A new sleep phenomenon is sweeping TikTok, and social media users are claiming that this viral sleep hack has given them the ‘best sleep ever’.
What is the latest craze? The ‘potato bed’. Yep, it’s a bedding setup that resembles the humble jacket potato.
And whilst the ‘potato bed’ might sound like just another outlandish TikTok sensation, sleep experts are saying there is wisdom behind its crazy concept.
As Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, I’m all in favour of finding new ways to sleep better, so here’s everything you need to know about the latest TikTok trend.
What is the viral TikTok ‘potato bed’ trend?
First up, what exactly is a ‘potato bed’? Tutorials for how to make a potato bed are now flooding social media, with one potato bed hack from TikTok account @secretlifeeee123 amassing over 15 million likes since it was first posted.
Essentially, this phenomenon involves taking a fitted sheet and turning it upside down so that the elasticated section is at the top. Then you take pillows and blankets and place them on the inside edges of the fitted sheet to create ‘walls’. I gave it a go below.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future / Amy Lockwood)
(Image credit: Future / Amy Lockwood)
(Image credit: Future / Amy Lockwood)
The next step is placing a duvet or blanket on the base of your potato bed and then layering another duvet or blanket on top. You then climb inside as if you were the cheese and beans being scooped into a jacket potato!
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As TikTok creator @alicekateea demonstrates below, the result is a comfy squishy ‘nest’ you can crawl inside, a little like the blanket fort you might have built as a kid. ‘I had the best night’s sleep ever’, @alicekateea said after hunkering down in the potato bed.
And sleep experts agree this TikTok hack can have sleep benefits. ‘If you love the cocooning feel of being wrapped up and staying nice and warm, then you will probably find yourself relaxing and falling asleep that little bit easier in a potato bed’, explains Hannah Shore, head of sleep science at Mattress Online.
‘Plus, the cushions can create a cocooning feel that may provide the same feeling as someone giving you a cuddle. That additional pressure releases feel-good hormones, which can leave you feeling relaxed, happy, and secure, the perfect combination to fall asleep,’ says Hannah.
TikTokker @renihamikus certainly looks plenty cosy in the potato bed below, but sleep expert Hannah does warn there are some potential downsides to the viral sleep hack. There is the possibility that a potato bed could be just *too* cosy.
‘When we sleep at night, our core body temperature needs to drop a couple of degrees in order to help us get the good quality sleep we need,’ shares Hannah.
‘The addition of extra pillows and blankets may decrease airflow, trapping extra warm air.’ And that can mean your body temperature can’t drop enough for a restful sleep.
‘Support may also be an issue,’ says Hannah. ‘Your mattress and pillows are designed to be used in a specific way to provide you with the optimum support throughout the night. By piling extra cushions, duvets, and blankets around your body, you may find there’s a lack of support, leading to increased morning aches and pains the following morning.’
So it’s worth noting that a potato bed is no replacement for investing in the best mattress and best pillows for your sleep setup.
It looks like TikTokker @jessicacassy_(above) might have the best idea. The TikTokker set up a potato bed and then used it to snuggle up and get cosy in whilst watching a film on a dark and stormy day.
‘These types of beds are normally great for lounging in, but may not be the best option for a full night’s sleep,’ agrees Hannah. Plus, as Hannah points out, there could be an easier way to achieve the same sleep benefits that the potato bed provides.
‘To mimic the feeling of added pressure and warmth without potentially impacting your body’s support or reducing airflow, try a weighted blanket instead,’ says Hannah. ‘These are filled with beads or sand and apply pressure all over your body. It should feel like someone is cuddling you, much like a potato bed.’
This fleecy weighted blanket comes in a 4, 6, or 8kg weight and is especially cosy to snuggle up under.
Silentnight
Wellbeing Weighted Blanket
Alternatively, Silentnight offers the Wellbeing Weighted Blanket in 3, 6.8, or 9kg weights – and that 9kg option is one of the heaviest on the market.
Emma
Hug Weighted Blanket
Emma’s 7kg weighted blanket might be the most expensive, but the option to add a silky bamboo cover makes washing your weighted blanket far easier.
Having recently tested out several weighted blankets for Ideal Home’s best weighted blanket guide, I can testify to this being true. I found the gentle pressure of a weighted blanket to be a great way to sleep better.
I’ve rounded up three of my top weighted blanket recommendations above. And personally, as fun as it may look, I found using a weighted blanket is a lot less faff than rearranging my bed into a potato for the night!
Are you going to spend this weekend getting cosy ‘jacket potato’ style?
Aldi is launching an Emma pillow in store today, and at just £14.99, I think it’s a brilliant buy.
Not only is the Aldi Emma Essentials Pillow the cheapest Emma pillow on the market – this pillow is £40 cheaper than the most affordable Emma pillow on the brand’s own website – but it’s also the best value adjustable pillow I’ve come across.
As Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, I’ve spent the past four years putting the best pillows on the market to the test – from the best pillows for side sleepers to the best memory foam pillows – and the one thing I’ve discovered is that when it comes to pillows, one size doesn’t fit all.
That’s why I think the fact that you can unzip this pillow and add or remove its fluffy microfibre filling is such a genius idea. This means you can adjust the height of the pillow to suit your sleep position and create a personalized resting place for your head.
(Image credit: Aldi)
Available in Aldi’s Specialbuys section from Thursday, 6th November, the Emma Essentials Pillow is a part of the retailer’s ‘Luxury Homeware’ launch.
This range sees the brand reintroduce its sell-out £9.99 Cashmere Touch Blankets, and offer £12.99 Teddy Mattress Toppers and Feels Like Down Duvets, starting from just £16.99 for a double.
However, it’s the super-affordable Emma Essentials Pillow that immediately caught my eye.
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I’ve slept on most of Emma’s bestselling pillows, including the Emma Premium Cloud Pillow and the Emma Original Hybrid Pillow, and the one thing they all have in common is that they’re fairly expensive. Prices start from £55 for the brand’s most affordable pillow, and go up to £82 for the Emma Premium pillow range.
In contrast, this £14.99 Emma Essentials pillow is by far the cheapest way to get your hands on some of the brand’s bedding.
(Image credit: Aldi)
That said, Emma has just launched its Black Friday sale, and as Black Friday deals go, there are some great savings on some of the brand’s bestsellers, such as the Emma Hybrid Thermosync Mattress (in our opinion, Emma’s best mattress), which is reduced from £799 to £599.25 for a double.
The discounts also apply to Emma’s pillow collection, with up to 25% off selected designs. However, even with Black Friday deals in full effect, the prices still don’t compare to this Aldi bargain.
The Aldi Emma Essentials pillow isn’t the only adjustable pillow on the market – I’ve rounded up three of my tried-and-tested alternatives below – but at just £14.99, it’s most definitely the most affordable way to get your hands on a bespoke pillow.
Shop alternatives
Emma
Premium Cloud Pillow
After testing, this is my favourite of Emma’s standard pillow range, and it’s currently reduced from £80 to £60. However, unlike the £14.99 Emma Essentials pillow it isn’t fully customisable. Instead, it has two inserts inside which you can play around adding or removing to alter the height to your preference. This is less messy than dealing with handfuls of microfibre fluff, but means less height adjustability.
Woolroom
Deluxe Washable Wool Pillow
The downside of synthetic pillow fillings, such as the microfibre polyester in the Emma Essentials Pillow, is that this pillow filling tends to get very warm during the night. Unless you opt for recycled polyester, microfibre can also be bad news for the environment. Woolroom’s wool-filled adjustable pillow is a natural alternative that offers a cooler sleep, plus biodegradability, which is kinder to the planet.
Simba
Hybrid Pillow
Perhaps the original adjustable pillow, the popular Simba Hybrid Pillow contains small memory foam cubes that can be added or subtracted from its inner to adjust the pillow height. The use of memory foam makes for a slightly denser pillow that moulds to the head, but its price tag is certainly on the premium end of the scale.
The last two years have seen a huge revival of the classic arts and crafts patterns on the high street, with Habitat, Swfyt, and Hillary’s all launching new homeware collaborations and becoming some of the best places to my Morris & Co homeware. Piglet in Bed has now joined the ranks with the prettiest and best quality Morris & Co. bedding I’ve seen to date.
Piglet in Bed has built up a cult following as one of the best places to buy linen bedding and colourful striped and gingham duvet sets. Last year, the brand partnered with Morris & Co on a sleepwear collection, but this is the first collection to include Piglet in Bed’s iconic bedding.
Piglet In Bed
Leafy Arbour Oak Washed Cotton Percale Duvet Cover
Piglet In Bed
Webbs Blue Double Bough Linen Blend Duvet Cover
Piglet In Bed
Soft Sage Honeysuckle Linen Blend Duvet Cover
The collection is small and tightly curated, featuring just three designs chosen from the Morris & Co. archives that have been interpreted in Piglet in Bed’s relaxed and colourful style.
Despite having both Habitat’s Morris & Co Merton Armchair, and Swyft x Morris & Co. ottoman in fruit in my home, I’ve yet to find a Morris & Co bedding set that has persuaded me to deviate from my classic striped bedding sets. I’ve often found the bedding designs too bright and bold for the soothing bedroom vibe I want to create, but the Piglet in Bed Morris & Co range hits the calming brief perfectly.
The designers have kept the Morris & Co designs to a soft and calming colour palette of pink, blues and sage and created them in their signature linen-blend and cotton-percale fabrics.
