The best duvet tog for sleep depends on the season and on how warm you run, but the common UK ranges are simple: around 4.5 tog for summer, 10.5 tog for spring and autumn, and 13.5 tog for winter. If you run hot, drop a step; if you run cold, go up one. And if you are only going to own one duvet, 10.5 tog with a throw for winter is the usual compromise.
Tog is only half of it, though. The fabric next to your skin decides whether you feel cool and dry or hot and clammy, and it is where a lot of "why do I wake sweaty" problems actually come from. This guide covers both, and pillows briefly, so you can sort your bedding once and stop thinking about it.
Why bedding matters more than the thermostat
Your body needs to lose a little core heat to fall asleep and stay asleep. The temperature that matters most for that is not the room's; it is the small pocket of air under the covers. Bedding controls that pocket directly, which is why a lighter duvet often solves a problem that turning the heating down did not. The room still matters, and the best temperature for sleep guide covers what to aim for, but bedding is the tool you can change tonight.
Duvet tog explained
Tog is a UK measure of thermal insulation: how well the duvet stops heat escaping. Higher is warmer. It says nothing about weight, quality or fill.
| Tog | Season | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| 2.5–4.5 | Summer, heatwaves | Hot sleepers all year; most people from June to August |
| 7–9 | Late spring, early autumn, warm bedrooms | People who find 10.5 too warm |
| 10.5 | Spring and autumn; all-year compromise | Most people in a bedroom heated in the evening |
| 12–13.5 | Winter | Most people in an unheated or cool bedroom |
| 15 | Deep winter, very cold rooms | Cold sleepers; older people; draughty houses |
All-seasons duvets are two duvets, typically 4.5 and 9 tog, that fasten together to make 13.5. You get three settings for the price of one and a half, at the cost of storing the spare half in summer.
Two people, two togs. If one of you is always too hot and the other always cold, two single duvets on a double bed, or a "his and hers" duvet with a different tog on each side, ends the tug of war. It is common in Scandinavia and increasingly so here.
Fill: what is inside
- Down and feather. Warm for its weight, breathes well, drapes around you. The most expensive, and needs a duvet cover that is changed regularly. Look for responsibly sourced down.
- Wool. Naturally regulates temperature and wicks moisture, so it suits people who swing between hot and cold. Heavier than down. Can be a good choice for allergy sufferers.
- Hollowfibre and microfibre. Synthetic, cheap, machine washable, hypoallergenic. Warm, but tends to trap heat and moisture more than natural fills, which is why a synthetic 13.5 tog can feel sweatier than a down one.
- Silk and bamboo-derived fills. Lightweight and cool-feeling. Less common and prices vary.
For hot sleepers, the fill matters as much as the tog: a 4.5 tog wool or cotton-cased duvet breathes better than a 4.5 tog polyester one.
Fabrics: the part most people get wrong
The sheet and duvet cover sit against your skin all night. Their job is to let heat and moisture through.
- Cotton percale is a crisp, matt weave that feels cool and gets softer with washing. Usually the best choice for warm sleepers and summer.
- Cotton sateen is smoother and slightly warmer, with a faint sheen. Good in winter or for people who find percale rough.
- Linen wicks moisture well, feels cool in summer and warm in winter, and lasts for years. Creases, and costs more.
- Brushed cotton and flannelette are cotton with a raised, fluffy surface. Warm and soft, ideal for winter, too warm for most in summer.
- Bamboo-derived viscose and lyocell are silky and cool-feeling and wick well. Check the label: "bamboo" bedding is a processed fibre, and quality varies.
- Polyester and polycotton are cheap, crease-free and quick-drying, and they trap heat and sweat. If you wake clammy on "easy care" sheets, this is often why.
Thread count is a poor guide to quality above about 200; weave and fibre matter more. A 200 thread count percale will feel cooler than a 600 thread count sateen.
Season by season
Summer. A 4.5 tog duvet or just a sheet, cotton percale or linen, and a pillow that does not store heat. On the hottest nights, a sheet alone under an open window. There is a full guide to sleeping when it is hot.
