Duvet & Pillow Buying Guide

When choosing which duvet is right for you there are two major elements to consider: the TOG and the filling. A duvet’s TOG measures the warmth of a duvet, with higher TOG ratings referring to warmer duvets and lower TOG rating referring to cooler duvets. A duvet's filling can make a huge impact on your quality of sleep dependent on your personal preferences.

What's TOG?

Duvets come in a variety of TOG’s which refers to the duvet's ability to trap warm air and thus tell you the warmth of a duvet. The higher the TOG rating, the warmer the duvet will be. In the summer you need a lower TOG rating of 4.5 to ensure a comfortable night’s sleep, and in the winter you need a higher TOG of 13.5 to keep out the winter chills. If you prefer one duvet all year round you could choose a tog rating of 10.5.

There are a number of other things to consider when choosing the tog rating of your duvet:

Is the temperature of your bedroom normally warm or cold?
Do you share a bed? The extra body heat can make your bed much warmer and you maybe don’t need as high a tog rating.
Is the duvet for summer, winter or all seasons?
Your natural temperature?

Duvet Fillings Explained

Finding the right duvet is essential for ensuring a good night’s sleep! You have the choice of natural or synthetic duvets and this normally comes down to personal preference. However, if you suffer from allergies or asthma, it is advised that you opt for synthetic duvets that are non-allergenic.

Natural Fillings - have less filling but generally are warmer. They are usually made up of feathers which are heavier than down with larger feathers and are less expensive, and/or down which consists of fluffy feathers from the breast of a bird which are light and cosy.

Hungarian White Down – This natural filling is loftier and larger than regular down duvets. It is a truly luxurious product with the finest natural filing giving you all the warmth you need whilst keeping your duvet light.

Siberian White Down – The down clusters come from the breast of the bird and have excellent insulation properties. The duvets are lightweight, yet have a unique ability to trap warm air which makes them excellent at regulating body temperature.

Goose Feather & Down –Goose feathers and down maintain their ability to trap air for even longer so they keep you warm for longer. These duvets hug you as you sleep and make you feel warmer.

Synthetics Fillings – Great for allergy sufferers and are much lighter than natural filled duvets.

Microfibre – These duvets are made from extra fine synthetic fibres that feel and perform like down, providing the same warmth with less weight. They are suitable for anyone suffering from allergies as they do not contain any feather or down.

What pillow best suits yous?

Everyone has a different preference when it comes to picking pillows so it’s worth taking time to find the type of pillow to suit your sleeping style. How soft or firm your pillow feels depends on the filling.

Do you sleep on your back? You will require a little but more support so that your head is raised. A natural filling will provide you with enough support for your neck but won’t affect your spine alignment.

Do you sleep on your side? You will need a firm pillow as it will provide support for your head and neck and keep your spine straight. Your best option is a memory foam pillow or a V-Shaped pillow as it is ideal for side sleepers as it is designed to correct body positioning in bed.

Do you sleep on your stomach? You will need a softer pillow (not too thick) as your head only needs to be raised slightly. The type of filing suited to this would be a microfiber pillow or one with a large down cluster.