It's a Team's Life
New Year, New Sheets
Trucking is as volatile as ever, so sleep quality should be on the top of your self-care list.
With that in mind - when was the last time you changed your sheets or bought new pillows? We are supposed to spend a third of our day in bed, at a minimum, yet many people overlook this area of their home without a second thought. A 2022 study found that over 70% of truck drivers reported poor sleep quality, with a multitude of contributing variables that are generally out of our control. Fortunately, bedding is not one of them! Getting the best nights sleep requires investing in your bedding – from your pillows and sheets, to your mattress; so let’s take a dive into some of the best tips for making your bed something you always look forward to getting into.
We'll start with soft sheets and pillowcases, which are of utmost importance. You want that high end hotel feeling when you slide into bed, as this is the introduction to telling your body that it’s time to wind down for the day. To achieve this, we highly recommend organic cotton sheets or hemp sheets, since they only get softer with every wash. Not to mention, both materials have great longevity and are ideal for temperature regulation. When we are shopping for bedding, we generally focus on three areas: the feel on our skin, the brand, and a thread count in the 500-700 range. These organic cotton pillow-cases we recently upgraded to are so buttery soft, we immediately placed a 2nd order after the first night using them. For anyone focusing on hair health and preventing breakage, or those of you with sensitive and/or acne prone skin, we recommend satin pillowcases. We can vouch for these, as they have held up to truck stop washers and dryers for years!
Instead of using a standard comforter, we opt for more comfort and ease here too - swapping between heavy-weave blankets and our goose feather duvet, depending on the season. We prefer larger blankets for maximum coverage and ease of cleaning, something you don’t usually find with a normal comforter set. So, when we pull out our down comforter in the winter, we use a duvet cover to keep it clean and swap the cover out weekly. We also keep a rotation of throw blankets on the end of the bed, for nights when we might be running a bit warmer and want something more minimal, or when we want an additional layer to throw over our main blanket. It adds that extra layer of comfort that we normally only afford ourselves at home in our living rooms. If you suffer from anxiety or have trouble falling asleep when roads are rough and it feels like you’re bouncing all over the bed, we suggest investing into a weighted blanket. These give you that "hugged" feeling that has shown promising results for those suffering from anxiety and sleep disorders.
Another priceless investment we made was a mattress topper. We bought one from the Casa Luna line sold at Target many years ago - one of our favorite brands - and it has proven to be a godsend. It is now a part of our “must pack” list when moving between trucks. Not only was it more affordable than a mattress pad, but it’s lasted us for years and hasn’t lost shape due to being down-filled instead of the typical foam topper. These toppers can completely revamp a mattress and add an additional layer of comfort that is hard to find in truck mattresses and normally only felt on genuine pillow-top mattresses – here’s one identical to the one we use and recommend.
Another thing we’re not running low in our sleeper is pillows. We currently tote about 6 - 7 pillows at any given moment. We use four main pillows; two slightly firm pillows at the head of the bed to replicate the feeling and support of a headboard, with two medium-soft pillows in front of them, along with a decade old pillow at the forefront for resting under our arm or strangling at our sides. Lastly, we keep 2 specialty pillows - one is a knee pillow that we’ve rotated over the last 8 years, since knee pain is common after a long shift, and keeping our hips aligned when sleeping has helped mitigate that.The other is an adjustable support pillow for doing office work, reading in bed, or for nights were we need to elevate an aging and weary body part.
Some final tips we can share: we’ve incorporated buying darker bedding, to be able to make the sleeper as dark as possible for daytime sleeping, which has proven to go a long way. Every little bit of light that you can remove during the day is peak for proper rest. Lastly, if you or your pets suffer from allergies or have sensitive skin, changing and washing your sheets weekly can help immensely with any symptoms either of you might be suffering from! So keeping an extra set or two of sheets and pillow cases will keep you running comfortably.
All in all, quality bedding isn’t always cheap, but you can usually find everything we’ve mentioned at an affordable price or on sale in big-box stores. The important thing to remember is that your sleep quality affects your overall health and well-being. Bedding is undoubtedly an investment, both short-term and long-term, which makes it an easy decision when it's time to make these upgrades.
Happy sleeping, and as always –
Run Hard, Dream Big,