I started out writing today's post thinking it was going to be about what time you put your pajamas on at night. This firecracker idea came out of my mother insisting that 2:30 in the afternoon is a perfectly respectable time to start thinking about going to bed. Therefore 2:30 p.m. is probably when you should put your pajamas on.
One of my sisters, Pink Tool Belt, on the other hand will not, NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES put her pajamas on before she has eaten dinner. To her, if your life has degenerated to the point where you eat dinner in your pajamas you may as well never take them off again. In fact you may as well stop brushing your hair and saying excuse me when you burp sausage burps. You have given up on any sort of civilized life.
Coming in from the diagonal opposite corner of crazy is my sister Fish Pedicure, who would live in her pajamas if she could, but would look perfectly civilized the while doing it because ... she irons her pajamas. With an iron. As if they're a cotillion gown.
Me? I don't really have any firm beliefs when it comes to nightwear other than the fact that I wear it.
(This is where my post on "What time do you put your pajamas on?" took a turn)
You see, my pajama research led me to a rather startling statistic.
30% of North Americans SLEEP NAKED.
As in, they do not wear a thing. Zero. No underwear, no flannel, no EEK, WHAT IF THERE'S A FIRE AND I HAVE TO RUN INTO THE STREET tee shirt. Nothing.
As you might have guessed, that number is higher for men than women so they're the ones bringing the average up. I don't think anyone is surprised by the fact that more men than women sleep naked. Men would ride roller coasters naked if they thought they could get away with it. Shop for toos, get gas, chat with the neighbours? Naked , naked, naked.
One thing I don't understand is if you sleep naked how do you get ready for a night of Netflixing? Do you get cozy and comfortable in your naked? You just take off your regular clothes and be naked? What if you have food delivered or decide to start Netflixing at 4 in the afternoon? Are there bands of humans wobbling around their homes naked Netflixing all hours of the day that I don't know about?
I can't even fathom this sleeping naked thing. Not at all. It would be cold, it would be weird and I feel like I'd need to wash my sheets WAY more often than I currently do. To me, not wearing pajamas robs a person of the 3 BEST parts of their day; the moment you think about putting your pajamas on, the moment you actually put your pajamas on and the moment you lay on the couch with your pajamas on.
Having said all this, you have not yet heard the MOST disturbing thing. There are some people out there who make fun of those of us who wear pajamas. And they're just as stunned by our behaviour. My reading led me to articles written by Millennials who apparently think a 2 piece pajama set is a quaint, geezer thing. Like making your way to bed by the light of a candlestick and sleeping in a long, cone shaped nightcap.
Why do Millennials think this? Because apparently ... according to some random study I found ...
65% of Millennials sleep naked.
I suspect it's because they lack the focus to be able to pick out a pair of pajamas. But that's just the guess of a geezer.
Of course now I HAVE to know how many of you sleep naked. And also, if you do wear pajamas, what time do you put them on? Are you a Betty, thinking the earlier the better? Or a Pink Tool Belt, where wearing pajamas before dinnertime indicates you've probably spent time in prison?
Me? I favour 2 piece pajama sets in white and I generally put them on around 7:30 or 8 p.m.
Have a good weekend!
Kim
The next most pressing question is how many people make their bed first thing in the morning?Studies show it's better to leave it unmade to air out. Like sleeping naked, I just can't do it!
Karen we need to know and your post on this topic will, no doubt, be as hilarious as this one!
Julia A Zugel
At nearly 60, I moved up to the middle of the North woods in Michigan. It gets cold. I sleep naked. I have also been known to venture out to feed the horses naked if there weather is too warm, and I often lounge on my back porch naked. I'm on 40 acres, so if some unsuspecting trespassers happen to see me, it will be up to them to find a way to scrub their eyes. My thought is they should know better than to wander around on private property. There was one time that I regretted it when I jumped out of bed when I heard the coyotes too close to the horse pasture, races through the house with the gun and ran out the back door. That was when I realized it was -9°. Since then I remember to grab my fleece robe when I go coyote chasing. There have been a few who have pulled up on my property where they shouldn't be, but I do always keep a robe handy
sheryl powell
OMG Couldn't stand to sleep in anything other than panties. Stuff wads up around you and strangles you in the middle of the night. Or you are laying on wadded up lumps of fabric. Ick. However, I have to leave the panties on or I would feel NAKED. Ha.
