Best cooling mattress 2024 – tested by hot sleepers, for hot sleepers

If you suffer from night sweats or hot flashes, then you should consider the best cooling mattress. Although buying a brand new bed is expensive, I'd argue it's worth the money to dissipate heat, wick moisture, and keep cool from the inside out.

When you're shopping for the best cooling mattress, you should steer clear of stuffy innersprings, traditional memory foam, and anything that's liable to trap heat. You're looking for something light and refreshing, with plenty of bounce to optimize airflow. That might look like a high-tech hybrid mattress or a memory foam model infused with cooling gels.

As H&G's resident sleep writer, I lead a team of expert testers. Together, we've sampled the best mattress from all the specialist sleep stores. I've combed through our back catalog to find the beds that kept us cool, tested by hot sleepers through heat waves and summer nights so that you can learn how to sleep better in the heat.

Best cooling mattresses − ranked and reviewed

For the sake of a fair fight, we assess each mattress against the same criteria: pressure relief; thermoregulation; motion isolation; and edge support, with a special focus on cooling properties. After months and years of testing, these are the best cooling mattresses to suit every sort of sleeper and every size of budget.

The Quick List

Below, you'll find a bite-size summary of each mattress, including how it feels, who it suits, and any key pros and cons. If you come across any unfamiliar terms, don't panic: just cross-check against my mattress jargon buster. If you want to find out more about a particular mattress, skip straight to that section by hitting 'read more below', where you'll find deep detail about our testing experience.

The best cooling mattress overall

After months and years of testing, we can conclude that the Tempur-Pedic ProAdapt Mattress is the best cooling mattress we've ever tried. Our expert tester, Jaclyn, struggles to sleep in the heat of a Southern summer, but she found that the stretch-knit cover kept her cool and comfortable.

Like any hybrid mattress, the Tempur-Pedic ProAdapt is lined with more than 1,000 stainless steel springs, which optimize airflow as they compress and depress beneath your body weight. All those springs give this bed a bit of bounce, but a thick layer of TEMPUR-material offers excellent motion isolation.

I'd recommend the Tempur-Pedic ProAdapt Mattress to almost anyone – back, front, and side sleepers alike – and anyone who sleeps hot or lives in a warmer climate.

Just one word of warning: this mattress is seriously expensive. We're talking $3,000 for a Queen, unless you can bag it at a bargain price in the mattress sales. If you can't justify that cost (and I don't blame you), then I suggest you skip ahead to learn more about the best affordable cooling mattress.

You can find more detail in our Tempur-Pedic ProAdapt Mattress review.

The best cooling mattress for side sleepers

H&G mattress reviews talk a lot about sleep style. This is a broad term encompassing three key considerations: your sleep temperature (whether you sleep hot or cold, and live in a warm or cool climate); your sleep circumstance (whether there are any external factors impacting your sleep, such as stress or a health condition); and your sleep position (whether you sleep on your front, back, or side).

The simple fact of how you tend to lie on a bed tells me a lot about which mattress you should buy. If you sleep on your side, then I suggest you shop for a soft, yet supportive mattress, with enough give to cushion your neck, knees, hips, and shoulders, and enough lift to maintain proper spinal alignment.

I recommend the Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress review for side sleepers who are keen to keep cool. There's a lot of air inside this bed, thanks to the open-cell structure of the latex and the spaces between the coils, which helps to keep things fresh.

You don't have to take my word for it: you could try the Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress for 365 nights before you need to make up your mind. That's all part of Saatva's gold-standard mattress sleep trial, which puts you in charge of your purchase.

You can find more detail in our Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress review.

The best cooling memory foam mattress

You might be surprised to see a memory foam mattress on this list. Those thick layers of dense foam aren't especially conducive to heat conduction. I reckon I've spent some of my most uncomfortable nights on a memory foam mattress, sweltering in my own sweat at the height of summer.

It's a shame, because there are lots of good things about memory foam. The material is made to mold to your body, which makes for excellent motion isolation and a high weight-bearing capacity. I'd recommend a memory foam mattress for light sleepers, anyone who shares a bed with a pet or a partner, and anyone who's especially tall or broad.

Since the Zinus Cooling Green Tea Mattress is actually a gel memory foam mattress, I feel confident recommending it for hot sleepers. Infused with a unique blend of copper and green tea, this mattress is designed to keep your body cool and your bed fresh.

Sure, the edge support could use a little work, and this surface might feel too soft for some sleepers, but you can't ask for much more at such a low price: the Zinus Cooling Green Tea Mattress retails for around $500 for a Queen.

You can find more detail in our Zinus Cooling Green Tea Mattress review.

The best cooling hybrid mattress

The vast majority of the cooling mattresses on this list are hybrid models, just like the Bear Elite Mattress. This hybrid mattress marries the plush comfort of memory foam with the airflow of an innerspring to suit every sort of sleeper.

The Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress incorporates Phase Change Material, or PCM, for thermoregulation. To put it simply, this bed is designed to detect the ebbs and flows of your body temperature and respond in kind, cooling you down when your temperature rises and warming you up when it starts to drop.

Bear started out as a mattress brand for athletes, and their beds are designed to optimize recovery for an active lifestyle. Each mattress is divided into ergonomic zones to offer targeted support to different body parts, while a plush layer of memory foam provides top-notch pressure relief.

I like pretty much everything about the Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress, but the best thing about this bed is the custom comfort you get. You can choose between a Soft, Medium, and Firm feel to suit all sleep positions.

