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The best cooling mattresses, tested by a hot sleeper during sweaty summer nights
Designed for comfort and breathability, these mattresses will keep you at the optimal temperature as you sleep
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For hot sleepers, or anyone worried about getting too warm at night, finding the best cooling mattress can be a game changer.
“Cooling mattresses are designed with thermal regulating properties to increase comfort by keeping you at the ideal sleeping temperature,” says Tristine Hargreaves, executive director of the National Bed Federation, which represents Bed Advice UK. “This can be woven into various parts of the mattress design, including the cover and the fillings.”
While early memory foam mattresses had a reputation for retaining heat, these days you’ll find a range of specially engineered options. Also, look for natural materials and hybrid designs, all of which can all help wick away moisture, increase air flow and disperse heat for a cooler, more comfortable night’s sleep.
You can read our full reviews of this year’s best cooling mattresses further down, followed by answers to some frequently asked questions. But if you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick look at our top five:
The best cooling mattresses: At a glance
- Best Buy cooling mattress: Sleepeezee Cool Rest 1800
- Best Value cooling mattress: SleepSoul Wish 3000 Series Pocket Cool Gel
- Best cooling mattress for multiple sleep positions: Emma Hybrid Thermosync Mattress
- Best cooling mattress for pressure relief: Tempur Pro Air SmartCool Luxe
- Best cooling memory foam mattress: Elea Coolmax Foam
How to choose a cooling mattress
First, look at the structure. Traditionally, foams are dense, but dedicated cooling memory foam or hybrid mattresses feature enhanced technology for better temperature regulation.
Look for phrases such as “open cell”, which means the foam may have gaps for air to pass through and “gel beads” or “phase change materials”, which both absorb excess thermal energy to draw it away from the body.
Air flows more freely through pocket sprung mattresses, due to the space between the coils. Some designs also incorporate natural materials, such as wool, to dissipate heat and wick moisture.
Composition is important for the cover, too. Natural fibres, such as cotton, are more breathable than synthetic fabrics. Textiles derived from wood pulp (any described as viscose, bamboo, eucalyptus or Tencel) also tend to be better for temperature regulation.
As for firmness, softer mattresses can trap more heat as you sink into them. For further advice, read our guide on how to choose a mattress.
How we test cooling mattresses
Over the course of May and June – with an average room temperature of around 19C – I tested a selection of the latest cooling mattresses at home. I dressed the beds with breathable bed linens, including the Silentnight Restore Natural Breathable Duvet Set and Furn’s Hebden Melange Stripe 100% Cotton Duvet Set.
I assessed the breathability of the materials used inside each mattress and slept on each design to find out how hot or cool they made me feel during the night.
I also noted mattress firmness, pressure relief, motion isolation and edge support as these are all key features to scrutinise when you’re looking for a comfortable and supportive cooling mattress.
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The best cooling mattresses of 2025
1. Best Buy Cooling Mattress: Sleepeezee CoolRest 1800 Mattress
Score: 10/10
We like: Combines comfort and support with cooling properties
We don’t like: May be too thick for some
Teaming 1,800 pocket springs with memory foam in a breathable, medium-firm design, the Sleepeezee is a reasonably priced all-rounder which uses cool gel memory foam and air vents to help regulate temperature.
Graphite strips also sit beneath the surface to conduct excess thermal energy away from your body. After a week of sleeping on this mattress, during one of the hottest nights in June, I was pleased with how cool the mattress felt underneath me.
The traditional pocket springs are designed to move independently, so they react to your body weight, shape and movement. I was able to move around freely while feeling supported.
As you’d expect from a Royal Warrant holder, the mattress feels well built with that luxurious thickness you’d get in a spa-hotel bedroom. It holds its shape well, including at the edges and has good pressure relief. I could change positions from side to back to stomach without feeling like I was sinking in.
