Best Mattresses For Hot Sleepers According To A 25 Year Veteran Mattress Designer
I reviewed and personally tested the best cooling mattresses for hot sleepers to help address a growing epidemic. If you feel like you’re burning up in bed, check out what I found out below.
Did you know that one out of three people is a “hot sleeper” and has difficulty either falling asleep, staying asleep, or simply getting comfortable when in bed?
The good news is, there are mattresses you can find that cool your body down- and they really work. I spent 25 years designing mattresses, many for hot sleepers and their partners.
I’ve selected mattress options you can easily find online that include a decent warranty, generous trial periods, and free shipping, too. You have the option of returning any of these options if you are not totally satisfied.
As a veteran mattress designers I’ve learned that the best mattresses for hot sleepers would be those that allow for proper airflow and the use of materials that can dissipate body heat. Here are some types of mattresses that may be a good fit for hot sleepers:
- Hybrid mattresses: These mattresses have coils that allow for proper airflow and help to keep you cool. They typically combine foam layers and textiles cushioning that also contribute to getting rid of heat.
- Latex mattresses: Latex is naturally breathable and does not retain heat like some other materials, making it a good option for hot sleepers. It is more open celled and ventilates air better than polyurethane foam.
- Gel-infused memory foam mattresses: Memory foam can be known to retain heat, but mattresses with gel-infused foam have cooling properties that can help regulate temperature. Gel foam can use technology called phase change that reduce the temperature of a contact surface.
- Mechanically chilled mattresses: These are mattress options that typically have a device attached to them that circulates chilled water through capillary like tubes embedded in the mattress. These mattresses are extremely effective at cooling a person down who has not had luck with conventional bedding.
- Mattresses with cooling textiles: Because advanced fibers that can feel cool or even cold to the touch are now used in mattress coverings. The fabrics are generally in close proximity to your body.
- Copper Infused foam and textiles: Copper is being used in many mattresses designed for hot sleepers. It is an excellent conductor and pulls heat away from the body. It can added to foam layers or woven into textiles.
It’s also worth considering the firmness of any particular mattress too, as a softer mattress can contour to the body and trap heat, mashing down so tightly that no air can circulate. A firmer mattress can provide more support and allow for better airflow.
Ultimately, the best kind of mattress for hot sleepers will depend your personal preferences and needs, so it’s important to try consider options based on expertise and familiarity with the materials used.
Why Some People Are Hot Sleepers- And Their Partners Are Freezing!
I’m an expert when it comes to building and inventing mattresses for my own online stores, so when I stopped selling mattress and started reviewing them instead, I knew I had to tackle the hot sleeper category first. While medical conditions and age can cause people to sleep hot, others are simply getting older, their skin is not an effective insulator any longer, and their peripheral circulation is not as functional. That’s why the best mattresses for hot sleepers are designed to
Here are some medical conditions that can cause you to sleep hot, including:
- Menopause: Women going through menopause may experience hot flashes and night sweats that can prevent getting restorative rest at night. Tossing and turning is a symptom and can be disruptive to the sleep of a partner as well.
- Hyperthyroidism: This condition occurs when the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone, which can cause an increase in metabolism and body heat production.
- Infections: Certain infections, such as the flu or a urinary tract infection, can cause fever, which can make you feel hot and uncomfortable during sleep.
- Sleep apnea: This condition can cause interruptions in breathing during sleep, which can lead to increased body heat and night sweats.
- Fibromyalgia: This chronic pain condition can cause tender points in the body, fatigue, and disrupted sleep, which can lead to feeling hot during sleep.
- Medications: Certain medications, such as antidepressants, can cause increased body temperature and sweating during sleep.
If you are experiencing excessive heat or night sweats during sleep, you might want to talk to your healthcare provider to determine the underlying cause and develop a treatment plan.
If you’re going to go it alone and shop for a mattress designed for a hot sleeper, keep in mind that most mattresses are not made using either the correct combination of materials that effectively remove body heat, and often have foam layers and textiles that actually trap heat.
There is often no way for a conventional mattress, say an old school innerspring mattress, to get rid of heat, so more and more companies are beginning to use fabrics and even panels along the edge of a mattress that perform like a screen door, allowing body movements to actively “squeeze out” the hot air trapped inside.
A typical foam mattress for example, is so dense, that body heat actually collects around your body’s core as well as in the head and neck area.
Chances are, if you haven’t purchased a new mattress in the last 8 years or so, you are probably behind the curve on cutting edge cooling mattress technology. The best mattresses for hot sleepers are supportive, generally 11-13″ in height, and also offers great edge support as well.