You can find more detail in our Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress review.

The best organic cooling mattress

When you're shopping for a cooling mattress, I'd urge you to steer clear of stuffy synthetics and consider natural fibers. The Woolroom Hebridean 3000 Mattress is filled to the brim with British wool. It's firm, supportive, and totally non-toxic, which makes it one of the best organic mattresses around.

Wool is naturally thermoregulating and moisture-wicking: good news for hot sleepers who are prone to night sweats. Woolroom wool is totally traceable, down to the exact flock and farm, for eco-conscious shoppers who like to see where their bed comes from.

The Woolroom Hebridean 3000 Mattress comes with a 100-night sleep trial. That should give you enough time to test the bed through several seasons. If you need more time to make up your mind, I suggest you opt for a mattress with a longer sleep trial, such as the Saatva Latex Hybrid.

It's also worth noting that the mattress warranty is rather limited: just five years to cover manufacturing defects, and that's only if you're protecting your bed with a Deluxe Washable Wool Mattress Protector. The Woolroom Hebridean 3000 Mattress has a lot to offer, but it's a little high-maintenance.

You can find more detail in our Woolroom Hebridean 3000 Mattress review.

The best affordable cooling mattress

You shouldn't have to spend a small fortune to keep cool. With the best affordable mattress, you don't have to. This bed is breathable, yet durable, with outstanding edge support and medium-firm comfort for as little as $665 for a Queen this Memorial Day.

The DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress is lined with supportive steel coils, reinforced around the sides for superior edge support. That's good news for stomach sleepers and anyone who appreciates the airflow of an innerspring.

The bed is topped with a thick layer of memory foam, infused with a cooling gel for thermoregulation. Our expert tester, Camryn, sleeps hot, while her partner sleeps cool. When they sampled the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid, they each agreed that this mattress kept them just the right side of cool and dry.

A few caveats: the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress is on the firmer side, so it might not feel quite as comfortable for side sleepers as it does for back and side sleepers. There's also a little bit of motion transfer, but it didn't bother Camryn or her partner in the night.

You can find more detail in our DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress review.

How we test mattresses

We've written an entire article outlining how we test mattresses. If you don't have time to read the whole thing, here are the headlines.

Each and every mattress you see on H&G is reviewed by one of our sleep experts and tested for weeks, if not months, to monitor its performance over time. We like to test cooling mattresses in the warmer months to assess their breathability in extreme conditions.

We score each mattress against the same criteria: comfort; support; cooling properties; motion isolation; edge support; weight bearing capacity; and the all-important capacity. Some of our tests are more scientific than others, but our cooling test is pretty instinctual: we strip away any mattress toppers or protectors to sleep on the mattress and keep note of how we feel throughout the night. The best cooling mattress should feel cool to the touch and stay that way, all night long.

We expect different results from different mattress types. We would expect a hybrid or an innerspring mattress to perform better in a cooling test than a memory foam mattress, unless that foam were infused with a cooling gel.

Where possible, we compare our findings against verified customer reviews to show a range of experiences on the same bed. Finally, we bring it all back to the price of the mattress to help you determine value for money.

Meet the team

Emilia Hitching

Emilia is our resident sleep writer. In her time at H&G, Emilia has sampled more than 40 mattresses from some of America's biggest brands. She knows how a mattress gets made – she saw it for herself, up close and personal in the 3Z Factory in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jaclyn Turner

Jaclyn is a former eCommerce Editor for H&G, now writing for Forbes. Jaclyn tested the Tempur-Pedic ProAdapt Mattress over several months for inclusion in this guide.

Alex Frost

Alex is one of our freelance writers. She tested the Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress and the Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress for inclusion in this buying guide.

Camryn Rabideau

Camryn is a professional product tester. She tested the Zinus Cooling Green Tea Mattress and the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid Mattress for inclusion in this buying guide.

Cooling mattress FAQs

How does a cooling mattress work?

It all depends on the mattress type. A cooling hybrid mattress relies on the compression and depression of innerspring coils to optimize airflow and boost breathability. In other words, there is more air in a hybrid mattress than a memory foam mattress, which makes it that much easier to dissipate heat and wick moisture.

With that said, you do get cooling memory foam mattresses, too, although they're few and far between. Thick, dense memory foam tends to trap heat, but gel memory foam does a better job at heat dissipation. When you're shopping for the best cooling mattress, keep an eye out for memory foam models with copper or graphite infusions.

Is a cooling mattress worth it?

In certain cases, yes. If you've tried everything, and you're still struggling to sleep in the heat, then switching to a cooling mattress might be your best bet − and last resort. I would suggest a cooling mattress for seriously hot sleepers, as well as anyone who lives in a warmer climate.

If you're buying on a budget, and you can't justify the cost of a cooling mattress, then I would recommend one of the best cooling mattress protectors or the best cooling mattress toppers and pads, instead. Any of these should keep your bed and body cool for a fraction of the price of a new mattress.

Final thoughts

If you're a seriously hot sleeper, then you needn't stop at a cooling mattress. The best cooling sheets would lie closer to your skin, keeping you cool from the outside in, while the best cooling comforter is ideal for hot sleepers who still like a layer.

Now that you've cooled down your bed, it's time to tackle the rest of the bedroom. It's worth learning how to keep a bedroom cool and getting rid of all the things making your bedroom too hot.