Possibly my favourite feature of this mattress, though, is how well it isolates motion. The internal structure divides it into two personal sleeping zones, so if your partner moves, you won’t feel their motion or be disturbed.
Key specifications:
- Sizes: Single, double, king, super king
- Sleep trial: None specified
- Guarantee: 20 years
- Firmness: Medium-firm
- Care: Rotate regularly; spot-clean only
- Depth: 30cm
Score: 9/10
We like: The reasonable price and balanced, pocket-spring support
We don’t like: No handles for rotating
This mattress combines cool gel foam with individual pocket springs. It’s designed to be supportive from edge to edge and its medium firm feel is targeted at anyone who suffers from a bad back or simply likes a firmer feel. Like the Sleepeezee mattress, SleepSoul’s is 30cm thick. And while it has a comfy quilted top layer, it felt firmer and denser overall.
It’s delivered tightly rolled in plastic. After you unroll your mattress, SleepSoul suggests you wait up to 48 hours before sleeping on it for best results. An anti-slip base keeps it secure on the bed frame and while it doesn’t have handles for rotating, at least it doesn’t need to be flipped.
I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping on this mattress and didn’t get too hot. There was the odd night when I kicked my duvet covers off, but it was the balmy 24C room temperature, rather than the mattress, that caused me issues.
The pocket springs are designed to evenly distribute body weight and provide good pressure relief. There are 3,000 in the king size and 2,565 in the double. The surface feels balanced and with limited motion transfer when I moved from my side onto my front. This meant less chance of disturbing my partner in the night and vice versa.
Key specifications:
- Sizes: Single, small double, double, king, super king, EU small single, EU single, EU double, EU king
- Sleep trial: 100 nights
- Guarantee: 10 years
- Firmness: Medium-firm
- Care: Rotate every three months; spot-clean only
- Depth: 30cm
Score: 9/10
We like: Seven layers of zoned support that’s good for side, front and back sleepers
We don’t like: Edge support could be better
This is an upgrade from Emma’s first-generation, five-zoned mattress, with seven distinct areas for support. It’s a medium-firm mattress but felt to me like it verged on the softer side. It provided some bounce, while remaining supportive across my body. If you like a particularly firm mattress, this won’t be your cup of tea.
Inside it has a mix of pocket springs and temperature-regulating memory foam, structured to let air flow through effortlessly. The breathable cover, which felt soft and enticing, can wick away moisture at a top level, too. It’s also removable and washable.
I tried sleeping on the mattress with my partner and there was plenty of room to spread out, without any space invading from the other side. If I’m going to be picky, I’d like to have firmer edge support, with more foam to hide the feel of the springs around the edges.
In terms of enhancing breathability and regulating body temperature, however, this design did a good job.
Key specifications:
- Sizes: Single, small double, double, king, super king, EU double, EU queen
- Sleep trial: 200 nights
- Guarantee: 10 years
- Firmness: Medium
- Care: Rotate regularly; removable, washable cover
- Depth: 27cm
Score: 9/10
We like: Available in a range of mattress firmnesses
We don’t like: You might miss the bounce you get from pocket springs
Born from NASA technology, Tempur keeps the details of its patented foam recipe a secret. But there are six layers, ranging from the slower-moving to the more responsive which makes it easier for you to change positions as you sleep.
When I sat on the side of the bed, it began to slowly lower rather like an electric hospital bed. The same happened when I lay on my back; I could instantly feel it responding to my shoulders, back, hips and legs to provide the best pressure relief for my joints while I slept.
It’s a subtle response, and the moment I moved from my back to my side, the mattress started to return to shape and mould to a different part of my body. Because of this slow movement, this is a great bed to share with a partner as there’s little motion transfer from side to side.
It’s a thick mattress and while you’d think this would give it the potential to get too warm, the addition of its cooling cover ensures this isn’t the case. This layer is designed to transfer excess heat quickly away from the body and the cover feels cool and great to touch.
