Best Cooling Mattresses for Hot Sleepers -- How to Choose
If you're too hot at night, sleep better by chilling out with one of the best cooling mattresses, tested and reviewed by CNET's sleep experts.
Our Experts
Our Picks
Whether you live in a warm climate or simply sleep hot, a cooling mattress can prevent you from overheating at night. Even with a cooling fan or an air conditioner in your bedroom, you can still heat up while snoozing, reducing sleep quality. If you tend to run hot, some mattress materials can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. Luckily, mattresses with specialized cooling technology have minimal heat retention -- a game-changer for hot sleepers.
Here's the thing about cooling bedding products: Not all of them actually cool you down. I've spent hours testing over 150 mattresses and researching the top mattress materials that will keep you cool. Below are my top choices for the best mattresses for hot sleepers, from beds made with cooling material (like gel-infused foam) that are cold to the touch to mattresses that allow maximum airflow to minimize heat retention.
If you're looking for a more cost-effective way to cool down your current mattress, check out our list of the best cooling mattress toppers. If temperature isn't exactly the problem, you can always check out the best mattresses for side sleepers or the best king-size mattresses.
What is the best cooling mattress overall?
There are several excellent cooling mattress options on the market, but the one that outshines the rest is the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe. Thanks to its well-thought-out construction, it's the best overall cooling mattress in our roundup and literally one of the coolest mattresses I've tested. When you run your hands across the bed, the cover physically feels cold thanks to its unique TitanCool material.
The Brooklyn Bedding Aurora mattress is a premium bed with soft, squishy foam that bounces back quickly as you move around. It has three firmness options, giving you the ability to tailor the mattress to your body type and sleeping position. It's the kind of mattress that anyone will like, which is why it's the best cooling mattress you can get.
Video: Best cooling mattress
Watch CNET mattress expert and senior video producer Owen Poole review the best cooling mattresses.
Best cooling mattresses of 2024
Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe
Best overall cooling mattress
SCORE
SCORE
SCORE
- The cover is cool to the touch
- Bouncy and breathable memory foam
- Hefty coils make it supportive and long-lasting
- Three firmness profiles
- Not ideal for budget shoppers
The Aurora Luxe is quite literally one of the coolest mattresses we've ever tested. It's available in three different firmness profiles: soft, medium and firm. Petite side sleepers who want an extra-soft mattress should consider the soft option; lightweight to average-weighted side sleepers should be fine on the medium model.
Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid
Best cooling mattress for couples
SCORE
SCORE
- Great motion isolation
- Unique micro-coil construction for extra support
- Comfortable cover that’s cool to the touch
- Available in only one firmness level
- On the more expensive side
Leesa Legend Chill's reinforced edge support and excellent motion insolation are huge pluses, especially if your partner is a bed hog or constantly tosses and turns throughout the night. This particular model doesn't have multiple firmness options, but its medium firmness level accommodates most sleepers.
Retailing for $2,800, this bed is the most luxurious in Leesa's lineup and the most expensive on our best list. That said, Leesa regularly offers significant discounts throughout the year. Although it sits at a more luxury price point, the Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid mattress is a great value. This cooling hybrid mattress is a fantastic option for couples who want that plush, five-star hotel feel while staying cool and comfortable all night. Read more about Leesa's Chill mattresses.
Cocoon Chill
Best budget cooling mattress
SCORE
SCORE
SCORE
- Comes in multiple models
- Budget option
- Phase-changing cooling cover
- Not the best choice for side sleepers
- Contouring memory foam feel isn't for everyone
Both models are equipped with a cool-to-the-touch "Phase Change" cover that absorbs heat, keeping you cooler throughout the night. When lying on the top of the bed, you can immediately feel its cooling relief against your backside.
I'd rate it somewhere between medium and medium-firm, or around a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale. I don't get a ton of pressure relief when I sleep on my side, but the memory foam does help bring a more contouring, hugging feel. This bed is accommodating for back and stomach sleepers, combination sleepers and some side sleepers. Most people will be happy with this bed if you aren't searching for a plush mattress.
Read more in our full Cocoon Chill Hybrid mattress review.
Tempur-Pedic Adapt
Best cooling memory foam mattress
SCORE
SCORE
- Several model and firmness options
- Can accommodate all sleeper positions
- Cool-to-the-touch cover
- Expensive
- Not everyone likes the dense memory foam feel
Thanks to the cooling yarns woven in and its open-cell design of Tempur-Material, the cover feels physically cool to the touch and is removable and machine washable on the ProAdapt and LuxeAdapt models. The memory foam inside doesn't retain heat like the old Tempur-Pedic mattresses did back in the day.
