We’d all love a better night’s sleep – in fact, I sometimes think it’s all any of us really want. Research from the Mental Health Foundation in 2025 found that the average UK adult got just three days of good-quality sleep each week. So, when you find yourself lying awake night after night, it’s only natural to start searching for a solution.
Before long, you’re scrolling through page after page of products all claiming to be the secret to deeper, longer and more restful sleep – and when you’re exhausted, it’s surprisingly easy to believe them.
The result is a booming market packed with so-called sleep miracles. overly complex trendy items that all somehow promise to transform the way you sleep. While some genuinely do earn their place on the bed – and that's where you can always trust our GHI sleep reviews for quality tested products – plenty of others come with a hefty price tag and very little to show for it.
To help separate clever marketing from products that actually make a difference, I asked bedding and sleep experts which shopping mistakes they would never make, and the items they would never spend their own money on. Better still, they’ve shared the alternatives they genuinely recommend instead, so you can invest in the bedding that’s really worth it.
High thread count sheets
‘High thread count is just a myth’ – a bold statement from Dr Jordan Burns, licensed chiropractor and sleep health expert at Eachnight, but all the other experts I spoke to seemed to agree. ‘At 300-500 threads per square inch with good weaving, higher thread count brings no improvements to the quality of sheets in general. Often, the numbers are achieved using twisting of poorer quality fibres to create a super-soft product,’ Dr Burns explains.
Letitia Welsh, co-founder of Flaxfield Linen, supports this commonly believed myth, summing it up perfectly: ‘Judging bedding by thread count is like buying a book because it has more pages. More pages doesn’t mean it's well written.’
In their opinions, you shouldn’t waste your money on poor-quality material masquerading as luxurious. Instead, focus on purchasing a good fibre, as this is a much more effective investment than a big number on the packaging.
Unwashable pillows
When purchasing a new bedding item, Dr Lindsay Browning, a neuroscientist who specialises in improving sleep through science, recommends always thinking about care and longevity before handing over your credit card. For example, she says she would never buy a pillow she can’t wash.
‘As bedding can accumulate dead skin cells, sweat and dust mites, it’s important that it can be washable,' Dr Browning explains. ‘If you do have a pillow that’s not able to be washed (such as some cooling gel pillows and memory foam options), then make sure that you use washable pillowcases and pillow protectors.’
Polyester
‘I would avoid low-quality polyester bedding,’ says Martin Gill, specialist and managing director of Andsotobed. This was something that pretty much all of my experts mentioned – that polyester is the worst for sleep. ‘While it’s often inexpensive, it tends to trap heat, rather than allowing your body to regulate temperature naturally,’ says Martin. ‘Given we spend around a third of our lives in bed, I’d always choose natural fibres that are breathable, comfortable and designed to last.’
Cheap sheets
As much as buying faux-luxury pretentious sheets is a waste of money, Letitia also believes so is buying on the cheap. ‘One of the biggest mistakes I see is buying inexpensive bedding that needs replacing every year or two,’ says Letitia. ‘It often feels like a saving initially, but the fabric pills, loses its softness and wears out quickly. Investing in well-made natural fibre bedding that lasts for years is usually far better value over time.’
Thick mattress toppers
Now, mattress toppers themselves can be brilliant – I’ve had one for years and have no plans to part with its buttery-soft memory foam any time soon. However, Dr Burns points out that often these can be a bit overkill, especially if you’re buying one to cover up for a seriously out-of-date mattress.
‘An ultra-thick mattress topper sold as a solution to all bed-related troubles should be avoided for sure,’ warns Dr Burns. ‘Several inches of soft foam are not always useful, as they might interfere with spine alignment in side and back sleepers. It must not be applied to compensate for the age or low quality of the mattress but only to tweak some existing drawbacks.’
Grounding sheets
I’ll admit, before Jonathan Warren, bed expert and director at Time4Sleep, mentioned grounding sheets, I had never heard of them. But, apparently, there are all sorts of internet sleep fads out there.
These electrical fitted or flat bed sheets are woven with conductive metal fibres, such as silver, carbon or stainless steel, and plugged into the wall to create an electrical pulse, said to improve sleep, reduce inflammation and boost overall wellbeing by connecting your body to the Earth’s electrical charge while you sleep. Or at least that’s what they claim to do – but Jonathan believes it’s a load of rubbish.
‘The evidence behind these claims is still fairly limited and there is not enough research to suggest they deliver the same benefits as advertised online. If you’re looking to improve your sleep, I’d recommend investing in an adequately supportive mattress and breathable bedding.’ At an average of £100 a set, definitely one to leave out of the basket.
Internet trends
As a slightly more general piece of bedding advice, Martin suggests avoiding buying bedding items or sleep aids if you’re simply buying for the sake of it. ‘Many people feel they need to constantly follow bedding trends or replace perfectly good products because something new has gone viral,’ says Martin. ‘Investing in fewer, higher-quality pieces made from natural materials is often the better approach than regularly buying inexpensive trend-led products.’
Essential oil-infused bedding
Bedding infused with calming scents such as lavender might sound like an easy route to better sleep, but experts say it’s not a purchase worth splashing out on. ‘Personally, I would avoid buying essential-oil infused bedding that is marketed as a way to improve sleep,’ says Jonathan.
The biggest drawback is that the fragrance simply doesn’t last, meaning any sleep-promoting benefits are likely to fade long before the bedding wears out. ‘Although scents like lavender have been studied for their calming effects, the fragrance would likely begin to disappear after repeated washing and everyday use, meaning any effects are probably temporary. Instead, I would buy a dedicated pillow spray or bedroom diffuser,’ advises Jonathan.
