Christmas-loving families are being told to think twice before wearing their festive pyjamas to bed or they could face dust mites and sore skin.

Mattress experts at Winstons Beds have revealed six shocking consequences of wearing thick clothes to sleep.

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Many families will be getting their Christmas pyjamas ready to keep comfy and warm as temperatures take a sharp dip over the winter months.

Experts are urging a word of warning to those sleeping in festive pyjamas as their thick material will lead to an increase in sweat which can create a bacteria-ridden bed.

The optimum temperature to sleep in is between 17 to 19 degrees but many festive pyjamas are made out of thick material like fleece.

Not only can this significantly raise body temperature during the night, but it can also cause sore skin and create an unpleasant odour.

Rebecca Swain, mattress expert from Winstons Beds, said: “While many of us love to get festive and put on matching pyjamas at Christmas, we want to provide a word of caution to those wearing them to sleep.

“While they can be a great way to keep warm during the chilly weather, our body temperature will naturally rise throughout the night, going beyond the optimum sleeping temperature of 17 to 19 degrees.

“The thick material can create a sweaty and uncomfortable environment to sleep in which can also welcome nasty critters like dust mites.”

Here are five reasons to avoid wearing Christmas pyjamas to bed:

Dust mites

Sleeping in pyjamas means you’re more likely to sweat due to the blistering temperatures. Excess sweat can seep through the sheets and into the mattress, which could eventually lead to dust mites.

Sweaty sleep

One of the main issues of sleeping above the optimum sleep temperature is a sweaty night’s sleep. Not only is this unpleasant to sleep in but it’s also extremely unhygienic.

Sore skin

Most Christmas pyjamas are made out of thick, fleecy materials which can cause our skin to become sore and itchy during the night as our body temperatures rise. This can aggravate the skin and lead to rashes.

Foul odour

Sleeping consistently in pyjamas can create a foul, sweaty odour on the bed sheets and on the clothing material itself. It can be worse in the thicker materials like fleece where it’s harder to wash the smell out.

Mattress damage

If you start to sweat in thick pyjamas, the fluids can seep through to the mattress during the night which can damage the material and leave yellow stains, causing your mattress to deteriorate much quicker.