Forget counting sheep. When it comes to sleeping, Singaporeans are now counting threads. Thread counts of sheets, to be precise.

They are splashing out $800 and more for luxe sheets - either for a single flat sheet or a set of a sheet and two pillowcases - boasting desirable thread counts of 600 and up for a superior sleepyhead experience.

Thread count in bed sheets ranges anywhere from 80 to 1,200. Conventionally - but not always, depending on the fineness of the yarn - the higher the thread count, the denser the sheet and the higher the quality.

Those with a yen for a good yarn include Lynn Tan, 32, who has spent up to $7,800 - a price tag many would baulk at for a handbag, let alone for bedding - for a set of plain, white, 670-thread count cotton sheets.

This is not any old cotton, but Egyptian cotton. Grown on the banks of the Nile river, it has a long fibre length resulting in superior softness. This is because the longer the fibre, the more luxurious and durable the grade of cotton.

Tan, a former banker about to set up an image consultancy, says of her sheet indulgence: 'It just feels creamy. You know how you move your legs over your sheets in the morning - it just feels very rich and soft.'

Adds Tan, who is single and discovered luxe linen five years ago: 'There's no turning back, and they get better with age as you use them more.'

And you thought a sheet was a sheet was a sheet.

Tan is not alone in seeking a rarefied comfort zone - bedding stores say more Singaporeans are spending big bucks to slip into something more comfortable.

And why not, since studies have shown that one third of a person's life is spent sleeping.

Whang Sung Lin, 43, opened Fabulous Linens in Palais Renaissance three months ago to tap into this market.

While he says it is too soon to measure his retail success, he has noticed a jump in the number of discerning - not merely wealthy - customers from five years ago, when he ran Pratesi, an Italian luxury bedlinen label, at the former Promenade.

He adds: 'I have many new customers who display a great knowledge and understanding of fine linens. A few of them even told me they were saving up to buy a $3,000 set.'

Armani Casa, the home furnishings arm of the Armani empire, reports 'very encouraging' sales in just two months since it opened in the Raffles Hotel Shopping Arcade in July.

It says that as many locals as tourists buy its expensive sheets, called 'textiles for the bed'. These are mostly high-quality Egyptian cotton, either plain or have a jacquard pattern, a thread count averaging 600 and cost upwards of $1,000 for a set.

At Takashimaya, about 13 to 20 sets of thousand-dollar sheets are sold a month from one brand alone - high-end Italian brand Signoria, for which prices range from $1,480 to $2,980 per set.

Sales assistants there told Urban that they sell an average of $20,000 to $30,000 worth of bedlinen from the brand a month, to a relatively equal number of Singaporeans and foreigners. The bedding department sells 11 brands in total, including luxury label Frette and the popular and long-standing market mainstay, Australian brand Sheridan.

Robinsons department store, while unable to give exact figures, says the increased sales of better-quality bedlinen has prompted it to bring in more labels.

These include designs from British fashion designer Lulu Guinness and, come November, Sheridan's SHE - a range of cotton and silk fabrics with beading and embroidery for a classic 1940s glamour feel.

Even American greeting card company Hallmark has a licensed quality bedlinen line, which is sold at Robinsons and Takashimaya at premium prices: $1,096 for a 544-thread count queen-size set comprising a bedsheet, a duvet cover and two pillowcases.

Whang, who has been in the bedlinen business since 1992, and who sells French and Italian brands such as Porthault, Frette and Casa Bianca, says of luxe sheets' allure: 'It's not something to brag about, it's a very intimate thing that one uses and shares with someone he or she loves.'

Another person who has cottoned on is product sales manager Helena Wang, 38, who says: 'To me, the best sheets help you know when you're home. When I travel, I know even before I wake up, just by touch, that I'm not in my own bed.'