(Image credit: Piglet in Bed)
Soft Sage Honeysuckle and Webb’s Blue Double Bough are both lovely floral and leafy designs that are available in the linen. I’ve only heard good things about Piglet in Bed’s linen bedding, with fans saying it gets softer with every wash.
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For me, the best part about this new collection is how well it works with the wider Piglet in Bed linen bedding range, allowing you to mix and match the pillow cases, duvet covers and bottom sheets.
(Image credit: Piglet in Bed)
‘Our designer, Adam Crick, has worked closely with the Morris & Co. team to balance the visual richness from Morris & Co. with Piglet in Bed’s fabrics and palette choices, marrying timeless design with everyday luxury,’ explains Jessica Hanley, founder & CEO, Piglet in Bed, who recommends layering the botanical-inspired prints with bold stripes or ginghams for the ultimate autumnal bedroom update.
‘These designs can be paired with patterns like colour-drenched ginghams and bold stripes, or warm, plain neutrals like Pearl, Warm Clay or Rose to create an utterly inviting look, perfect for the cosy months. It’s all about having fun with scale, colour and texture to make your bedroom feel like a comforting retreat for winter,’ she adds.
What to style it with
Piglet In Bed
Rhubarb Gingham Linen Blend Fitted Sheet
Mix and match a patterned duvet comer with a fitted sheet in a contrasting colour.
Piglet In Bed
Fern Green & Dusk Blue Colour Drenched Gingham Linen Blend Pillowcases (pair)
Complement the Webbs Blue Double Bough pattern with this unexpected gingham colourway.
Piglet In Bed
Rust Red Pembroke Stripe Wool Cushion Cover
Make the Morris & Co patterns feel modern by pairing them with bold striped cushions in an accent colour.
I’m already making space underneath my ottoman bed to add these to my bedding collection. Are you tempted too?
The leaves are turning, days are getting shorter, and the nights are drawing in. It’s official, cosy season is upon us, and if you’re currently overhauling your bedding ready to create a winter cocoon for hibernation, there’s one trend you’ll most definitely want on your radar.
What is it? The patchwork quilt. I’m seeing this nostalgic bedding trend *everywhere* on the high street this autumn, and this isn’t all about granny-chic; if you’re pondering where to buy bedding, there are plenty of contemporary patchwork quilts popping up at the likes of John Lewis, Oliver Bonas, and more.
John Lewis
Colourful Patchwork Quilted Bedspread
So why are patchwork quilts suddenly having a moment? I asked the trend experts, and as it turns out, not only are quilts suddenly bang on trend, they could even help us sleep better this winter.
‘This is the time of year when we all crave that feeling of comfort – the kind that wraps around you like a big hug,’ says Dayna Isom Johnson, trend expert at Etsy. ‘What better way to bring that vibe into your home than with a timeless quilt.’
‘These staples of the interior world evoke the feeling of a warm cup of tea at your grandma’s house, in the very best way,’ says Dayna.
Yep, this nostalgic bedding certainly offers a hit of serotonin for me – instantly making me feel safe, cosy, and content. And guess what, when we feel safe, we’re more likely to relax and feel sleepy – a definite win in the bedroom.
(Image credit: John Lewis)
Plus, ‘beyond the changing of the season, quilts are part of a wider movement toward slower, more intentional ways of living,’ shares Dayna. ‘The best part is quilts aren’t just décor, they’re also a joyful project. More and more, we’re seeing people lean into the simple joys of quiet crafts.’
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However, whereas your grandma no doubt pieced her patchwork quilt together by hand, there are currently plenty of ways to embrace this slow-living trend on the high street if you don’t have the sewing skills to embark on your own quilting project. I’ve rounded up six of my favourite designs below.
Shop patchwork quilts
Catherine Lansfield
Autumn Patchwork Geometric Bedspread
This is the most affordable patchwork quilt I’ve come across on the high street, and its rustic colours are perfect for autumn.
John Lewis
Equilibrium Quilted Bedspread
Personally, I love this contemporary take on the traditional patchwork quilt. This abstract geometric pattern offers a modern twist on a classic.
Oliver Bonas
Patchwork Star Multicolour Velvet Quilt
Whilst this velvet patchwork quilt offers an added layer of luxury and softness to the bed. No wonder it has over 500 5-star reviews at Oliver Bonas.
Next
Black & White Quilted Patchwork 2.5 Tog Duvet Cover
Don’t want the faff of a loose layer on your bed? This ingenious patchwork duvet cover solves that problem.
M&S
Velvet Patchwork Bedspread
A second velvet number, I love the way the fabric used in this patchwork quilt from M&S catches the light. Its larger patches offer another contemporary look.
