It’s the middle of summer and your room feels like an oven. No matter what you do, you can’t get comfortable.
What’s worse, not only is the room hot, but your mattress feels hot as well! You’re miserable and tired, and you just want to get a comfortable night’s sleep.
In this guide, we’ll discuss why your mattress is causing you to feel overheated, as well as how to remedy the situation.
Contents
When Your Mattress is Too Hot
So what exactly causes your mattress to be too hot?
This can depend on a variety of factors, from the type of bedding you use to the material composition of your mattress and its very age.
The Type of Mattress
When you’re too hot to sleep, the material your bed is made of plays a large role in how comfortable you’ll be when resting. Foam, latex, and memory foam all run fairly hot.
The density of the foam is also a factor in how warm your mattress will be. If the foam is particularly dense, this allows for less air circulation between your body and the mattress, causing excess heat while sleeping.
Innerspring or coil mattress tend to run hot as well. These types of mattress are generally topped with some variety of padding, foam, or memory foam.
The density of the foam directly correlates to the amount of heat it will retain. However, innerspring or coil mattress can be cooler, as long as there’s no padded topper.
Waterbed mattresses run fairly cold, since it’ll take more than a single night’s sleep to heat up a large amount of water. However, the waterbed can be too cold. Obtaining a waterbed heater will fix this issue.
There are some memory foam mattress that have added gel cooling components to help when you’re sleeping hot. However, the gel components are only a temporary solution.
In the beginning, the mattress will feel much cooler, but the gel is actually absorbing the heat, so they’ll begin radiating it over time. Furthermore, they’ll hold onto your heat longer than a regular mattress would.
How firm or soft your mattress is can also affect heat retention in your mattress. Softer beds allow you to sink in, which results in more body contact with the mattress and more heat being absorbed. As a result, the firmer the mattress, the cooler you’ll be.
Hot Mattress Solutions
When it’s too hot to sleep, you’re miserable. You’re tired and frustrated because you can’t get comfortable. However, this can be rather simple to fix.
The straightforward (yet possibly more expensive) solution is to just buy a new mattress – one that you know will be cooler than the one you currently own.
When choosing a mattress, decide on one that’s designed to sleep cooler. Do your research! Your best bet is an innerspring mattress designed without foam padding, a plant-based memory foam mattress, or a waterbed. However, if this isn’t an option, there are a variety of other solutions to attempt first.
Your bedding plays a key role in your temperature at night. Make sure your sheets and pillowcases are made from breathable materials, such as 100% cotton and bamboo, as these are an excellent choice for dispelling heat and wicking moisture. Avoid polyester and other synthetics that can trap the heat.
There is also the option of buying bed-cooling products, such as a climate comfort system like the BedJet or similar items.
What you wear to bed also plays a factor. Wear light, breathable fabrics, and avoid long sleeves and long pants.
If you sleep cold, an extra blanket or a heating blanket will work. However, if you sleep warm, a BedJet or a similar product will help cool you down.
There’s always the tried and true air conditioner. There are many different types of AC units, but the two most common are the window mounted AC and the portable one.
A simple fan can also work. Circulating the air in the room will be a vast help. A box fan in the window will do wonders, drawing the cool night air from outside to cool you down.
Note: We’ve got a section dedicated to bedroom climate control that you should check out for some great solutions.
There’s also closing the blinds or curtains during the day to prevent the sun from heating up the room.
Partner Sleeping
Now, what if you and your sleeping partner like different temperatures? This can be a cause of contention in any relationship.
Try using different types of blankets – i.e. lighter for the person who sleeps hot, heavier for the person who sleeps cold.
Conclusion
Sleeping is such an integral part of your life, you don’t even think about it, other than to look forward to bedtime after a long day.
Luckily, when your sleep is interrupted by a heating issue, it can be a fairly easy fix. Hopefully, with this informative guide, you’ll find a solution to fit your needs.
What do you do when your mattress is too hot to sleep?
