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?
More Ideas You'll Love
Yes for the top sheet! I’ll keep it thank you!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I had always used a top sheet until I met my husband. He is 6’5″ and having ANYTHING tucked in makes him uncomfortable. He never used one, so now we don’t. I wish we did, I love the feeling of cool crisp sheets, but I love my husband more…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve seen beds made on YouTube using a top sheet but just not tucking it in. Maybe that would work for your husband.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That is my suggestion also. I always have a top sheet, but never tuck it in. Works great since I don’t like the feeling of a tightly tucked sheet on my feet.
It takes me longer to make a fresh bed with a duvet cover than with a top sheet. And I love nice crisp sheets on a bed.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m 68 years old and I haven’t slept with a top sheet for about 10 yrs. now. I like a soft fuzzy blanket (like a sherpa fur or a faux fur) that’s synthetic and easy to wash. I kick it on and off as needed.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I got rid of the top sheet about 20 years ago. My husband can’t stand pressure on his feet and usually pulled it out at the bottom. Consequently, I found my feet out and freezing (in Colorado winters.) My solution was to buy fleece yardage, hem sides & top and add a generous pocket at the bottom. Feet in pocket, I was warm again. I make each one at least 6′ long so shoulders are covered, too. I can wrap up and sleep comfortably while my husband may be throwing off his cover. For the warm summer months, I cut up the top sheets to make individual light weight covers with foot pockets. The fleece is easily washed as often as the bottom sheet. Our comforter hangs on a rack as it is not necessary, except for making the bed during the day.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love this idea! Love it so much I intend to make a sheet pocket for myself. You’re a genius.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.With all the product I nightly slather on this old fossil-body, I can’t imagine going without a top sheet…so I give 20 toes’n thumps-up…plus anything else would be itchy..all cotton, Egyptian 800 thread count top sheets rock it! (thx Santa)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I can’t understand not using a top sheet, for me it is really weird. I even have a ‘travelling top sheet’ that I take with me on holiday!!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.too cold without it in northern illinois and I certainly don’t wash my cover/quilt every week, it’d ruin it a lot sooner. I only wash and change covers about once a month.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My 90 year old grandmother still irons her sheets and pillowcases!
I’m almost 60 and I remember having to iron sheets and pillowcases as a young girl. I hated it! But it’s nice to hear someone still does.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Good for your 90 year old grandma, who still irons sheets. This old bat of 84, has seven grandkids, one great grandson with another due the end of May and I admit to ironing sheets when my children were young, but one of my daughters, who is a “neatnik,” told me to forget ironing sheets, thus, I no longer iron them, I do hang them outdoors when weather permits. So there are some wrinkles when the sheets are dried in a dryer, so what? If you are tired enough, and worked around the house or in the workforce, you WILL sleep. If you sat around all day just relaxing and doing nothing, you may have difficulty sleeping, so tomorrow do something useful.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have decided that I am cursed to have menopause until the day I finally expire, so I use 2 top sheets. That way I can “peel” as my temperature changes. The duvet is just for looks, which usually means it is turned back and at the end of the bed all the time. I LOVED the comment about the lady who said she and her husband sleep on top of the bed that is already made! Genius! :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This discussion is so funny! I love it! : )
I see that the majority of the voters are PRO-SHEET however, I am not and have not been for over 20 years. Tho’ (my) Mother and Grandmothers would be thoroughly appalled!!!! (much to my delight…LOL)
When hubs and I 1st got married (20+ yrs. ago), I was the traditional top-sheet kind of girl because…that’s how we always did it when I was growing up. After the 1st couple of years of sharing the bed…I ditched the top sheet! It was a pain when I slept by myself because it always got twisted up but…add another person to the mix…yikes!
After a few more years, we got separate light-weight blankets because he sleeps one way and I sleep another and we were always wrestling with the covers. We can sleep however we want to without yanking to get covers or getting the covers yanked off every time someone rolls around …like THAT doesn’t wake you right up. : )
We have a king-sized bed and I can wash ALL of the bed linens (fitted sheet, pillowcases and two light-weight blankets) in a single load…anytime I want to. It’s that easy…strip the bed…wash a load…throw the fitted sheet and pillow cases on and toss the blankets on top… clean, fresh and ready to go.
Does our bed look like a magazine picture..? NOPE. Would it be up to snuff for Mom and Grandma..? Probably NOT. Are we good with it..? YEP! : )
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We travel quite bit. Often to places where a duvet is used instead of a top sheet. I am still in the top sheet camp, even more so after those experiences. A duvet, or even just a blanket, can be hot. Then what? Laying uncovered in the night—not for me. A nice lightweight sheet is the best. The hygiene issue is the top argument in my book. I don’t want to have to wash a blanket every week, and stuffing a duvet is much more time consuming than just putting on a sheet. Flannel sheets in the winter are cozy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love getting in between the sheet when they just came out of the dryer. I have always slept with a top sheet and probably will continue.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Years ago there were no fitted sheets….just two flat sheets. I would never even consider NOT using a top sheet. I think it feels better than a blanket or duvet next to your skin and then there is the hygiene issue. All the reasons mentioned is why I use a topper. I make sure there is enough sheet at the head of the bed to fold over the comforter or blanket so the comforter is not in contact with my skin. I use a lightweight comforter in the Summer…usually off the bed at night so the top sheet is needed….can’t sleep without it and in Winter I use a heavier weight comforter set. I change the look twice a year when doing Fall/Spring cleaning and the comforters are dry cleaned.