Suz.
I am with you! I have totally thought the "what if there's a fire?"! And my teens are each a different mindset. So it must be a deeply personal thing, not a nature vs nurture.
Stacey J.
The only season in life I slept naked was before kids when husband and I lived in an old two-story house with no air conditioning. It felt weird but when it's a humid 90 something degrees outside, you do what you have to do to rest.
I like two piece pjs. My favorite pair is like the one in the picture. However, it is black t-shirt cotton with white piping. My questions are how many pairs of pjs should a person own? What's considered normal or average? Do you wash them every day or wear them a couple times before washing?
Jody
Talk about peaking under the covers. Who knew there could be so many different combinations of sleeping attire or nothing at all. After a review of the comments there is almost a 50/50 split between naked sleepers and wearing something to bed. What I found more interesting is the number of people who iron their sheets and the whole discussion on duvets and flat sheets.
Lez
You're so right Karen! What is it with men & this primal need to dangle their dingle all the time!?
My husband wants to live naked, 24/7, & I know the 2 old ladies either side of us love him strutting his stuff in the garden! Cringe much!
I hate sleeping naked, but I'm honestly wondering, after reading ALL these comments, how anyone in the U.S or Canada, ACTUALLY procreates, with ALL those clothes on!??? :)
TucsonPatty
Holy guacamole! I thought, like Karen, there were nightclothes people, and non-nightclothes people. There are so many iterations for sleeping clothing, it is amazing. I read through all these comments (I thought I was one of the first few, then came back to check after seeing TAODS instagram) and realized a couple more things: since losing all my hair 11 1/2 years ago to chemo, and having to find a nice stocking cap that winter to help me sleep better, I have now added that to my line up in the winter. It is actually a triangle of fleece tied just so in order to just slip it onto my head. Just before that, I put on my sleep eye mask, which has been a game changer in keeping the morning light out of my eyes until I want to get up! Just before that, I put in my dental device for sleep apnea. Yes, I am a sight to behold. I don’t care - I sleep better! Another post - how many of us have sleep apnea, what works best for that - (doc wants me to do another study for a C-PAP machine.) I also have to take one sleep medication to get to sleep, and another to stay asleep. I’m now 66 years old and finding this to be the thing: a sister’s friend told her “After 50, you just become a maintenance problem!” True.
Pam
I haven’t done a count, but I think research will show that the percentage of TAODS readers that sleep naked is well over the 65% mark.
I however am in the minority and sleep fully clothed. Well, not fully clothed, but fully pajama’ed. Two piece cotton or flannel pajamas, depending on the season. And they go on as soon as I’m home from work which is 7-ish. Dinner in pjs? Yes, please! Your crisply tailored pj’s in the pic are right up my alley. Can’t stand nightgowns. On a handful of hot nights I’ve slept in undies only, but it’s really not my thing, and not for sanitary reasons, I just don’t find it comfortable. I do find it funny that so many nude sleepers buy pajamas just to wear outside of bed. :-)
Sigrid Olsen
Forget about naked/pajamas none of this really means much if you sleep on stale sheets. I change my sheets every two days religiously. I sleep on 50+ year old bleached muslin sheets from the Pequot Mills. I am very particular about this. I have slept in some great hotels---and there is not an Egyptian sheet or any other that approaches these. However, any old muslin sheet can substitute for the Pequot sheets--there are some other great cotton muslin mills that produced sheets like these. I find it the most affordable luxury out there. In the summer, I hang dry my sheets--but in the winter, I tuck them in so there is not a wrinkle-- I -spray with a bit of wrinkle releaser. This does not take a lot of time. I just put in a youtube video---takes me 5-6 minutes to make the bed. All this talk about pajamas and/naked is moot is you are sleeping on stale sheets--and sheets are stale after two days. People just get used to that feeling and are really missing out.
