Depending on your personal preferences and the climate where you live, the temperature at which you’re most comfortable for sleeping may affect the type of material you choose for your mattress. With the different types of mattresses that are made these days, there are varieties that can help a user sleep warmer or cooler. It may seem like yet another obstacle in selecting a bed, but when armed with a little information, a shopper benefits by being able to rule out some varieties that would be uncomfortable over a full night, but seem perfectly fine in a 10 or 20 minute tryout in-store.
Two bed types that sleep more coolly than others are latex foam and air mattresses. The relative coolness of an airbed is tied mainly to the temperature of where it is used, however. This is why many people find camping air mattresses to be so cold, as the ground cools the air cavity, which draws heat away from the sleeper. A Talalay latex mattress on the other hand, offers coolness that is more predictable due to its structure, and not as influenced by its environment. The open-cell latex foam cells are interconnected and help move air throughout the foam cushioning as you move and adjust your position throughout the night. Additionally, the pin-core design that is a part of its manufacturing process is also aerating and cool.
For people who don’t have a preference or would rather not trend toward coolness or warmth in their bed, innerspring mattresses are usually neither too warm nor too cold. The biggest considerations in the sleeping temperature of a traditional bed are the materials used in its construction, paired with any comfort accessories added to the bed, like a pillow top cover.
Memory foam is considered by many to be the warmest bedding material, with a heat-sensitive, visco-elastic structure. Some people don’t lodge any complaints about the foam being warmer than traditional materials, but others who “sleep hot” and are sensitive to temperature occasionally find the material to be warmer than they’d prefer it to be. This is due to the aforementioned temperature-sensitive structure of the foam. The foam softens with heat, and the user sinks into the softness. Because you’re surrounded by the warm foam, you’re insulated as the bed functions like an extra heat mattress pad.
Understanding that sleeping materials offer different feels and recognizing your own sleeping temperature preferences is very important for getting the best night’s sleep.