Spring and autumn. 10.5 tog, cotton sateen or percale depending on preference, a throw folded at the end of the bed for cold snaps.
Winter. 13.5 tog or the 10.5 plus a blanket you can push off in the night, brushed cotton or flannelette sheets, and something under you: a mattress topper or underblanket stops heat draining into the mattress. The guide to sleeping when it is cold covers hot water bottles, warm feet and heating timers.
If you are waking too warm
The two bedding changes that hot sleepers most often find worth making: a lighter duvet and sheets that breathe.
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Lightweight summer duvet (around 4.5 tog)
Example: Various UK brands
Tog is the UK measure of a duvet's warmth. Duvets around 4.5 tog are marketed as summer weight; all-season sets combine a summer and a mid-weight duvet that clip together for winter.
- Best for
- Hot sleepers and UK summers
- Key feature
- Low tog rating for minimal insulation
- Why it may help
- Swapping a 13.5 tog winter duvet for a summer weight one is one of the simplest ways to stop waking up hot.
- Worth knowing
- Fill (down, feather, microfibre, wool) affects breathability as much as tog.
Cotton percale bedding
Example: Various UK bedding brands
Percale is a plain cotton weave marketed for its crisp, cool feel compared with the smoother, warmer sateen weave. It is widely available in UK sizes.
- Best for
- Warm sleepers and summer nights
- Key feature
- Crisp, breathable plain-weave cotton
- Why it may help
- Fabric affects how much heat and moisture stays next to you. Percale or linen tends to feel cooler than polyester or sateen.
- Worth knowing
- Wrinkles more than sateen; check thread count claims with caution as they are not a quality guarantee.
Pillows, briefly
A pillow's job is to keep your neck in line with your spine. Side sleepers need a higher, firmer pillow to fill the gap between shoulder and head; back sleepers a medium one; front sleepers a very flat one or none. Pillows flatten and lose support over a couple of years, and a pillow that has folded in half is past it. If you sleep on your side and wake with neck or shoulder ache, the pillows for side sleepers guide explains height and fill. Hot sleepers should know that memory foam holds heat; a gel layer or a breathable fill helps, and the cooling pillow guide covers the options.
Keeping bedding working
Wash sheets and pillowcases weekly, or every two weeks at most; skin, sweat and dust mites build up faster than you would think. Air the duvet by throwing the covers back for twenty minutes each morning rather than making the bed straight away. Wash or clean duvets and pillows every few months, and replace pillows every couple of years and duvets every five or so, or when they have gone flat or lumpy.
The short version
Match the tog to the season, choose cotton or linen over polyester, and give a pillow the height your sleeping position needs. If you still wake hot, the guide to waking up hot at night looks at the causes beyond bedding, and the rest of the Sleep Environment guides cover the room itself.
Frequently asked questions
What tog duvet should I use all year round?
If you must use one duvet all year, 10.5 tog is the usual compromise in a UK home, with a throw on top in winter and a sheet in place of it on the hottest nights. An all-seasons duvet, which clips a 4.5 and a 9 tog together, is the better answer if you have somewhere to store the spare half.
Is a higher tog duvet better quality?
No. Tog measures warmth, not quality. A 4.5 tog down duvet can be far better made than a 15 tog hollowfibre one. Judge quality by the fill, the casing fabric and the stitching that keeps the fill in place, and choose tog by the season and how warm you sleep.
What is the best bedding for hot sleepers?
Cotton percale or linen sheets, a 4.5 tog duvet or the lighter half of an all-seasons set, and a pillow that does not hold heat. Avoid polyester and microfibre sheets, and think twice about memory foam pillows and mattress toppers, which store heat. If the mattress itself is the problem, see how to choose a mattress.
Sources and further reading
- NHS: Sleep and tiredness
- The Sleep Charity: The Sleep Charity
- Sleep Foundation: Sleep Foundation
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Written and reviewed by the Quiet Mind Sleep editorial team in line with our editorial policy. Spotted an error? Let us know.
