Natural materials in a bed: wool, cashmere, cotton, and what sets them apart

Wool can absorb many times its own weight in moisture without feeling wet. In a bed that means you sweat less, and when you do, the surface stays dry. At the same time the crimped fibre insulates, which is why wool feels warming in winter and balancing in summer.

Cashmere is considerably finer than sheep's wool and is therefore used in the uppermost layers, where the body feels the material directly. It is the difference between a good mattress and an exceptional one. Vispring uses cashmere and silk in its top models.

Cotton gives the filling structure and moves moisture on instead of storing it. It is the quiet backbone of many builds, often combined with wool. Mattsons additionally uses undyed, pale natural fabrics for its covers.

What all natural materials share is that they work. They absorb, release, expand and contract. A bed made of natural materials lives with you rather than merely lying underneath you.