Key specifications:
- Sizes: Single, EU single, small double, double, king, super king, emperor, EU small single
- Sleep trial: 100 nights
- Guarantee: 10 years
- Firmness: Medium-firm
- Care: Removable, washable cover
- Depth: 30cm
Score: 9/10
We like: Even and cushioning surface, great price
We don’t like: Not great if you like the bounce that pocket springs can provide
Before testing cooling mattresses, I was enjoying the luxurious heights of the 34cm Simba Hybrid Ultra Mattress, so this 20cm depth provided quite a change. But the Elea spread out on the bed frame as if it had been made for it and its squishy medium-firm tension was surprisingly comfortable.
This memory foam mattress arrives in a box, rolled up and vacuum-packed. There’s a choice of two depths – 17cm or 20cm. While there’s no clear cooling structure to its memory foam, it comes covered with a breathable fabric. This is designed to let air pass through the mattress. I was impressed that I woke up feeling like I’d been in a deep sleep. On only one occasion did my temperature rise a little too much – but this was on a particularly hot night.
I also placed this king size mattress in my 10-year-old daughter’s room and let her friend come for a sleepover. The next morning, when I asked the girls what they thought of the mattress, they said it was “super comfy and the best mattress they had ever slept on”. So take from that what you will.
Key specifications:
- Sizes: Small single, single, small double, double, king
- Sleep trial: 100 nights
- Guarantee: One year
- Firmness: Medium-firm
- Care: Rotate regularly; removable, washable cover
- Depth: 20cm
Score: 9/10
We like: Automatically adjusts temperature to grant you deeper sleep
We don’t like: Expensive, especially when you factor in running costs
The Eight Sleep Pod 4 is not a mattress, rather a smart mattress topper with a standalone hub that feeds water into the topper’s built-in tubing to heat or cool the surface. The system links to an app on your smartphone where you can set the warmth between 12C and 43C. At first, I thought it would be strange to sleep on water, but it runs discreetly inside the cover and was undetectable, comfortable and near-silent.
It’s the most expensive solution on this list, but it offers a lot in the way of additional functionalities. The cover has built-in sensors and, when teamed with the app, gives you an insight into your daily sleep and health metrics. This lets you analyse data and make adjustments to help improve your sleep quality – all without having to don any wearables such as a watch.
On autopilot mode, it learns about your sleep metrics and adjusts the temperature automatically. And it doubles as an alarm clock – the cover will gently vibrate to wake you. Tap it to turn it off.
With separate app accounts, both my partner and I could control our sides of the bed independently. The app even provides data on how much you or your partner is snoring (it was definitely him).
Read our full Eight Sleep Pod 4 review.
Key specifications:
- Sizes: Double, king, super king, emperor
- Sleep trial: 30 nights
- Guarantee: Two to five years
- Firmness: N/A
- Care: Spot-clean only
- Depth: N/A
7. Best Cooling Mattress for Cushioning: Every Night Ultra Cool Memory Mattress
Score: 9/10
We like: Its supportive medium feel and removable cover
We don’t like: Sides could be firmer and no handles
Fairly simple in comparison to Sleepeezee and Emma, the Every Night has three main foam layers including a cooling gel layer at the top, a comfort and support layer beneath this, and a high-density support layer near the base. I enjoyed the feel of this all-foam mattress. It kept me at a comfortable temperature and created a supportive structure overall.
It suited me best sleeping on my side and back, as the medium-firm support is quite cushioning. The mattress provided great pressure relief, too.
While it’s the thinnest mattress I’ve included in this guide, it felt usable and I could spread out comfortably. The edges weren’t as supportive as I’d like when I sat on them, and I would have liked handles for turning, but the fact that the cover is removable and hypoallergenic is a bonus.
