I’m a hot sleeper at the best of times, and, like many of us, I really struggle to get a good night’s rest during heatwaves, especially living in the UK.
In Britain, high temperatures don’t just mean heat; they also mean humidity, and high evening humidity makes it hard for the body to cool down enough for sleep.
As Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, I’ve tracked down all the best duvets for summer, but when the mercury soars to above 30°C, even they can be Far. Too. Hot.
However, I do have one secret weapon up my sleeve when temperatures skyrocket, and that’s Shades of Cool London’s Dohar.
Shades of Cool London
The Original Unprinted Dohar
This lightweight layer is now my go-to during hot weather.
What is a dohar? It’s a piece of bedding that’s very uncommon in the UK. Probably because, up until recently, British bedding concerns have been far more focused on staying warm in bed, not dealing with extreme heat.
But things are changing, and if last week was anything to go by, we may all soon be looking for duvet alternatives and cool bedding materials to see us through the summer nights.
(Image credit: James French)
Temperatures of 30°C plus have been rare in the UK, but other parts of the world have been navigating daily life in hot temperatures for millennia, and there’s a lot we can learn.
The dohar is a much-prized cooling solution in South Asia, most notably in India and Bangladesh, where it’s credited as first being woven.
This was the bedding that Indian royalty – the Maharaji – used in their palaces, and according to Shades of Cool London’s founder, Angel Skillman, it’s a fabric dubbed ‘woven wind’ in its country of origin.
It’s a poetic title, and having now tested this fabric through two years of British heatwaves, I can testify that it’s also a very accurate description.
(Image credit: Shades of Cool London)
Essentially, the dohar is a lightweight summer blanket. But it’s not anything like your average British blanket. Instead, it’s made from super-fine mulmul cotton, which is a little like muslin, but *far* softer, smoother, and airier than any muslin I’ve encountered in the UK.
Mulmul fabric is then triple-layered to create the dohar, and this layering is the key to how well it handles hot, humid British heatwaves. Not surprisingly, because it was originally the Indian go-to for sleeping well in monsoon season – a time when the moisture content in the air is extremely high.
I’ve found that the mulmul layer next to the skin is perfect for wicking away moisture and stickiness, whilst the other two layers create air pockets that are brilliant at regulating temperature. That means there’s no going to sleep boiling, but then waking up at 3 am feeling a chill.
And as someone who always sleeps with the powerful Meaco Sefte Fan circulating air during a heatwave, I’ve found a dohar also handles a fan’s breeze well. The airflow can still penetrate the open weave fabric, but without the breeze feeling *too* cold against the skin.
(Image credit: Shades of Cool London)
I’ve tested numerous options for sleeping cooler on hot nights, from sleeping without covers to bedding down under just a flat linen sheet, such as this Piglet in Bed option, and testing cooling blankets, such as this Bedsure design. And although all have their time and place, the dohar remains the one sleep solution I find myself reaching for again and again.
It’s definitely the option I sleep coolest under, as well as the option that keeps my temperature the most stable throughout the night, and that temperature regulation results in a deeper sleep, with less waking up because I’m too hot or too cold.
Shades of Cool London
Japanese Wave Indigo Dohar
Shades of Cool London’s plain dohars start from £65, but there are also printed versions, such as this hand-block-printed Japanese Wave design.
Piglet in Bed
Ivory Kemptown Stripe 100% Linen Flat Sheet
Thanks to its breathability, a flat linen sheet is another great way to add a light layer to the bed in hot weather, but I’ve found a dohar to be softer, airier, and to offer better temperature.
If you prefer a little more weight over you, then a cooling blanket like this one feels cool to the touch. However, it doesn’t offer the same night-long breathability and temperature regulation as a dohar.
As of writing, the dohar is still difficult to source in the UK. Shades of Cool London and a few Etsy sellers that have in-stock dohars are the only places I’ve found to shop. However, as British summers look set to get hotter, I think this is a heatwave must-have that’s going to catapult in popularity.
The irony is that, as Angel points out, ‘production of mulmul cotton and the dohar suffered under British colonial rule, with efforts to suppress local weaving due to competition with industrially manufactured fabrics.’ However, thankfully, skilled makers have kept this ancient fabric alive, and I, for one, am very grateful for that.
(Image credit: Future PLC/Colin Poole)
And not just for heatwave navigation. If you’re a menopausal woman experiencing hot flushes, this is a fabric you *need* in your life. Shades of Cool London also stocks kids dohars, which are perfect for keeping little ones cool in the heat.
Ultimately, I think the dohar is the perfect example of how sustainable, indigenous knowledge is going to be central in helping us all navigate the climate changes we have ahead. We have a lot to learn about cooling things down, but that knowledge is out there and waiting to be applied.