Best Cooling Mattress – Ratings & Reviews (2023)

What is a Cooling Mattress?

A cooling mattress is a bed built with temperature-regulating materials that aim to prevent an uncomfortable excess of heat. The types of cooling materials in these mattresses can vary as much as the beds themselves. For example, memory foam is notorious for overheating, so many companies infuse copper, graphite, or gel to keep things cool.

Many companies also utilize the covers of their mattresses to convey cooling effects. From phase change technologies to moisture-wicking fabrics, these advancements help to keep sleepers chilled-out and cozy.

How Do We Test Cooling Mattresses?

Our testers are trained to gauge a mattress’s cooling capability by looking at two key factors: how hot the mattress feels to them personally, and what cooling elements the bed incorporates.

When reviewing a bed, they’ll lay on its surface for an extended period of time and focus exclusively on the temperature and their comfort. They’re asked to note whether the bed becomes increasingly warm or stays relatively cool, as well as what areas of their body feel warmer than others.

They combine their notes from their personal experience with their knowledge of the mattress’s materials. A mattress that feels palpably cool and has multiple cooling features will achieve a high score, whereas a bed without many cooling elements and a poor cooling performance will be ranked lower.

Things to Consider When Shopping for a Cooling Mattress

Price

Cooling mattresses with advanced temperature-regulation features will likely be more expensive than standard models, but for many hot sleepers, the perks are worth the investment.

If you’re looking to save on your mattress purchase, you might consider a few strategies. You could opt for an all-foam or innerspring cooling bed instead of a hybrid or latex mattress, as the latter two types tend to be priced higher. You can also track the calendar for discounts and deals around holidays such as Presidents’ Day and Memorial Day.

Finally, we recommend shopping for your mattress online. This direct-to-consumer model allows mattress companies to cut costs, resulting in more budget-friendly beds for shoppers.

Sleeping Position

Your primary sleeping position is an essential piece of information when you’re looking for a new mattress, whether or not you’re prioritizing cooling features.

If you’re a side sleeper, you likely need more pressure relief around your shoulder and hips. Beds with memory foam layers and a soft or medium firmness are ideal.

Back sleepers usually need a balance of pressure relief and support. Many back sleepers can snooze successfully on foam or hybrid models, but should stick to medium and medium-firm beds.

Stomach sleepers will typically enjoy the durable support of coils, though firmer all-foam models should still perform well. This group tends to need an overall firmer mattress than the others.

Lastly, combination sleepers need a responsive medium-firm that bed fosters easy repositioning and accommodates different postures.

Pressure Relief

Pressure relief is a top selling point for many people, especially side and back sleepers and those with achy joints. Memory foam and latex beds are great for pressure relief because they provide a gentle, cradling feel to mitigate pressure buildup. Memory foam might have a longer legacy in the mattress world, but latex can have superior cooling properties.

If you have your eye on a mattress with coils, a hybrid will be better for pressure relief than a traditional innerspring model. Hybrids have multiple foam layers on top of their springs, whereas innerspring models only have a thin layer of cushioning.

You might also want to look for a bed that targets a specific area with its pressure-relieving materials. If you’re someone experiencing hip pain, for example, you’ll probably need a bed with a much softer surface than a mattress made for back pain or neck pain.

Read More: Best Mattresses for Pressure Relief

Firmness

The ideal mattress firmness for you can depend on your weight, sleep style, and comfort preferences. Luckily, a bed’s firmness doesn’t have too much of an effect on its cooling abilities, though you should always look into the differences in materials between the firmer and softer models of a given mattress.

The majority of mattresses come in a medium or medium-firm feel, which is the most universal preference in terms of comfort. This firmness level is usually best for average-size sleepers, combination sleepers, and those who lie on their back.

Softer beds are usually ideal for lightweight and side sleepers who don’t require as much support. Firm beds are best for stomach sleepers and heavier individuals, as they deliver increased support to ensure optimal spinal alignment.

Edge Support

Good edge support means the mattress won’t sink too much if you lie or sit on the side. This feature is usually a priority for couples, because it allows them to spread out across the mattress’s entire surface area. It’s also an important quality for people with mobility issues or those who frequently sit on the side of their bed to get ready for the day.

Many brands implement stronger foams and coils around the perimeters of their mattresses to keep the edges well-supported. These additions shouldn’t affect the cooling capabilities of the bed, and are simply another valuable aspect to consider.

Mattress Type

When it comes to cooling, some mattress types out-perform others. Hybrid beds often win out, because they not only have coils that promote airflow, but they might also have cooling mechanisms in the comfort layers and cover.

On the other end of the scale, memory foam mattresses probably won’t keep you as cool as other models.

We’ll dive deeper into the cooling capabilities of each type of mattress in a later section.

Mattress Features for Couples

If you sleep with a partner that runs hotter or colder than you, then it can be tough to find a happy medium in a cooling mattress. You may want to consider split king models that consist of two twin-XL beds pushed together, as each half could be customized to suit the sleeper’s preferences.

Generally, it’s easier to add heat to your sleeping setup than it is to dissipate it. With that in mind, you could also shop for beds that cater to the partner who more likely to overheat. The partner who sleeps cooler can then add blankets and other layers to their side of the bed as needed.

Sharing a bed with a partner also carries the risk of motion transfer throughout the night. If you’ll be sleeping beside someone, prioritize cooling mattresses with decent motion isolation.

This process can admittedly be a balancing act, as beds with springs have high cooling properties but aren’t as good at motion isolation as all-foam models. However, certain hybrid mattresses have perfected the art of limiting motion while simultaneously allowing for cooling airflow.

Trial Period

You won’t know if a mattress has an excellent cooling system from a 10-second touch of its surface or a quick nap; you have to sleep on it throughout the night. A bed may feel fine when you lie down initially, but you could still wake up covered in sweat at 3:00 a.m.

Thankfully, most online mattress brands offer prolonged trial periods with their products. These trial periods enable you to put a cooling mattress to the test for weeks or even months before you commit to keeping it.