Key specifications:
- Sizes: 17, including all standard UK sizes
- Sleep trial: None listed
- Guarantee: Five years
- Firmness: Medium-firm
- Care: Rotate regularly; removable, washable cover
- Depth: 19cm
8. Best Cooling and Heating Mattress: Aspire Advanced Temperature Control 1000 Pocket Spring Dual Sided Mattress
Score: 8/10
We like: That it has two sides to cater for winter and summer
We don’t like: It’s a bit thick and cumbersome
I sighed with relief when placing this Aspire mattress onto my divan bed frame. Finally, a mattress that has handles on every side. It’s a small but important detail. It comes fully formed and wrapped in plastic, so I didn’t have to faff around unravelling it and waiting for it to rise.
But what truly sets this pocket-sprung design apart from other cooling mattresses in this guide is that it has two sides – one for the cooler months and one for the warmer. On the side that has “Temperature Control” written in red, it has specially engineered fabric that captures the moisture your body naturally emits and converts it to heat.
This helps you stay warm when temperatures plummet. On the side that has blue writing, however, is a layer of high-tech fabric designed to dissipate heat and keep you cool in the warmer months.
When touching the surface of the cooler side, it felt noticeably fresh and smooth. I’m not entirely sure the warmer side felt different, but it was equally tactile. I tested this mattress when room temperatures were in their 20s. While I’ve yet to discover if it remains cool when temperatures rise even higher, I never got too hot or too cool, just comfortably content.
Key specifications:
- Sizes: Small single, single, small double, double, king, super king
- Sleep trial: None listed
- Guarantee: Five years
- Firmness: Medium-firm
- Care: Rotate every three months; spot-clean only
- Depth: 27cm
Whether you choose a pocket sprung, memory foam or hybrid mattress, there are a number of cooling features to look for in a mattress to help regulate your body temperature as you snooze. “Memory foam is going to be the hottest, by virtue of how it works,” says David Rubin, a certified sleep science coach and director of product testing at Sleep Doctor, a sleep health company.
“As memory foam heats up, it gets softer and more conforming, but also denser and less breathable. Components such as gel-infused foam, copper and graphite infusions and phase change materials will help level things out.
“While these materials can help dissipate heat, it’s also important to look at the construction of a mattress. Those with a coil support core, like hybrids, allow more air to flow through, so there won’t be as much a build-up of heat, for example.”
Before manufacturers started making a conscious effort to enhance cooling properties and highlight these in their designs, mattresses with memory foam, latex foam or standard foam tended to run hotter. “Historically, the insulating properties of traditional foam, which hugged body contours and conformed to the sleeper’s curves, raised temperatures,” says Tristine Hargreaves, executive director of the National Bed Federation.
“So, the more you sank into the mattress, the more body heat was trapped. But these days advancements in foam manufacturing technology has led to the creation of innovative ‘intelligent foams’ that offer enhanced thermal regulation. This helps you maintain an ideal temperature as you sleep.”
The latest cooling mattresses are structured to encourage better airflow and have specially designed materials and/or foams to wick away body moisture. “When paired with high-performance fabrics with cooling and quick-drying capabilities that allow moisture to evaporate rapidly, modern foam mattresses deliver a significantly improved sleeping experience,” says Hargreaves.
“Sprung mattresses with layers of natural fillings such as wool can provide a cooler night’s sleep than those with layers of synthetic fibres. Choosing natural covering materials such as cotton or viscose rather than polyester can also help with regulating night time temperature.”
Dressing your bed with a breathable bed sheet will enhance your sleep, protect your mattress and keep things looking and feeling fresh.
“Breathable sheets and mattress protectors made from materials like cotton, bamboo or Tencel will complement your bed’s cooling properties,” says Rubin. “For best results, try to sleep in a room temperature between 20 to 22C.”
Just like a standard mattress, not all cooling mattresses need to be flipped. Some can simply benefit from regularly rotating 180 degrees to limit impression marks.
Once you’ve got the mattress set up on your wooden bed frame or divan, read the manufacturer’s care instructions to find out best practice for cleaning and maintenance. A mattress with a handle will make it easier to rotate.