Did anyone watch the show Little People Big World when it was first on? The young boys would sleep on a mattress without a sheet. Gosh, so awful. I think they just slept with comforters. So we are talking about the top sheet and I certainly hope everyone uses a bottom sheet without question and hopefully a mattress pad too.
Folding the fitted sheet used to be easier. Now with the extra piece of material on the short ends it becomes a bit more bulkier when folded but I still fold the same way.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I remember the day!!! Oh how I hated those flat sheets for the bottom, trying to keep them tucked in. I would not trade a fitted sheet for a flat one for all the gold… Fitted sheets were the best thing that was ever made. The top sheet HAS to STAY, I may kick it back during the summer months, but have to have a little something over my feet. Yes I have had a lot of laughs this afternoon reading this post. I’m 70 and had not ever heard of a duvet, guess I’m running behind time. LOL LOL We all need a good laugh this day and time. Keep up the great post Jillee…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.i don’t know exactly why,but I don’t use a top sheet anymore..That started about five years ago,I believe.At the time I was sleeping on my couch..I didn’t have a bed at the time.I just never went back to the top sheet…I don’t need it…To each his own.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My husband changed our ways. We have a light quilt on our bed. The bed is made up underneath. We each have a soft blanket for cover. He’s 79 & I’m 65. Bed is always made now. I just smooth it out each day. Wash day I have pillowcases, light quilt and soft blankets to wash. I also throw pillows in dryer for a bit to fluff and sort of clean. It works for us and no more tangled blankets and sheets. Sometimes I wonder why I even have bed made underneath? Guess because I’m just used to it being made up.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We in the U.K. Use duvet covers and wash those once a week with pillow cases. I personally find with centrally heated houses a light duvet and cover are more than enough. I tend to wash my quilt which is only a 4.5 tog at least once every 3 months because both myself and hubby do find we are hot. In the summer we use just the duvet cover, which tends to be washed twice a week.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Ok so I have recently had this discussion with others recently, because I’ve discovered that many “younger” people seem to have ditched the flat sheet. I think I’m a traditionalist at heart so I’m staying with the sheet. As I mentioned it seems as though it maybe be generational. I’d like to hear age ranges on the debate. Feel free to comment.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m over fifty and vote “pro top”
I’m 59 and only use a duvet with a cover, hate top sheets unless it’s too hot for a quilt.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’am “pro sheet” but my children would rather do without the top sheet. I am over fifty and that was just how I was taught.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m 70, hubby 74 and we ditched top sheet 20 years ago.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.69 years old and definitely pro top sheet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m 59 and “PRO TOP”
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I always have, and always will, use a top sheet. I couldn’t sleep without that barrier between me and my bedspread (yes, a bedspread…not a comforter nor a duvet…a chenille bedspread).
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We both sleep hot so summer I use one top sheet and in the winter I use 2 top sheets and no blankets. I have a comforter on the bed but it is mostly or looks. We seldom use it unless it is literally freezing outside.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Top? I thought it is called flat sheet … Anyway, I always think they make flat sheets too short and narrow. So if you have a full mattress, buy a queen flat sheet.. instead.. you will have extra inches to tuck under mattress to make it stick with your nightmares, no matter what..
Please log in or create a free account to comment.LOL
I even use three sheets as top for winter to separate my other three layers of cotton blankets from me .. I call it drying sheets.
I pull all top sheets and blankets out to dry under sunlight by my large window which happens to face the daylight sun all day to dry at every opportunity I get during wintertime or you can toss them in your dryer whichever every other day or so especially during coldest days . You will feel so dry overnight and you will sleep like a dry baby!
It’s a heck of a lot easier to just pull a top sheet off of a bed than to wrestle a duvet cover off a comforter. I would definitely wash a duvet cover less often than I do my top sheets. Yuck.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am for the top sheet for the reasons you gave. My husband is not a big fan and would like no sheet but since I take care of the bed linens ,I go with the top sheet.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Top sheet user here!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am also pro top sheet for the same reasons you give.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am pro top sheet for the resons you give above and because it actually saves me money on laundry. When I allowed my husband to nix the top sheet for the first 15 years I was washing our comforter every week, now that I make us use a top sheet, I wash the sheets each week but just flip the comforter each week and wash every 2 weeks. I don’t feel that the comforter is dirty anywhere except near our faces, hence flip to get clean spot for 2nd week.
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