Your Brain Can’t Make You Drowsy If You Can’t Cool Down.
Body heat that collects in the head and neck area can also send signals to your brain that you are overheated, causing you to change position to expose warmer areas of your body to the atmosphere to cool them down.
Fortunately, there are new materials and fabrics used in mattress design that are not only capable of reducing body temperature, but can also physically move heat away from the body.
Thousands of years ago, mattresses were more of a thinner, mat configuration that were typically made of vines, reeds, or bamboo, which slept cool to the touch.
Ancient Egyptians used evaporative cooling to provide relief on hot summer nights, wrapping themselves in wet textiles or blankets which would cool down quickly when exposed to light breezes.
The best cooling mattresses for hot sleepers in ancient times were usually located in darker, colder areas as well.In fact, this technology is used today with various textiles and cooling foams to help remove and passively ventilate heat from our bodies.
If you want to learn more about sleeping hot and some additional solutions, you can also check out my page on sleeping naked vs. wearing pajamas, as well.
Why Our Bodies Need To Be Slightly Chilled To Get Deep, Restorative Sleep
Because our bodies need to cool down to sleep, sleeping on a mattress that blocks this natural cycle can cause major disruptions in our sleep patterns. But, what is it that causes our brains to lower our body temperature to facilitate sleep?
The primary mechanism is light, which controls your circadian rhythms, more commonly known as your sleep/wake cycle. Exposure to light, especially blue light, stimulates specialized receptors in your eyes, which then send this signal to the brain’s hypothalamus.
As the evening wears on, the absence of light causes your brain’s hypothalamus to release melatonin, which in turn lowers body temperature and causes us to naturally get drowsy, and ultimately to fall asleep.
If your sleep surface or room temperature runs hot, though, you can be up all night tossing and turning.Factor in medical issues and medications, or even being overweight or sleeping with a partner, and you might need to find a mattress that can help lower your body temperature for you to get the sleep you need.
Today, there are new materials and components used in “mattress making” that can literally cool your body down to the optimal temperature- and keep you there.
The best cooling mattresses for hot sleepers are designed one of two ways. Most have cooling materials that require no mechanical devices or external chilling source, like “phase change” mattresses described below.
Generally, phase change mattresses are ideal for most cases of menopause, undiagnosed “hot sleepers” who sleep on the warm side, couples, and larger people. Often though, you have couples with one partner that sleeps hot, while the other partner is freezing.
In those cases, there are a few options that can chill one side, while warming the other side, using an exterior system that pumps either chilled and warm water through the top section of the mattress and can be tightly controlled and scheduled using an app on your phone.
We reviewed the Eight Sleep Pod Pro system, which offers this setup, including an exterior “pod” (much like a small computer tower) that controls the temperature of the mattress.
You can also improve your “sleep fitness” with these kinds of devices by properly controlling your body temperature to optimize your sleep.
If you have difficulty sleeping, but don’t sleep hot or cold, this option might be worth considering. These systems are more expensive, require a small amount of maintenance and rely on external power sources to operate.
Cooling Materials Use Technology Called “Phase Change” To Eliminate Heat
I’ll recommend a number of cooling mattresses below that use a relatively new technology called “phase change” that can wick away body heat and create an instant cooling sensation, so much so, that these mattresses are literally cool to the touch because they convert body heat so fast.
The physics of it all is pretty simple. Inside each layer of the cooling gel foam (generally 2-3″ and parked tight underneath the outer body contact fabric, are solidified beads that quickly absorb heat, turning the semi-hard beads into a gel like consistency, creating what is called an endothermic reaction.
This reaction quickly turns produces a chilling, cold to the touch sensation that is amazingly efficient. On a smaller scale, that reaction can also occur in the fibers used in the body contact outer covering. It’s literally like parking an air conditioner inside your mattress.
Ever used an ice pack that you crunch, grind and then place on a swollen knee or shoulder? The principle is exactly the same. Once you get up and away from the mattress, the beads inside the foam layers solidify until heat is applied once more.
I’ve designed mattresses for my own web sites for years and there is a trick and an art to using the right “cake recipe” to build a mattress that won’t be too cold, soft, or even too firm.
Most of the mattresses I recommend below have one or two layers on top, a firmer supportive layer below, and possibly a pocketed coil system if the mattress is a hybrid system to offer better shoulder and hip support if you are a larger person, sleep with a partner, or spend a lot of time on your side.
In addition to phase change materials, copper, a natural element, has been shown to reduce heat as well, when used as fiber or added to a gel foam mixture. Because it has high thermal conductivity, it has the ability to absorb heat, and has been consistently used in the bedding industry for a number of years now.