The brand also offers Breeze cooling beds, but they're super expensive. I think you can still get cooling relief and save money by choosing this mattress type over Tempur-Pedic's premium models. You can even go with the base Tempur-Adapt model to save the most money. It offers a cooling cover with the same dense memory foam feel as the other beds, which hugs your body as you sink into the layers.
Read more in our Tempur-Pedic mattress review.
Casper Snow
Best cooling mattress for back pain
SCORE
SCORE
SCORE
- Eco-friendly option made with organic materials
- Medium-firm profile promotes spinal alignment
- Too firm enough for some
- Not actively cooling, but sleeps coo.
The Casper Snow Hybrid mattress offers that sinking feel of dense memory foam as it conforms around your body. If you like that slow-to-respond sensation, you'll enjoy this bed. The memory foam also provides great motion isolation, which helps if you have a partner who tosses and turns throughout the night.
Casper's Heat Delete bands and phase change technology run through the mattress to draw your body's heat away through the night. Topped with a genuinely cool-to-the-touch cover, this mattress is one of the coolest we've tested. We found this bed to be between medium and medium-firm, meaning it's accommodating for all sleeper types but especially for back and stomach sleepers and those with back pain. If you primarily sleep on your side, this bed may be too firm for your liking.
Read more in our Casper Snow Hybrid mattress review.
Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover
Best high-tech cooling mattress cover
- Automatically adjusts bed temperature to keep you cool and comfortable throughout the night
- Can track and report your sleep quality
- Each side of the bed is customizable
- Expensive
- Trial is only 30 nights
- Makes your mattress slightly firmer
The technology in these covers is quite impressive -- not only can it track your sleep, but it can also temperature-adjust during the night based on your local weather, bedroom environment, sleep stages and more. If you sleep with a partner, the Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover can "learn" the ideal thermal environment for each side of the bed and automatically adapt so you can fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Not to mention, staying cool with the Pod Cover can be more cost-effective than relying on air conditioning to keep your bedroom cold throughout the night.
If you're tired of waking up to the sound of an obnoxious alarm, then you might also enjoy Eight Sleep's customizable vibration and thermal alarm options. You can even set it up to receive personalized health reports and sleep recommendations to help you get better rest.
Be sure to confirm the dimensions of your bed before purchasing the Eight Sleep Pod Cover to ensure you get the correct size and model. Eight Sleep offers three different models of Pod Covers for beds ranging from full to California king size.
Learn more in our review of the Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cover.
Other cooling mattresses we've tested
Our CNET Sleep editors have hundreds of mattress testing hours on their resumes; they know the beds that shine and those that are underwhelming. With so many to test and so few spots on our list, we can't showcase every quality cooling mattress, but we want to give a few more beds the honorable mention they deserve.
Purple mattress: The original Purple mattress uses a Hyper-Elastic Gel Polymer grid that has a ton of air pockets. It's one of the best materials for not retaining heat. We rate it around a medium or five out of 10 on the firmness scale.
Loom & Leaf mattress: With two firmness levels that sit toward the firm end of the spectrum (medium-firm and firm) and a special cooling gel layer, Loom & Leaf is a great mattress to help with temperature regulation. You sit more on top of the mattress rather than inside, and the cooling gel is actually effective.
WinkBeds EcoCloud mattress: WinkBeds doesn't actively cool you, but it's made with a breathable, non-heat-retaining latex foam material and pocketed coils. This allows for increased airflow, breathability and comfort. Not to mention, latex beds are hypoallergenic and antimicrobial.
Nectar Premier/Premier Copper mattress: These are Nectar's premium mattresses, made with gel-infused memory foam inside and a cooling cover that helps wick away moisture. The Copper model takes it a step further with added copper fibers that help absorb heat from your body and disperse it throughout the bed. They're rated around a six to seven on the firmness scale, so you don't sink into the foam as much.
Saatva mattress: Saatva is a pillow-top mattress that contains breathable materials and offers firm profiles that help you rest more comfortably at night if you're a hot sleeper. It's a luxury mattress available in two different heights and three different firmness levels. That means it can accommodate all body types and most sleeping positions unless you're a strict side sleeper who wants a plush and fluffy mattress.
