What Type of Mattress Keeps You Cool?

On this page (7 sections)

1. Which mattress type actually sleeps cool?
2. Why does a mattress type matter so much for heat?
3. What should you look for in a cooling mattress?
4. Which mattress feels coolest for hot sleepers?
5. Which cooling mattresses fit these types?
6. How do you keep a cooling mattress cool at night?
7. What type of mattress keeps you cool?

Gel-infused memory foam and open-cell foam are the mattress types most likely to keep you cool. Gel draws heat away from your body, and open-cell foam lets air pass through instead of trapping it.

A breathable cover and a medium feel help both types work better.

The question of what type of mattress keeps you cool comes down to materials, not brand names. A thick mattress with dense traditional foam can sleep warmer than a thinner one built with gel or open cells.

This guide compares the types, the layers that matter and the feel that keeps heat from building up under you.

Which mattress type actually sleeps cool?

Gel memory foam and open-cell foam are the two types that shed heat best. Gel particles in the foam pull warmth away from your body, and open cells give warm air somewhere to go.

Latex and hybrid coils also breathe well, while dense traditional memory foam traps the most heat.

Each type works in a different way, so the right choice depends on how you sleep and what your bedroom is like.

Gel memory foam sits in the middle of the pack. It contours like memory foam but adds gel to move heat away, which makes it a practical step up for anyone who likes a body-hugging feel.

Open-cell foam takes the same idea further by changing the foam's structure so air passes through it.

Latex has an open, rubbery structure that breathes well and feels springy rather than sinking. Hybrids pair foam comfort layers with coil support, and the coil layer leaves room for air to circulate under the foam.

Both are solid choices if you overheat easily and don't want an all-foam bed.

Dense traditional memory foam is the type to avoid. Its tight cell structure holds warmth against your body, so it stays warmest through the night.

That's why foam makers add gel or switch to open cells in their cooling models.

Why does a mattress type matter so much for heat?

Heat builds up when foam traps warm air against your body and has nowhere to send it. A cooling mattress either moves that heat into the gel or lets it pass through open cells.

The cover, the thickness of the comfort layer and the feel all affect how well that works.

Your body loses heat in three ways during sleep, and a mattress affects all of them. Conduction moves heat into whatever touches your skin.

Convection needs air to carry heat away. Evaporation depends on moisture escaping from your skin and your bedding.

Traditional memory foam is good at conduction at first, because it touches a lot of your body. The problem comes next: it holds the heat it absorbs instead of spreading it.

Gel foam keeps conducting but the gel helps pull warmth away and spread it across the mattress.

Open-cell foam changes the airflow side. Its cells connect so warm air can move through the mattress and escape through the cover.

A breathable cover such as a knit or 3D-woven fabric lets that happen; a thick non-breathable cover blocks it.

Thickness plays a part too, but only through the materials. A 12-inch mattress with a 2-inch gel comfort layer sleeps cooler than a 14-inch mattress with 4 inches of dense foam.

More foam doesn't mean more heat if the foam is built to shed it.

Firmness affects how much of your body stays in contact with the surface. A very soft mattress lets you sink in and wrap around the foam, which keeps heat close.

A medium or medium-firm feel keeps more of your surface open to airflow.

What should you look for in a cooling mattress?

Start with the foam type and the cover, then check the feel. Gel-infused foam or open-cell foam in the comfort layer does the most work.

A breathable knit or mesh cover, a medium or medium-firm feel and a thin comfort layer all help the mattress stay cool.

Here's what each detail means in practice.

• Gel in the comfort layer. Gel particles pull heat away from your body. Look for gel in the top layer, where your body actually touches the mattress, rather than deep in the base.
• Open-cell or ventilated foam. These foams let air pass through instead of holding it. Some makers describe the foam as breathable or ventilated in the name.
• A breathable cover. Knit, mesh and 3D-woven covers let moisture and warm air escape. Smooth non-breathable covers trap both.
• A medium or medium-firm feel. A firmer surface keeps more of your body exposed to air. If you want to compare feels, our firm vs medium firm mattress guide breaks down the trade-offs.
• CertiPUR-US certification. This certifies the foam's content and emissions, not its cooling. It's worth checking, but it doesn't tell you whether the mattress sleeps cool.