Rowen & Wren
Lillie Cotton Patchwork Quilt
Hand-stitched, this cotton and linen patchwork quilt from Rowen & Wren is a real heirloom piece. And no one will ever know you didn’t make it yourself!
‘No matter how you bring one into your home, quilts will always be a go-to for cosiness, creativity, and a whole lot of heart,’ says Dayna.
And, of course, a quilt won’t just make your bedroom *look* cosy. Even the best duvet can need an added layer of warmth on a cold winter night, and investing in a decorative quilt is the perfect way to layer up your bed for the cold season.
‘Patchwork quilts have made a welcome return,’ agrees Lucy Uren, creative director at interiors brand Rowen & Wren. ‘In the bedroom, a quilt adds texture, colour, and a quiet warmth, making the space feel inviting and personal.’
(Image credit: Rowen & Wren)
Perhaps it’s a backlash against bedrooms that look too ‘store-bought’ and impersonal, but to my mind, this bedding trend certainly adds personality and individuality to a home.
‘For me, a quilt is an investment in both comfort and character, a piece that will enrich the room for years to come,’ says Lucy.
I have to admit, this season’s patchwork quilt trend has definitely won me over. How about you?
You probably don’t need me to tell you that it’s a good idea to wash your bedding regularly, but a recent announcement by a science expert might well make laundry day seem a little more urgent.
Yep, according to a biomedical science expert, studies have shown that after just a week on the bed, a pillowcase can have more bacteria on it than your average toilet seat. Urgh, indeed.
However, according to Dr Gareth Nye, Lecturer in Biomedical Science at the University of Salford, we might want to consider doing it a lot more frequently than that.
(Image credit: James French)
‘Most individuals are losing around 500-700ml of sweat every night, which ends up on bedclothes and bedding,’ explains Dr Nye. ‘This can be significantly higher, though, as most people will have variable sweating rates through the night, with men normally sweating less and women going through menopause sweating the most.’
‘Humans will also shed around 500 million skin cells a day, with the majority occurring in our sleep. We are also producing other body secretions, such as drool or saliva. All of these secretions are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and fungi, as well as some other nasty bugs.’
‘Some studies have shown that there were 17,000 more bacteria colonies on a pillowcase after a week compared to a toilet seat,’ says Dr Nye, ‘meaning where your head is lying each night could have more bacteria on it than the toilet!’.
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(Image credit: TIM YOUNG)
And it can get worse. A pillowcase is designed to protect your pillow, but if we don’t wash it frequently enough, then sweat, saliva, and even dust mites can penetrate your pillowcase and reach the pillow itself.
‘A typical pillow can have as many as 16 different species of fungus and millions of fungal spores, which can impact those with allergies or asthma,’ shares Dr Nye.
Not ideal, I’m sure you’ll agree. However, thankfully, experts say we don’t necessarily need to strip the entire bed every week to combat bedtime bacteria. There are workarounds.
As Phoebe Street, textile and sleepwear specialist at Pretty You London, explains, ‘most people wash their sheets every week or two, which is usually enough.’ But if you’re worried about the buildup of bacteria on your pillowcase and don’t have time to strip the whole bed, ‘just throw the sheet and pillowcases into the wash instead.’
‘They collect the most sweat, dirt, and bacteria because they’re in constant contact with your face and hair,’ advises Phoebe.
(Image credit: Future PLC/Tom Meadows)
I’d also recommend making sure you have enough sets of bedding for each bed in your home. It can be hard to wash bed linen frequently if you know you need to get it washed, dried, and back on the bed on the same day.
And when you do wash your bedding, ‘always avoid overloading your washing machine,’ says Phoebe. ‘Bedding needs enough space to be rinsed thoroughly, ensuring all trapped sweat and dirt are washed away properly.’
Drying matters too. Phoebe suggests drying bedding outside where possible. ‘The UV in sunlight can help to kill bacteria,’ she says.
I’d add one last top tip to help prevent your pillowcase and pillow from becoming a breeding ground for bacteria. And that’s to consider investing in a pillow protector.
This is an extra layer of protection that goes between your pillowcase and your pillow to offer more defence against saliva, sweat, and dust mites. Adding one to your sleep setup means less googling of how to wash a pillow or how to get rid of yellow stains from your pillow. I’ve listed three of my top recommendations below.
Add a pillow protector
Marks & Spencer
Pillow Protectors
Starting from just £5, M&S has a wide range of pillow protectors that make an affordable way to protect your pillow.
John Lewis
Pillow Protectors
Opting for a cotton pillow protector rather than a synthetic option usually means paying a little more, but it can mean a cooler sleep. John Lewis has a good range.
Soak & Sleep
Pillow Protectors
If your pillow is bigger (or smaller) than standard, then Soak & Sleep has a wide size range of pillow protectors.