Copper also has healing properties and is also a strong antibacterial material as well, providing additional benefits beyond removing heat as well.
I’ve reviewed a variety of copper infused mattresses, some of which are suggested below, but it’s all about the design of the mattress to insure that heat will be conducted to the lower part of the mattress to be moved away from your body.
Providing foam layers or pocketed coils below the copper layer is critical for these cooling method to work. I’ve tested a variety of “cake recipes” for these kinds of mattresses through the years.
An Industry Veteran’s Recommendations For The Best Mattresses For Hot Sleepers
1. Nectar Premier Copper Mattress
At $1299 in queen if you opt for the memory foam version, or $1499 for an added layer of coils offering a springier yet firmer feel, The Nectar Premier Copper Mattress is loaded up with some tech I really like.
It’s built specifically to help improve sleep by employing heat absorbing polyethylene fibers (inert and non-toxic) in the outer cover near your body, along with copper strands woven into the fabric. This literally wicks away heat before it collects around your body.
Copper-infused memory foam: The Nectar Premier Copper mattress features a layer of memory foam infused with copper, which can help to dissipate body heat and provide a cooler sleep surface.
Additionally, the copper infusion can help to reduce the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms, making the mattress more hygienic. This layer is in close proximity to the body.
Gel memory foam: In addition to the copper-infused memory foam, the mattress also features a layer of gel memory foam, which can provide additional cooling and contouring comfort which is 2″ thick.
A 2″ thick layer of transitional zoned support foam beneath the gel foam layer offers better support at hips and shoulders, especially when on your side.
High-density foam base: The mattress has a high-density foam base layer that provides durable support and helps to keep your spine in alignment. Thickness 7″.
Certifications: The Nectar Premier Copper mattress is CertiPUR-US certified, which means it meets rigorous standards for content, emissions, and durability. It also comes with a 365-night trial period and a lifetime warranty, which can provide peace of mind when purchasing a new mattress.
For the money, I found that the The Nectar Premier Copper Mattress is also good for reducing back pain too, especially when sleeping on your side. When you purchase one, you get free shipping, a 365 night trial period, and a lifetime warranty that has really good coverage against dips, depressions, and fabric or foam defects.
As to whether to choose the all foam option, or going with the hybrid version that will include a pocketed coil core, I’d say if you are over 225-250lb, definitely go with the hybrid option for better edge support and spine support without that mushy or swampy sensation.
2. Hyphen Cooling Copper Foam Mattress
The Hyphen Cooling Copper Foam Mattress is favorite of mine for for best hot sleeper option. At just $895 in queen, with a 100 night trial, free shipping, and the company’s 20 year warranty, it’s tough to beat pricewise.
Made to order in Hyphen’s USA factory, I loved how this cooling mattress felt when on my side especially. It uses copper infused foam, a heat wicking outer fabric, and layers of skillfully placed bouncier and reactive foam layers to push back against gravity. It has quite a bit of personality and doesn’t fee swampy or mushy.
The Hyphen Cooling Copper Foam Mattress is surprisingly simple in design, which I like- each component has a specific function, and when you add it all together, the overall effect is a cooler sleep surface that is lively and not dead feeling.
I also found this 10″ thick mattress easy to turn on, and with the underlying supportive layer being 6″ thick, it falls at about 7 out of 10 firmness wise, giving it wide appeal for many body types. The edge support is pretty decent, too.
I gave this cooling mattress my 5 star rating because of the benefit vs. cost factor. At under $1,000 it delivers the best overall rapid cooling and is ideal for couples, women with menopausal issues, larger folks, and even younger people.
3. Nolah Evolution 15″ Mattress
The Nolah Evolution 15″ Mattress is one of my favorite cooling and pressure relieving mattresses. I actually tested and reviewed this mattress after spending a solid 60 days sleeping on it during a New Orleans summer.
You can choose between three levels of firmness, including Plush, Luxury Firm, and Firm. I tested the Luxury Firm, which I would say falls into the medium category, say 7 out of 10.
It feels supportive and a bit buoyant and springy, and doesn’t sink in the middle, even when on your side. If you weigh over 225, or you and your partner’s combined weight is 250 or more, I would not recommend the plush- go with either the Luxury Firm or Firm.
I Was Skeptical About “Arctic Ice” Foam…Is It Another Gimmick?
What makes this mattress a bit different is the use of graphite infused foam in one of the top layers, something Nolah (the Colorado company that makes them, in one of their eight manufacturing operations in the USA) developed exclusively as a cooling material.
