Credit:
Reviewed / Betsy Goldwasser
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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsy Goldwasser
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
The Serta Arctic memory foam mattress offers some of the best cooling and motion isolation we have ever seen. It's the best option for hot sleepers. Read More
We named the Stearns and Foster Lux Estate Pillow Top our best upgrade for its comfort, ability to keep you cool, and edge support. Read More
The Tuft & Needle Original is a firm foam mattress that offers a supportive sleep surface we think most people will like. Read More
The Nolah Evolution hybrid is a firm and supportive mattress that can provide pressure relief while keeping you cool. Read More
The Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe isn't the coolest mattress we've tested, but it's pretty close and offers excellent heat diffusion. Read More
Many factors contribute to how warm or cold you sleep, from whether you’re running air conditioning or fans to the type of comforters or bed sheets you’re using.
One of the most important things to consider if you’re a hot sleeper is what type of mattress you’re sleeping on. With so many mattress companies claiming their beds help with temperature regulation, it can be challenging to cut through the advertising to find one that actually helps you sleep comfortably.
With that in mind, we tested top mattress brands to see which beds will keep you coolest. Our best cooling mattress pick, the Serta Arctic Plush (available at Amazon) , not only impressed us with its unparalleled cooling performance, it isolated motion exceptionally well.
The Serta Arctic is the best mattress we have ever tested when it comes to heat diffusion and motion isolation.
Upgrade your bedroom with the Lux Estate Pillow Top—you won't be disappointed.
Tuft & Needle's Original is the foam mattress to beat.
The Nolah Evolution sleeps cool and diffuses heat throughout the night.
Excellent cooling performance
Good motion isolation
Good for side sleepers
Poor edge support
Too soft for back and front sleepers
Costly returns
Unparalleled motion isolation
Comfortable in every sleeping position
Keeps cool
Unremarkable edge support
Effective cooling
Comfortable
Effective motion dampening
Poor edge support
Mediocre pressure relief
Cool
Comfortable
Eco-conscious
Too firm for side sleepers
inconsistent motion isolation
There's a fee for returns
Impressive edge support
Excellent pressure point relief
Good motion isolation
Too soft for some
Good motion isolation
Great edge support
Keeps cool
Too soft for some
Too thick for some fitted sheets
Different sleep positions call for mattresses of different types—our testing looks for the best mattresses of each sort.
To find the best cooling mattresses, we use heat diffusion data gathered during our lab testing while also incorporating other important factors.
To test how well a mattress diffuses heat, we warm silicon heating pads to body temperature and place them on the mattress under a blanket. Temperature loggers placed under the heated pads measure how quickly they cool down.
This helps replicate how our bodies might release heat throughout the night. It gives us an idea of how that heat makes contact with our mattress, and how it spreads throughout the surrounding area. The faster the pads lose heat, the better the mattress is at moving heat away from your body and keeping you cool.
Cooling attributes aren’t the only measure of a good bed, so we also factor in the scores from other tests, including edge support and motion isolation.
Sufficient edge support gets little attention when it comes to desirable qualities in a mattress. It’s easy to understand why, as most people have little issue getting in and out of bed and tend to sleep toward the middle of the mattress. However, few things are more critical than a sturdy mattress edge for those with mobility issues who may need assistance getting in and out of bed.
Motion isolation is another factor that can be overlooked. A tossing and turning partner can be incredibly disruptive to one’s sleep, so for those who share their beds, a mattress that is capable of dampening movement and vibrations is vital.
The surface of the Lull Original could prove too firm for some.
It’s well known that temperature plays a role in sleep quality. For most people, cooler is better. If you know you sleep hot, a mattress designed specifically with cooling features can make all the difference to the quality of your night's rest.
Trying to find a cooling mattress may cause night sweats. Between cooling technology claims and confusing lingo, shoppers could be left perplexed. Essentially, though, a mattress’s ability to diffuse heat often comes down to the material it’s made of. Beyond material, you should look for a mattress that’s cool to the touch, because that’s a great first indicator of how it could perform at night.
Traditional innerspring mattresses typically sleep coolest, because there’s plenty of breathing room around the coils to allow heat to dissipate.
Foam mattresses compress well for shipping, putting them at the heart of the mattress-in-a-box world. Foam is too dense to really allow much air circulation and also is known for conforming to your body. While that can be great for pressure relieving, it may also mean even more of your body heat gets trapped against your skin.
There are two main ways to combat overheating. Foam mattress manufacturers often include a cooling layer to help prevent overheating. Those layers may consist of gel infused foam, gel beads or pods that absorb heat and draw it away from the sleeper all night long.
The other big option is a hybrid mattress, which combines foam and innerspring layers. This gives you the cradling effect of a foam mattress alongside the cooling benefits of an innerspring.
Aside from covering all things sleep, James moonlights as an educational theatre practitioner, amateur home chef, and weekend hiker.
Chris Panella was a staff writer covering sleep, style, and other lifestyle areas. Previous bylines include The Daily Beast, Film Cred, Film Daze, and The Tufts Daily.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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