Best cooling mattress in 2023: keep temperatures down at night

The best cooling mattress may be just what you need to get through the warmer summer months, or it may even be an all-year game-changer if you have a tendency to sleep hot at night. Whatever your requirements, we're here to help you find your perfect cooling bed.

While you'll find plenty of cooling options in our best mattress guide, we've gathered the very best cooling mattresses together here to make it easier to find the best one for you. We've picked out the top models available now, from budget memory foam mattresses with cooling and moisture-wicking materials, through to high-end smart beds that can change temperature as you do.

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; the Prime Day mattress deals will include discounts on cooling beds. 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.

The best cooling mattresses in 2023 – as chosen by experts

Best overall

This memory foam mattress replaces the brand's Lush mattress – and unlike most memory foam mattresses, which can cause you to get hot when you sleep, it uses 4-inches of temperature-regulating gel memory foam, which is said to give you a cooler night's rest.

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. Best suited to those who sleep on their side and anyone who has back or shoulder issues, this comfortable mattress is also said to have great motion isolation. Find out more about it in our guide: Should I buy the Nectar Premier Copper mattress?

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 option

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 bed

This is surely the most luxurious cooling mattress on the list - but it comes with a price tag to match – starting at just over $3000. Said to be perfect for all types of sleepers, whether you sleep on your back, front or side, the medium-to-firm mattress is made with different layers of foam. With five layers, the different foams seem to cater for comfort, cooling and pressure relief. The 4-inch foam base sits just under the 4-inch FlexSpring technology, while air tech layers sit just under the 1-inch Comfort blend layer. 

The most advanced part about this bed though is the app, which is connected to the hub. Using the app you can control the temperature of the bed, even each side if you so desire, by allowing tiny amounts of hot or cold water to pump into the top layer of the bed, from the hub. After you’ve set the app up, and set your bedtime, your new smart bed will warm or cool down before you jump in, and if it's not to your liking, you can simply change the temperature via the app – pretty impressive stuff.

Most of the mattress reviews come from Twitter, with one happy customer saying that the smart bed has been a ‘game changer’ for them, while others rave about how the app and mattress have improved their sleep quality – especially in the summer months, during a heatwave.

As we've mentioned, this isn't a cheap mattress; however if you're happy with your existing bed, the Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover can upgrade it at a more reasonable price.

Best support

If you’re looking for another budget cooling mattress this could be a great option, starting under $800. Made of three layers of foam, plus a top cover, it includes dense support foam, a comfort foam layer and the brand’s Purple GelFlex grid. The grid design is the added feature which makes the bed so cooling for customers – as the 1,400+ air channels make it more breathable than other foams. The grid design is also said to be a supportive cushion for hips and shoulders – so perfect for side and back sleepers.

The cover on the mattress, Purple's SoftFlex cover, is designed for comfort, but also thin and breathable enough to feel the grid design below. Perfect for anyone who wants to feel cool as they sleep, but also feel supported when it comes to their back or other joints. And if you'd prefer a more premium option, the Purple Plus mattress is worth checking out; see our article – Should I buy the Purple Plus mattress? – for more information.

The mattress has had nearly 23,000 five-star reviews on the site, with happy customers commenting on well they feel supported and comfortable on the bed. Customers who weren’t satisfied complained about how hot they felt in bed, instead of cool, while others thought the firmness levels could be improved. Keep an eye our for a Purple sale or deal to avoid paying full price.

Best comfort

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. In our GhostBed Luxe review, our tester said that while it's cooler than most other memory foam beds, it can still trap heat a little, so bear that in mind when making your purchasing decision. However, both motion transfer and edge support were given a good rating.

Customer reviews, via the company's site, were mainly satisfied with the mattress - with 97% of the verified reviewers giving it a rating of 4.5 or higher. Unlike our review, no one complained about the mattress trapping heat, with one happy customer commenting that it offers the "benefits of memory foam without the heat."

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.