1. Best overall
2. Best pressure relief
3. Best budget
4. Best smart cover
5. Best comfort
Buying advice
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Our experienced testing panel reviews and researches all of the latest mattresses, using our findings to provide accurate and unbiased recommendations.
The best cooling mattress is a must-have if you're losing sleep because you get too hot in the night. Most of us are only really likely to need a cooling mattress during the warmer summer months (and even then you can probably get by with fewer covers), if you regularly overheat at night then a mattress with built-in cooling properties could be just what you need. And to make life easier for you, we've picked out the top cooling beds available right now.
You'll find some cooling models in our best mattress guide, but to save you have to comb through all the details we've put all the best cooling mattresses here so that you can find your ideal option. We've gathered together the best models available now, covering everything from effective budget options through to high-end smart beds that can respond instantly to changes in temperature.
Our guide to the signs you need a cooling mattress can help you decide if a chill new bed is right for you. And to save you from getting hot and bothered about paying over the odds, we'll also provide you with links to the best prices available today for each cooling bed. Mattress sales are a regular thing in the sleep business, so you should never have to pay full price. You'll find deals information with each product entry. For now, though, let's check out the best cooling mattresses currently available.
The quick list
In a hurry? Here's our quick roundup of the best cooling mattress covering the very basics. Either click through to learn more, or head straight for the online store to order now.
Best overall
The Purple's GelFlex grid delivers support for sore joints, and also enhances air flow to help keep you cool at night.
Pressure-relieving
Nectar's Premier Copper delivers triple action cooling with gel-infused memory foam that cushions your pressure points.
Budget-friendly
The Chill delivers good temperature regulation and contouring comfort at a much lower price than most specialist cooling beds.
Smart cooling
This smart cover will cool or heat each side of your bed to your exact preferences – note, mattress not included.
Luxurious feel
The GhostBed Luxe combines cooling technology with a medium-plush feel, making it ideal if you prefer a softer bed.
The best cooling mattresses in 2024 – as chosen by experts
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Best cooling mattress overall
What separates the Purple mattress from the other mattresses in our list is the presence of the 'Purple Grid' – a two-inch thick, bouncy, elastic grid that molds to your body to provide custom support. The open structure means it does this without clinging on to body heat, as dense foams can. Beneath the Grid, you'll find a layer of comfort foam and a sturdier layer of base foam. The whole thing is topped by a stretchy cover, designed not to dampen the effect of the Grid layer.
The Purple mattress has unusual feel that won't be for everyone, but our tester found that it really delivered when it came to support, and also that it slept noticeably cooler than other mattresses he'd reviewed. It's difficult to give this mattress a firmness rating, as the Grid manages to be soft or firm exactly where it's needed – we settled on a medium-firm seven out of 10 rating, but really, it could suit a wide range of sleepers.
It's not especially cheap, so it's well worth waiting for a Purple mattress sale to take the price down (these crop up on a semi-regular basis).
- Read more: Purple mattress review
Best pressure-relieving cooling mattress
Unlike most memory foam mattresses, which can cause you to get hot when you sleep, The Nectar Premier Copper uses four inches of temperature-regulating gel memory foam, which can you a cooler night's rest while cradling all your pressure points.
For extra cooling, the mattress also has a dual-action cooling Copper cover – a material which is not only soft to touch but is said to respond to your changing temperature as you sleep. It also features top-class pressure-relieving qualities, making it an excellent choice for anyone who who sleeps on their side and anyone who has back or shoulder issues, and it's also said to have great motion isolation. And if you prefer a bed that's a little more responsive, it's also available in a more expensive hybrid version.
Reviewers on the Nectar site give the mattress 4.8 stars out of 5, rating it highly for helping back and shoulder pain, with many happy sleepers claiming how comfortable it is and how it leaves them cool throughout the night. There are regular Nectar mattress sales that mean you shouldn't have to ever pay full price, too.
Best budget cooling mattress
The Cocoon chill mattress is another memory foam mattress - which also includes layers of comfort foam and polyfoam. However, the cooling aspect comes in the form of the cooling cover.
