Depending on where you live and your own personal preferences, how warm or cool you want to be in bed can have a major impact on your decision when selecting the right sleep surface. In the world of bedding, there exist products that sleep warmer and sleep cooler. This isn’t a bad thing, as some people desire one over the other, but if you’re a person who likes to sleep cool but owns a warm-sleeping mattress, you may find it difficult to get your best sleep.
On the cooler end of the spectrum is latex bedding and air mattresses. Air beds are mainly impacted by their surroundings, as cooler temperatures make it easier for the air cavity to draw heat away from the sleeper. This is why so many people who camp find they need many layers between their bodies and the mattress in cool temperatures. A Talalay latex mattress however, is structured to be a cooler bed, regardless of the environment it is used in. As an open-cell foam, the latex cells are interconnected and can move air as you adjust and situate yourself. Additionally, the pin-core design, a product of its manufacture, is aerating as well, helping keep the user cool.
In the middle of the temperature spectrum are innerspring mattresses, which are often impacted by the kind of materials used in its construction and the thickness of said materials.
Many people consider memory foam to be the warmest bedding, due to its heat-sensitive, visco-elastic structure. Some aren’t affected by this perceived warmth at all, while others who “sleep hot” find memory foam to be warmer than they prefer. Because the foam softens with body heat, it traps part of that heat, which then surrounds you as the material contours to your body. In cooler areas, this makes the mattress firmer during fall and winter, but as it warms to the body, it functions like an extra heat mattress pad, helping to keep the sleeper warm all night.
Knowing how sleep materials feel and knowing your personal temperature preferences is key to selecting the right mattress and getting your best night’s sleep.