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The comfortable cushioning and body-contouring properties of memory foam are why it’s one of our favorite mattress materials.
Memory foam beds pop up regularly in ourbest mattressguide and they’re often our top choice for side sleepers.
Memory foam mattresses do have a reputation for sleeping hot.
What is memory foam?
Does memory foam sleep hot?
Memory foam can sleep hot, although modern memory foam mattresses have clever ways of reducing the problem.
Memory foam has a dense structure.
The air holes in the material are small, making it much harder for air to pass through.
Instead of moving through the mattress and dispersing, the hot air becomes trapped.
In contrast, a mattress with springs has plenty of space for air to circulate.
As well as the structure of the foam, the feel of the mattress plays a role.
However, this reputation for overheating is no longer entirely fair.
Sleep brands have come up with some innovative solutions to the heat retention problem, which well cover below.
In ourTempur-Pedic Tempur-Adapt mattress review, our tester found themselves consistently overheating at night.
That’s a premium foam mattress, but it definitely has that slow-moving, viscoelastic foam feel.
However, for many brands, it’s less of a problem than it used to be.
Why is temperature important for sleep?
Our body temperature naturally rises and falls throughout the day as part of our circadian rhythm.
In the evening, our temperature starts to drop to prepare us for sleep.
It then rises again in the morning to prepare us for waking up.
Sleeping hot can also lead tonight sweats.
Not only is night sweating uncomfortable, but excess moisture can also lead to dust mites.
How is memory foam getting cooler?
Sleep brands have taken big steps over recent years to improve the temperature regulation of memory foam mattresses.
However, while these innovations often sound impressive, their effectiveness can be debatable.
Perhaps the most obvious example of this is open cell foam.
Open cells do help air circulate, but all mattress foam is open cell.
Its not really a selling point.
Now, lets talk infusions.
Infusions are one of the most popular cooling methods introduced by sleep brands.
Gel infused memory foam, for example, contains small beads made of gel that help to absorb heat.
Other popular infusion materials include charcoal, graphite, and copper.
However, infusions are a complex subject.
It can be tricky to determine just how big a role these materials play in regulating temperature.
And as a result, it’s unlikely to have any real impact on the foam’s properties.
With that said, many of our favorite cooling foam mattresses do use an infusion material.
So were not completely ruling out the effectiveness of an infusion material.
Just dont assume that because a memory foam mattress is infused with these fibers that it will sleep cooler.
In some cases, it probably isn’t making much of a difference.
Another impressive-sounding cooling feature is phase change material.
This absorbs and releases heat as the chemical bonds transition through different phases.
Finally, some memory foam mattresses use extra perforations or channels to enhance the airflow.
This essentially means holes are pierced into the foam, creating larger spaces for the air to pass through.
It can be tricky to navigate sleep brand jargon to work out exactly how effective these cooling measures are.
We always recommend reading reviews to learn about real-world experiences with the mattress.
For that reason, we include a ‘temperature regulation’ section in all our mattress reviews.
Ourbest pillow guidehas some excellent cooling pillows.
Replace your bed frame
Slotted bed frames have better air circulation than solid bases, such as box springs.
This is an expensive upgrade, but if youre consistently sleeping hot, its one to consider.
Cooling toppers can help improve the temperature regulation of a warm bed by adding an additional breathable layer.
Check out ourbest mattress topperguide for some options.
Consider your sleep environment
Whats happening outside the bed?
Learn more with ourCocoon by Sealy Chill mattress review.
Learn more with ourGhostBed Luxe mattress review.