The brand, which is one of the cheapest cooling mattresses available, has opted for Phase changing material for the cooling cover, which means it cleverly absorbs and dissipates body heat – which is said to cool you down as soon as you start to heat up in bed. Our review of the bed says it's perfect for back sleepers, as it helps with neutral spine alignment and will help with ‘easing aches and pains’. However, for anyone other than back sleepers the cooling effects may not work as well – as it doesn’t hug you as well on your side.
Customer reviews were mainly positive - with reviewers giving the mattress an average of 4.7 out of 5 stars. The 5-star reviews praised the mattress's comfort, especially for those who had back pain, while temperature regulation was also a big plus for them. Negative reviews were around the firmness of the mattresses – with some believing it was too hard or not hard enough.
- Read more: Cocoon by Sealy Chill mattress review
Best smart cooling cover
First things first: the Eight Sleep Pod is not a mattress – it's a smart cover, you'll need to supply the mattress part yourself. It's included here because if you're looking for cooling, it can't be beaten. All the other beds in this list rely on passive cooling, but the Pod offers active cooling. Inside is a network of water-filled tubes, which can be adjusted to your exact temperature preference via a coffee machine-sized unit that sits next to your bed. It can cool down to 5F or warm to 110F, and if you and your bedmate don't agree, you can pick a different temperature for each side. It can even learn your preferences and adjust accordingly throughout the night.
As well as temperature adjustments, the Pod also offers advanced sleep tracking features, so you can learn more about your overnight habits and how to improve them.
The brand used to sell a version with the mattress included, but all the tech was (and is) in the cover. This way, you can select the mattress that suits your firmness preference and price bracket. It's not a cheap option – especially when you factor in the monthly subscription required to unlock the most advanced features. But if you really struggle with overheating, it could be worth it.
- Read more: Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover review
Best plush cooling mattress
This cooling mattress is made from various layers of foam, including a gel memory for comfort, Ghost bounce for pressure relief and a high-density foam at its core. The bed only comes in one 'medium plush' firmness level, which is on the softer side, and will suit side sleepers looking for extra cushioning around their shoulders and hips (it might be a bit soft for back sleepers though).
The temperature regulation comes courtesy of a cooling fiber layer and the Ghost Ice fabric cover. The brand claims it's 'the coolest bed in the world', but our tester wasn't quite as enthusiastic – she found that that while it's cooler than most other memory foam beds, it can still trap heat a little. However, both motion isolation and edge support were given a good rating.
- Read more: GhostBed Luxe review
How to choose the best cooling mattress
It used to be that beds made with memory foam would trap heat, meaning if you sleep hot then you’d avoid a memory foam mattress at all costs. However, companies have come up with new technologies to allow us to sleep cooler and even control the temperature as we sleep.
Some mattresses use breathable foam, allowing airflow through the mattress – as with Purple’s GelFlex grid design – keeping us cool as a result. While memory foam gels and top covers also help to keep the mattress temperature cool. Phase-changing material is used widely in cooling mattresses, as they help to absorb and dissipate body heat.
Smarter technologies are also becoming the norm – with brands such as Pod using tiny tubes of water, pumped into the top layer of the mattress, to help regulate your temperature – all controlled via an app. Your budget and how cool you like to sleep will determine which cooling mattress you choose – but the more you pay the more you’ll get for your money.
Why do I need a cooling mattress?
Ever woken up in a hot sweat in bed and can’t get back to sleep? You’re not alone – a study by Tohoku Fukushi University, in Japan, revealed that heat exposure increases wakefulness and decreases slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep – meaning you won’t just be waking up but your sleep quality will be affected too.
Of course, sometimes we want to be warm, and snuggle up in bed, but if we have the right cooling mattress it will regulate our temperature – making sure we don’t get too cold or hot.
If you tend to sleep hot and it affects the quality of your sleep investing in one of the best cooling mattresses will improve not just how long you sleep, but also your waking life too – as good quality sleep can be one of the most important parts of a healthy lifestyle.
