In Praise of Wool

For decades I slept under a duck feather and down duvet. It was warm and somewhat prickly, but much better than than the man-made fibre alternatives. Though I would regularly wake up bathed in sweat. Just a bad dream, I thought. So I shook the feathers down and tried to get back to sleep. During my years of cancer treatment these night sweats increased in frequency. Digestion, I thought. I must be eating too much too late. I tried changing what and when I ate, but this made little difference. Finally, I thought it was due to anxiety. But I couldn’t alter that: I had stage four cancer and wasn’t expected to live too long. But somehow I found myself among the lucky 10% that did survive. Yet still my night sweats continued. Then I was given a wool duvet for my birthday by my dearest T.

For the past two weeks I’ve not overheated at night. The duvet is cosy, light and very breathable. The wooI is about an inch thick and encased in undyed cotton. It feels both warm and airy. I’m now sleeping more soundly and waking up in the night much less often. It’s made a huge difference, I rise feeling refreshed. Unfortunately the new duvet can do nothing for my benign enlarged prostate, which still wakes me every couple of hours to pee.