Can You Sleep With a Hat On?
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Sleeping is a universal need, but each of us wears different items, such as pajamas, nightgowns, lingerie, and even t-shirt only, depending on what we’re comfortable with or what the climate is. Some even wear socks while others pull their hair up or want their hair covered. Some claim that wearing a hat while sleeping is useful in so many ways, but others say that it will do your hair badly.
So, can you sleep with a hat on? It is a yes as long you use the right kind of hat or cap. You will find specially designed nighttime hats or caps for sleeping, and they’re the ones you should opt for. You should also make sure you purchase headgear that suits your hair texture, length, and more.
If you are undecided about wearing a hat or cap while sleeping, you must know about the different benefits of doing so. You also should be familiar with the various types of sleeping hats or caps. This way, you’ll have a more informed buying decision, and you’ll enjoy its real benefits rather than damaging your hair.
Wearing Cap While Sleeping
A sleeping hat, nightcap, sleep bonnet, or sleeping cap has been used by men and women for centuries to stay warm. Upon the development of heating systems, it slowly became a thing of the past, especially for males. Women, on the other hand, especially the older generation, continue to use it. Recently, though, sleeping caps are becoming trendy again for younger and middle-aged women and some men.
The Benefits
One of the reasons sleeping caps, hats, or beanies started becoming popular again is the claimed benefits, which are proven by some users and hair experts. Some of the most notable benefits are:
1. Hairstyle Maintenance
One of the reasons people, especially women, wear nightcaps is to maintain the hairstyle they paid for in preparation for an upcoming occasion such as weddings and prom nights. A silk cap is best at this point since it minimizes friction between the pillow and the hair while you sleep.
Likewise, if you like to braid or weave your hair at night to get a particular hairstyle in the morning, using a bonnet will help prevent any strands from coming loose, which is common when your hair rubs against your pillow. Silk and satin nightcaps also help ensure hair curl and volume maintenance.
2. Hair Damage Prevention
Speaking of friction minimization, silk caps also help prevent hair breakage that commonly causes split ends.
Wrapping your hair with a silk nightcap or a bonnet can help prevent frizzes and tangles, which cause hair damage once you comb your hair when you wake up. If you have long hair, your hair won’t get trapped accidentally under your pillow and/or arms when you toss and turn while you’re sleeping. All of those, in turn, help you grow your hair faster than usual, as well as aids in maintaining your hair’s body and texture.
Additional Tip:
If you want to prevent hair tangles with the help of a silk cap or bonnet, here’s what you need to do:
- If you have straight or wavy hair, brush your hair gently to ensure there are no tangles. After that, twist your hair and make a high knot or lazy bun. Then, wrap your hair with a bonnet.
- If you have kinky or curly hair, just make a knot or bun and cover your hair with the bonnet. If it’s short, simply wrap it with the bonnet.
3. Hair Dryness Prevention
Maintaining a well-moisturized, silky, and smooth hair takes a lot of effort and requires plenty of products such as hair conditioners, leave-on cream, and oil. Not only are environmental factors and age the cause of hair dryness, but cotton pillowcases and night air, as well.
Covering your hair with silk or satin nightcaps can prevent night air from touching your hair, as well as protects your hair from directly coming in contact with your pillowcase. Thus, less moisture is lost. Those who will benefit the most from this are pre- and post-menopausal women since their skin, including their hair, starts to dry at this age.
4. Better Hair Product Effect
If you’re someone who loves putting products on your hair before going to sleep, a sleeping hat or cap can ensure the product gets absorbed by your hair and scalp, and not by your pillowcase or pillow. As such, the hair product you’ve been spending your money on will work its wonders maximally.
5. Better Hair, Scalp, and Skin Health
At the end of the day, the hair and scalp collect dirt and dust from the environment. Though most of us would shower before resting at night, this might not be possible every night when we’re too tired. Remember, sleeping with wet hair is unhealthy.
Wrapping your hair to prevent direct contact with your pillowcase ensures it won’t absorb all the hair and scalp dirt, dust, and oil, which will then be absorbed by the pillow. Once absorbed, it can attract microorganisms, which will make the inside of your pillow their home until you wash it.
Imagine how many days you would be sleeping with all the germs and dirt? Not only will they cause scalp and hair problems, but also skin conditions like acne or pimples.
6. Helps Keep You Warm
Apparently, the primary reason why people wore nightcaps in the past remains to be one of its benefits: to help you stay warm at night or in the early morning. Although you might have a heating system in your bedroom, you can save a little from your electric bill by making sure you wrap yourself up.
Apart from socks, PJs, and a thick, winter comforter (view on Amazon), wearing a nightcap will make sure little to no cold air touches your skin or body parts. Besides, the head, hair, and face are the ones exposed when you sleep. This becomes especially helpful for bald individuals.
Additionally, you can bring and wear your nightcap when you go camping and hiking to keep you warm while sleeping inside your tent, on your hammock, and sleeping bag!
The Right Headgear
Definitely, you cannot wear a hat or cap with a bill or brim while sleeping because you won’t feel comfortable and find the right sleeping position. Similarly, the whole point of wearing a cap or hat is to wrap and protect your hair and head.
Standard nightcaps look like shower caps or beanies, so you must be careful when buying one. When you end up buying a shower cap instead of a true nightcap, your hair might be soaked in sweat, causing you and your hair more harm than good.
Apart from the typical nightcaps, there are special types, including:
1. Long
As the name suggests, this sleeping cap is for individuals with long hair, whether male or female. It has an extended or long back, making it look like an elf hat so that you don’t have to tie or pull your hair when you wrap it. This is also great for those who want to loose-braid their hair or those using hair extensions.
2. Extra-Large, Satin-Lined
This nightcap usually has 600 thread count of satin to give the wearer a luxurious feeling. Since the size is extra-large, this is best for those with curly, frizzy, or voluminous hair.
3. Tunnel or Cylinder Shaped
This type of nightcap is somewhat similar to the long variety, but the back part is shorter. This type of cap is best for those with dreadlocks but also is ideal for individuals with braids.
4. Bamboo
Bamboo-made sleep caps are also available and recommended by the American Cancer Society for individuals undergoing chemotherapy. They are also great for those with hair loss problems, especially since they are seamless. They are also comfortable against the forehead, scalp, and neck, plus they prevent skin irritation and clamminess due to their moisture-wicking and antibacterial properties.
Things to Keep in Mind
When you choose to wear a nightcap when you rest your head on your comfortable pillow (view on Amazon), you must remember to wash it after every use. Likewise, you should make sure it is dried completely before wearing it for another night. With that said, you need to get more than one nightcap if you plan on wrapping your hair every night and/or avoid the hassle of daily washing and drying your cap.
Don’t worry, though, since most sleeping caps are available at affordable prices. What’s greater is that you can find them in different gender-specific and unisexual designs and colors, so you can stay fashionable even when you are asleep. That is most especially favorable if you have a roommate or partner, as well as when a friend sleeps over or you sleepover at a friend’s house.
Conclusion – Can You Sleep With a Hat On?
By now, whether you’re a male or female, you no longer have to ask the question, “Can you sleep with a hat on?” because surely you can, and there are lots of benefits you will surely enjoy when you do so. You won’t just protect and maintain your hair, but you’ll also stay warm and protect your skin from microorganisms. Just be sure you choose the most suitable type of nightcap for your needs.
So, go ahead and jump into your bed mattress (view on Amazon) with your nightcap on!