet – for the same reason I didn’t – as a mom of 2 young kids, it’s 1 less load of laundry a week to do. She uses her top sheets to cover her dogs bed. It helps keep the dogs mattress clean & fresh smelling. Washing the sheet is much easier than wrestling the cover off and washing it. So – 1 against, 1 in favor. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.A duvet cover would seem to also have the negative “hassle” factor. A top sheet is so much easier than a duvet cover.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am a top sheet user plus another top sheet on top of the quilt. My dog enjoys a nice crisp sheet to. My fur baby is spoiled.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I absolutely love my top sheet and never considered giving it up. I gave up comforters (too heavy) in favor of bedspreads. That’s enough change for me.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m in the top sheet group. It’s worked for me for 73 years so no need to even think about changing my routine.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We have a waterbed, and have had one for 40 years. The top sheet is never the problem (just the ongoing discussion between my husband and me about whether it should be firmly tucked in or left loose. I can’t stand to have my feet flattened by a firmly tucked sheet. :)
What doesn’t work on a waterbed is fitted sheets. Even the ones allegedly designed for waterbeds. They don’t stay tucked under the mattress no matter what we try. So then we’re faced with the task of buying two flat sheets. “Sheet sets” don’t come with two flat sheets. And that’s why so many of our sheets don’t match. They don’t have to look the same to sleep on.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We have a King size bed and we use the Top sheet. My hubby MUST have it tucked under and tight enough to bounce a quarter while I cannot stand having it tucked and ‘flattening’ my feet. I like that description, ‘flattened’.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.So his side of the bed is nice and ‘neat’ while mine, is, well let’s just say it looks ‘trashed’.
I’ve had a waterbed for over 40 years as well and I used to absolutely hate shopping for waterbed sheets. Not only are they expensive, boring, and sewn together at the bottom, they’re usually a very low thread count and pill and feel like sandpaper after just a few washes. I’m so so happy I discovered I could use ANY king sized sheets as long as they have pockets at least 15″ deep. Some I have to turn horizontally but most just slip right on!
I have also forgone the top sheet in favor of a feather duvet/duvet cover. My husband is a very hot sleeper so with a slightly heated waterbed we had to figure out someway to relieve the trapped heat and found the feather comforter breaths nicely with no top sheet. I usually change the bottom sheet twice before I change/wash the duvet cover as it just lays over us and doesn’t get as soiled as the bottom sheet.
It’s awesome to be able to buy the more expensive fitted sheets that are cheaper than the whole set. Ebay offers individual sheets and pillow cases so its pretty easy to match them and the higher thread count sheets feel great! I’ll never buy another “waterbed” sheet set again.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh, I am a top sheet gal and as long as I am around, our beds will have them neatly tucked in. My father was a design engineer for a major textile manufacturer-as a child, back in the late 1960’s, I remember him bringing home the new products and use us for testing the practically of new designs. One test product was 100% polyester sheets- my siblings and I each had a set of beautiful yellow sheets……in the middle of a winter night my brothers started laughing and calling out for our Dad. Seems the static electricity had built up in the sheets and as they would turn over or pull the sheets-sparks would fly!! Needless to say, this new product didn’t make it to market! However, to this day, I still have sets of Dad’s wonderful percale sheets! Love the top, flat, cover sheet- what ever you want to call them!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m not sure of the position that it’s cheaper to not have a top sheet. First off, I’m now finding it difficult to just buy a flat or fitted sheet only. They tend now to come in a set – flat, fitted and pillow case(s). I know because I look for them since I need flat sheets for some projects and don’t want to buy entire sets. Second, it’s not cheaper if you’re wearing out your duvet covers, blankets, etc more quickly than you would had you used the top sheet, because you’re washing and drying them. And these items (duvets, comforters, quilts, blankets) are heavier and thus take more time to dry especially (in the dryer or on the line). This doesn’t even touch the hygiene issue. So me, top sheets all the way. I had to force the grands to use it when they visited – their mom (DIL) doesn’t use top sheets for any of them and they resisted at first but I told them, at Mimi’s house, Mimi’s rules!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes to top sheet. It just feels better, especially if you don’t wear pjs.
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