The Arctic Ice layer is located immediately underneath the cushy outer cover that feels like an inviting panda’s belly. The outer fabric is made with a cool to the touch fabric that has a built in “gusset”, which is a 2″ breathable “vent” along all four sides of the mattress.
This actively empties hot air away from your body, spilling it to the floor from these very effective vents. In fact, I found the Nolah Evolution 15″ Mattress so cooling, I turned the AC off in our test lab during June.
Priced at $1599 for a queen, it’s really a very high end mattress that looks and feels like it as well.
You get a 120 night no questions asked trial, with a no hassle return policy too. One thing I will add as I have with other Nolah mattress products is that the customer service is about the best in the industry. You also get two free “squishy pillows” with your order. I used them myself, and I like to have a moldable, shapeable pillow. Honestly, the best pillows I’ve found. The company also offers a great adjustable base add-on, a weighted blanket (loved it) and other products. Totally worth the money.
4. Hyphen Flippable Cooling Mattress
This might be the best mattress for hot sleepers because it’s two mattresses built into one. You can flip it to either soft or firm, with both sides offering non-toxic cooling gel/memory foam and cool to the touch fabric on the outside.
I loved this mattress, slept cool all night long and though I chose the soft side, never bottomed out on it, and got the pressure relief I need at shoulders and hips. At $1495 in queen, I’d compare it to Tempur-Pedic’s cooling mattress selling for far more.
The Hyphen Flippable Cooling Mattress is bit bouncy, instead of delivering a dead memory foam feel. It’s made using Certi-PurUS certified foams so there are no PBDE’s, formaldehyde or heavy metals right under your nose, too.
What makes this mattress sleep cool is a combination of copper infused memory foam, along with Hyphen’s super breathable open celled foam which has 25% more active ventilation than other similarly designed mattresses.
It’s hypoallergenic, odor free, and is shipping is free. I give this mattress my 4.9 out of 5 star rating for overall comfort, cooling, and support-and the fact that you can choose-or alternate-between firm and soft with this option.
This model is a tad more expensive than other cooling mattress options, but with the hybrid pocket coil center that acts as the primary support layer regardless of whether you have it on the soft side or flipped to the firm side, you’ll feel a floating, buoyant sensation that makes turning effortless and sitting on the edge really easy.
5. Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Hybrid Mattress
The Brooklyn Aurora Luxe Mattress earned a solid 4.8 out of 5 stars after my review, for cooling effectiveness, value, comfort, and durability.
I personally tested this mattress and was impressed right off the bat with its cool to the touch feel. You can choose between three levels of firmness, too.
It’s made in Arizona, has a 120 night no questions asked trial period so you can review it yourself. At just $1499 in queen, this cooling mattress has three critical components that make it highly effective and durable.
The outer covering of the Brooklyn Aurora Luxe Mattress is cool to the touch due to a phase change fabric called Glacio-Tex, and wraps the entire mattress.
Beneath, your body is supported, and I would say floated- above a three layer system of specialized cooling comfort layers. Not only do you get the cooling benefits but you get really good pressure relief at hips and shoulders as well.
Underneath, a complete support system of individually pocketed coils lift and elevate. I have hip and shoulder pain, so I opted for the medium model and though it was yielding and “cushy” enough to relieve pressure without being too soft.
I’ve read reviews about the firm option being a bit too hard, unless you’re over 225lbs. in weight, or a larger couple that spends a lot of time in the middle of the mattress. If you are on the petite side, consider opting for the soft option, which is very sumptuous and nest like in feel.
6. Pod 3 Mattress By Eight Sleep
One of the best innovations I’ve seen for hot sleepers and for people who really want to maximize their sleep performance, is the Pod 3 Mattress By Eight Sleep.
Equipped with a chilling and heating system that stands snugly adjacent to your mattress and connects via a very flexible umbilical hose, it will keep you at your preferred temperature all night long.
Using a phone app, you can control when you fall asleep and when you wake up via settings that cool you to get you to fall asleep, then gently vibrates your body just prior to awakening.
I tested and reviewed the Pod 3 Mattress, and if you are plagued by either sleeping very hot or cold, it’s a bit pricey at around $3200, but what you’re getting is more precision instrument than mattress.
You’ll get a pre-rolled mattress that is easy to handle and quite comfortable (a little firm but very supportive with great edge support.
The “active grid” is the piece that lays on top of the mattress with a complex web of micro-channels that carry water to and from the brains of the device.
You can test and then adjust all of the settings to provide just the right level of cooling-or warmth- to the precise setting for your body. For the money, it’s a gadgeteers perfect device for reinventing how you look at sleep.