Janelle
Gitch or very lightweight pj bottoms and a t-shirt. Anything more and I sweat like a sinner in church. Put them on usually after dinner but if it's a weekend the real question is when they come off the next day - have been known to read/sew/knit in pjs all day & then change into different (clean) p.j.'s. No regrets. No shame. We only get one life.
P.S. Millennials don't wear pjs or use flat sheets because they spent all their money on avocado toast.
Laura Lee Mistycah
These comments are fascinating! Who would have thought up this topic but YOU Karen!
Well, PJ time depends on the chickens, as soon as I get them to bed, I am excited to get in my warm fuzzy Jammies...so right now it is about 4:30... but in the summer it will be around 9:30 and I'm NOT looking forward to that. I LOVE the long winter nights to stay indoors, get caught up on all the neglected "indoor" stuff, and not have to work loooong hours on the garden and mow and water everything on our little rescue farm...I think we all need our "bear cave" (NOT go be confused with "bare cave") time to rest up for the next round of summer. :o)
Molly's mom
Jammies are for lounging in, naked is for sleeping...I’m 75.
Veronica Vallijes
Wow so many opinions - I forgot what I was going to say. Popular subject.
Kim Jordan
My two piece pj set is donned as soon as I get home, if I'm in for the night. It's the best part of my day. I have two drawers full of pjs. During gardening season, I've been known to tackle yard chores on weekend mornings whilst still in my pjs..in the back yard of course. However, I will run out to the mailbox or trash cans in my pjs as well. Few of my neighbors haven't seen me in my pjs and I'm ok with that.
Sherri
I retired from my job 1 1/2 years ago, which gave me the freedom to live in my nightclothes if I wanted. I don't have traditional p.j.s. Instead of those, I wear p.j. bottoms or leggings with cute t-shirts and a comfy sports bra to bed. We live in a rural area so it's easy to walk to the end of the lane for the mail and pull some weeds along the way dressed this way without scandalizing any neighbors who may drive by. I did sleep naked in the prime of my youth, nightgowns when's I was nursing babies in the middle of the nights, but, for now, I'm loving my tees and bottoms. I suspect there will come a day when I sleep in adult diapers and that will be fine, too.
KimS
Never naked...but I got thinking about my jammies and realized that I am quite particular...100% cotton, (winter) long pants not cuffed and a short sleeve shirt. I used to always have a top with a collar, but I guess when menopause started...I switched to collarless. I’m still cold most of the time...I get into my jammies right before bed, about 10:30!
V
I don't wear pajamas, but I have comfortable clothes which I wear around the house (mostly yoga pants/leggings and t-shirts, but it varies a bit). If I'm in for the night I'll usually change into something like that. When I get ready for bed, it all comes off.
Lynn Clark
Karen, this was fun! Reading the comments was a great source of amusement. Some people are so passionate/emphatic about their choices. Many of us change our choices as our bodies and lifestyles change.
When I was growing up in the 50's & 60's, I wore pjs and shorty pajamas, frequently made by my grandmother. After I married, I learned the pleasure of sleeping nude. Now, as my body is aging and changing, I've begun to sleep in panties but try to keep clothing in bed to an absolute minimum.
Lounge wear is different, depending on the season and appropriate at home anytime. Anything soft, loose and suitable to the season. Nothing binding and never, ever a bra. I LOVE being retired.
Linda J Howes-Smyth
I have always loved pjs. Not so much a matter of when do I put them on as when do I take them off. I love cozy flannel pjs, tops and bottoms. pSometimes I hate having to get dressed for the day. I buy mens pjs because the bottoms have pockets. No going naked here, nonononononono NO!