The Sleep Expert Buying Guide: Cooling Mattresses

If you struggle to stay cool at night, you’re not alone. At least 57% of adults in the U.S. report feeling too hot while sleeping on occasion.

Being a hot sleeper isn’t just uncomfortable as you toss and turn and struggle to fall asleep—it can also impact your sleep quality once you finally drift off. So, finding a mattress that helps you sleep cooler could make a meaningful difference in how comfortably you sleep and how refreshed you feel in the morning.

This guide gives you the questions to ask and what to look for, so you can tell which cooling mattress will work for how you sleep. If you want a ready-made shortlist check out our list of the best cooling mattresses for hot sleepers, all available at Mattress Firm.

A cooling mattress is designed with materials and technologies that help manage heat and improve airflow around your body while you sleep.

These mattresses may use breathable coil systems that allow air to circulate, cooling covers or fibers that help move heat away from the body, and foams engineered to retain less heat.

Some also feature specialized cooling technologies, such as phase change materials, ventilated foams or heat-diffusing layers.

If you’re someone who wakes up in the morning feeling clammy or damp, you probably sleep hot and could benefit from sleeping on a mattress that has innovative cooling technology to help regulate your body temperature.

As a hot sleeper, you could benefit from swapping your current setup for a cooling mattress for the following reasons:

• Improved sleep quality: By helping create a more comfortable sleep temperature for your body, it’s easier for you to doze off and stay asleep without waking up in the middle of the night feeling sweaty and uncomfortable.
• Reduced night sweats: A specialized mattress for warm sleepers may help you sleep more comfortably and reduce the discomfort associated with overheating at night.
• Enhanced comfort: The best mattress for cool sleeping will draw heat away from your body rather than absorb it, creating a comfortable and refreshing sleep environment. 

There are a few types of cooling technologies and materials commonly found in mattresses for hot sleepers, including:

Phase Change Materials

A type of material that is meant to absorb and dissipate the heat your body gives off while sleeping, helping to keep you cool.

Gel Memory Foam

Traditional memory foam is a dense material known to absorb and retain heat. However, some mattresses may include a gel memory foam layer, infused with small gel beads to disperse heat more effectively and maintain optimal sleep temperature.

Breathable Mattress Covers

Mattress covers made from breathable, natural materials allow air to flow through the mattress rather than getting trapped in your sleep environment.

Hybrid Constructions With Enhanced Airflow

Mattresses constructed with both spring coils and a layer of foam provide the right blend of cushiony support while allowing for easy airflow through the coils for better temperature regulation.

What Type of Bed Is Best for Cooling?

Innerspring and hybrid mattresses can be good choices for hot sleepers because the space between coils allows air to circulate more freely than it can through dense foam. But construction matters: foam mattresses can also sleep cooler when they incorporate open-cell or perforated foams, gel, phase change materials or other temperature-regulating technologies.
These mattresses promote optimal airflow and excellent breathability, keeping heat from becoming trapped in the mattress and creating a more comfortable sleep environment.

Mattresses with cooling layers are also ideal for hot sleepers. They are often cool to the touch and moisture-wicking, which helps keep you dry and prevent your body from overheating. Keep in mind that “cool to the touch” and “temperature regulating” aren’t always the same thing. Some materials feel immediately cool when you get into bed, while others are designed to improve airflow or help manage heat throughout the night.

These days, many mattresses are designed not to trap heat, but if you're especially concerned about feeling warm, you may want to be sure that your mattress is optimized for cooling.

Any mattress made with dense, non-breathable materials tends to retain heat. They don’t feature ventilated designs to help circulate air, making them a poor choice for people who want a mattress that will help them stay cool and comfortable.

Luckily, cooling memory foam mattresses are now available. If you prefer the feel of a foam mattress, look for ones with an open-cell or perforated construction. These will help promote better airflow than traditional, dense memory foam.

If you’re a hot sleeper who wants to leave the long nights of sweaty tossing and turning behind you, finding the best mattress for cooling is a big task.

While it can be tricky to figure out which one will actually deliver the cooling relief that you’re looking for, there are a few key features that you should look for while shopping.

Here are some materials and design features that indicate it has cooling or temperature-regulating properties:

• Breathable fabrics
• Moisture-wicking
• Advanced cooling layers
• Gel-infused foam
• Perforated foam
• Open-cell foam
• Latex 

If you want a top-rated selection to consider, our full guide to the best cooling mattresses shares top-reviewed features as well as the criteria for our Sleep Experts' top picks, but here are a few highly rated cooling mattresses to consider.

Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-LuxeBreeze Medium Hybrid 13" Mattress

For hot sleepers looking for premium cooling, the TEMPUR-LuxeBreeze® Medium Hybrid is designed to feel up to 10 degrees cooler throughout the night.

Features

• Medium comfort
• 13" mattress height
• TEMPUR® pressure-relieving material
• More than 1,300 premium innersprings in Queen sizes and larger
• Hybrid construction for responsive support and pressure relief

Cooling Technology

• Designed to feel up to 10° cooler*
• Pure Cool® Plus heat-pulling material
• Ventilated Advanced Relief™ material for increased airflow
• Heat-diffusing layer
• SmartClimate® cooling cover

What Customers Are Saying

"This mattress reduces pressure points, is cooling and so relaxing that I get to sleep sooner and sleep longer." - L Kern

"One of the best decisions I've ever made. My sleep quality has improved x10. Can't believe how much better this mattress is than traditional mattresses I've had over the years." - Christopher M

*Based on the manufacturer's disclosed comparison of TEMPUR-LuxeBreeze® with TEMPUR-ProAdapt® models over an eight-hour period.

Stearns & Foster Estate® 15" Firm Euro Pillow Top Mattress

What We Like

For sleepers who want a firmer, luxury feel without giving up cooling and pressure relief, the Stearns & Foster Estate® Firm Euro Pillow Top balances a supportive innerspring design with a more cushioned sleep surface.

A sustainably sourced TENCEL™ cover with enhanced cooling fibers and the AirVent System help create a cooler, more breathable sleep environment, while TEMPUR-Indulge™ Memory Foam conforms to the body to provide pressure relief at the shoulders, hips and back.

Features

• Firm comfort
• 15" mattress height
• Firm Euro pillow top
• TEMPUR-Indulge™ Memory Foam
• Intellicoil® innersprings
• PrecisionEdge™ support
  

Cooling Technology

• TENCEL™ cover with enhanced cooling fibers
• AirVent System increases airflow through the mattress
• Air vents help move warm air away from the body
• Ventilated coil construction supports breathability

What Customers Are Saying

"This is one of the most comfortable mattress I have ever slept on, the quality seems to be very good. Thank you for a great night's sleep" - Anonymous

"The result since we purchased this mattress are extremely positive. It's a total game changer. As far as sleeping through the night and waking up completely refreshed. I should have bought this quite some time ago." - Sleepy J