Hot Sleeper? How A Cooling Mattress Can Improve Your Well Being And Your Health
If you’re a hot sleeper, you might know how difficult it can be to get a decent night’s sleep. Falling asleep (sleep induction) and staying asleep are actual very delicate mechanisms controlled by a lot of factors.
Medical conditions like menopause, diabetes, advanced age, thyroid conditions, and even anxiety, can disrupt and frazzle our sleep patterns. Once your sleep schedule is out of whack, it can take several days to become so exhausted that you finally fall asleep.
Other factors, such as your room temperature, the kind of mattress you use, your clothing, and exposure to light, and your diet near bedtime, can greatly affect sleep.
Everyone Seems To Have Sleep Problems These Days
Almost everyone seems to have a sleep issue of some kind these days, with labels being slapped on just about everyone who can’t fall asleep in forty five seconds flat.
There are prescription medications for insomnia, meditation classes and books, high tech pillows, eye masks, and white noise machines, all made to help us fall asleep and keep us there.
In our technology dense lives, with little or no time to relax, depressurize, and calm down, sleeping is now being referred to as something as valuable as a rare desert spice.
Our Bodies Would Prefer We Slept In Caves, On Mats Made Of Reeds And Fiber..Here’s Why.
Did you know that our bodies are designed to sleep in cool, dark places, and that we sleep more soundly and deeper when our body temperature drops a few degrees?
After falling asleep, generally triggered by both our biological clocks, sunset, and falling temperatures, a pronounced drop in body temperature happens as we enter REM sleep, the most beneficial phase of sleep.
Sleeping in a colder room improves sleep quality, largely by slowing down our metabolism. For people who are hot, whether caused by menopause, a medical condition, or seasonal weather changes, a mattress that contains specialized materials to cool us down, is also extremely effective.
Sleeping in a colder room can improve your sleep quality and even help you decrease insomnia episodes. Research has linked this to the observations that our body temperature naturally drops a bit at night. As a result, our heart rate and metabolism slows down, our breathing quietens, and we use much less energy, while our bodies busy themselves with cellular repairs and maintenance.
The most dramatic drop in body temperature happens when you enter REM sleep. During this stage of deeper sleep that we dream most vividly.
Sleep researchers have found that links between bedtime insomnia and premature waking and interruptions during the night are directly linked to body temperature issues.
I recommend adjusting your thermostat quite a bit lower that you might be used to, as low as 62-68F (15-19C ) which can help reduce your body temperature pretty dramatically which shortens sleep induction (sleep onset) and reduce the number of times you wake up during the night.
Sleeping in a cooler room also boost the levels of two hormones that are essential for your overall health as well. These hormones, melatonin, and HGH (human growth hormone) have powerful effects on the quality of our sleep.
Melatonin
When your body temperature decreases slightly, your brain responds by increasing levels of melatonin, our “sleep hormone”. Once released, melatonin also further reduces body temperature, causing us to feel drowsy and woozy, make falling asleep much faster and easier.
Melatonin has other benefits as well, including reducing tinnitus, decreasing cramps and winding down your intestinal tract for the night.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
Human growth hormone is produced by the pituitary gland in the brain. It reaches its highest levels during what is typically called the deep sleep phase. HGH is responsible for cellular repair, including mitochondria, the powerhouse situated inside each of our cells.
There Are Cooling Mattresses Designed To Lower Your Body Temperature So You’ll Easily Fall Sleep
After designing and manufacturing mattresses for twenty five years, I’ve seen cooling mattresses become the latest category of specialized bedding.
With specialized textiles, cooling gel foams, even built in air conditioning systems, today’s cooling mattresses are specifically designed to improve sleep for hot sleepers.
The most beneficial cooling mattresses for hot sleepers have an additional layer or two of gel foam or memory type foam (the squishy, body conforming foam that uses a technology called “phase change”.
This phenomenon takes heat and converts it to cold so quickly, that you can literally lay your hand on the top layers of one of these mattresses feels chilled and cool to the touch.
A similar effect is seen in evaporative cooling, which is easily observed if you are wearing a wet clothing item on a hot day, and a sudden breeze or wind gust chills you very fast.
Other cooling mattresses use mechanical chilling, which involves a separate device that looks much like a computer tower, housing a pump and a chilling system that pumps cold water through the top layer of a body contact piece.
Usually, a mattress designed for hot sleepers will have a breathable fabric on top, and special vents along the side edges which allows hot air to escape, even being squeezed and pushed out from body movements during the night.