How we tested the best cooling mattresses
CNET editors pick the products and services we write about based on editorial merit. When you buy through our links, we may get a commission.
When we test mattresses, we have an established process that assesses key factors like firmness, feel and performance. We test how strong the edge of the bed is by sitting and lying on the edge. We test motion transfer by rolling across the mattress with a glass of water by the edge. These are things we do for all the beds we test. The best cooling mattresses have a unique testing process. We dive further into the bed's construction, paying attention to each layer contributing to the cooling process. Read more on how we test mattresses.
Firmness and feel
Firmness and feel are the two main factors that help people decide which mattress to buy. Firmness is how hard or soft the bed is, which relates to your sleeping position. The feel of the mattress describes the sensation while you sleep on it. Does it give you that stuck-in-the-mud feeling that traditional memory foam does? Is it bouncy like latex foam? We evaluate and note the firmness and feel of each mattress we test.
Cooling technology
We test the beds to see if they feel cold and look for any specific cooling technology features. We get really hands-on during the process. The last test is actually sleeping on the mattress and using our experience as a guide. Did we sleep hot during the night? How good was the cooling bed at preventing heat retention? We have been known to pull out the thermometer gun, but have found that the best test is having one or two people see how hot it sleeps themselves.
What to look for in a cooling mattress
Many brands will advertise a "cooling bed" that is really just a standard mattress with a mattress pad or cooling gel topper, which might not be enough to provide real relief for hot sleepers. It can be tricky to distinguish between these "cooling" beds and a true cooling mattress if you're not careful. Be sure to look out for misleading marketing language, and keep a lookout for these different cooling technologies that seem to actually work.
Cooling cover
Some of the best mattresses I've tested have a cool-to-the-touch cover that relieves warmth upon contact. Some brands might call their organic cotton cover cooling, but it won't exactly do the trick. Instead, look for covers with phase-change material or icy technology.
A cooling layer in the mattress
Rather than just copper-infused foam or gel-infused foam, look for a dedicated cooling layer in a mattress thats sole purpose is to offer relief. If a mattress has a cooling layer and a cooling cover, it's even better.
Breathable materials
Other cooling bed models like the Purple are good at what they do because they don't retain heat in the first place. Beds with latex foam, springs and hyper-elastic polymer offer a cooler sleeping experience than typical foam mattresses and fit the bill for the best cooling mattresses.
Cooling accessories
Pair your cooling bed with new accessories that will work to help keep you cooler as you sleep through the night.
- Cooling sheets are made with light and breathable materials that wick away moisture from night sweats better than other warmer-sleeping sheets like flannel, polyester and satin.
- Cooling pillows use breathable materials for cooler sleep, and some, like the GhostPillow, incorporate a phase-change material to physically feel cool to the touch.
- Cooling mattress toppers work like temperature-regulating foam in that they have materials that absorb body heat and disperse it throughout the mattress.
Cooling mattress FAQs
What mattress types sleep cool at night?
Latex foam and Purple's hyper-elastic polymer are the most breathable mattress materials. Some beds come with cooling covers that make a bed physically cool to the touch. Memory foam, on the other hand, is known for retaining heat, so avoid that if cool sleeping is what you're after. The exception would be if it has a special temperature-regulating technology like copper or gel-infused foam or phase-change material.
Do cooling mattresses really work?
A handful of cooling mattresses on the market like GhostBed Luxe, Purple, Brooklyn Bedding Aurora and others sleep as cool as they claim to. Many beds that are marketed as "cooling" might not live up to your expectations. Keep a lookout for phase-changing materials, cooling covers and special cooling tech that goes the extra mile to keep you cool.
When is the best time to buy a cooling mattress?
The obvious answer is before the hot summer months, but it's economical to shop for mattresses around holidays such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Christmas because of the amazing deals offered.
How can I cool down my mattress?
Before buying a cooling mattress, you can cool your mattress down yourself by adding breathable sheets, cooling pillows and cooling pillow toppers that help disperse heat better than your bed. You can put a damp towel on the top of your bed, but make sure not to saturate it too much as you can ruin your bed's foam.
Which mattress is best for people who sleep hot?
The best mattresses for hot sleepers are ones with phase-change materials, like the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora, cooling gel or other cooling technology that helps regulate temperature. Breathable mattresses made from latex foam like the Avocado Green or hyper-elastic polymer beds like the Purple are also great options for hot sleepers.