How much does the cover matter?

The cover decides how much heat and moisture can leave the mattress. A breathable knit or 3D-woven cover lets warm air out; a smooth non-breathable cover holds it in.

It's the most overlooked part of a cooling mattress.

Gel and open cells only help if heat can get out of the mattress. A cover with a tight weave blocks that path.

A knitted cover with open pores or a 3D-woven fabric gives heat and moisture somewhere to go.

You can't swap covers on most mattresses, so this is a buying decision. Look for words like breathable, knit or ventilated in the cover description.

If the cover feels smooth and plasticky when you touch a floor model, it probably won't help.

Which mattress feels coolest for hot sleepers?

Gel foam and open-cell foam in a medium feel give most hot sleepers the best balance of cooling and comfort. If you sink into a very soft bed, heat wraps around you; if you want airflow above all, a hybrid with coils adds space under the foam.

The feel should match how you sleep.

Hot sleepers tend to overheat in two ways. Some sink into soft foam that wraps around them.

Others sleep on dense foam that holds heat even when the surface is firm. The fix in both cases is foam that moves heat and a feel that keeps you from sinking too deep.

A medium feel works for most people. It keeps your body from wrapping in the foam while still cushioning your shoulders and hips.

A medium-firm or firm feel runs cooler still, and our firm mattress roundup covers options if you like a flat, supportive surface.

If you move a lot at night, a hybrid with coils can help. The coil layer leaves space for air under the foam, so heat has a place to go.

An all-foam mattress with open cells gets you most of the way there without the bounce.

Is gel foam or open-cell foam cooler?

Both work, and the better one depends on the sleeper. Gel foam pulls heat away from your body, which helps when you run warm all night.

Open-cell foam lets air pass through the mattress, which helps when humidity or a warm room makes heat build up.

Gel foam's strength is moving heat away from the skin. It spreads warmth across the mattress so it doesn't sit in one spot.

That helps most in a cool, dry room.

Open-cell foam's strength is airflow. It lets warm, moist air escape through the foam and the cover.

That helps more in a humid room or when you sweat at night.

Many cooling mattresses combine both: gel in the top layer for heat transfer and open or ventilated foam beneath for airflow. If you have to choose one, pick gel for a cool, dry bedroom and open cells for a warm or humid one.

Which cooling mattresses fit these types?

Three models show how gel foam, open-cell foam and a medium feel play out in practice. Each one fits a different sleeper and a different bedroom.

Our score weighs specs, features and buyer feedback against what you're shopping for.

The Zinus 12 Inch Cooling Gel Queen uses a 2-inch ultra-cooling gel and green tea infused memory foam over 3 inches of soft comfort foam and 7 inches of base support foam. Zinus says the gel draws heat away from your body and the breathable knitted cover helps keep the surface cooler.

The medium feel suits side, back and stomach sleepers, and the green tea and charcoal infusion is there to keep the foam feeling fresh. It's a solid fit if you want a cool-feeling foam bed without a hybrid's bounce.

The Sweetnight CoolNest 14 Inch Cal King layers PCM high-resilience foam with gel-infused memory foam. Sweetnight says the PCM foam helps dissipate heat, and the 3D-woven cover uses a ventilation pore design that the brand says improves breathability by 35% over standard fabrics.

A 5-zone design cushions pressure from head to toe. The medium feel and motion isolation suit couples who sleep warm.

Our Sweetnight CoolNest mattress review covers it in more depth.

The Casper Element Queen takes the open-cell route. Casper says its breathable open-cell Flex Foam keeps air flowing so you stay cooler than on traditional memory foam.

The medium feel works for all sleep styles, and layers of foam absorb motion. It's the pick if you want a cooler foam bed with a lower profile and a trial period to decide.

How do you keep a cooling mattress cool at night?

The mattress only does part of the work; your bedding and bedroom do the rest. Breathable sheets, a thin protector and a cool room help the foam shed heat.

Heavy covers and warm rooms cancel out most of a mattress's cooling design.

Start with what touches the mattress. Cotton or linen sheets breathe better than synthetic blends.

A thin, breathable mattress protector keeps spills out without blocking airflow; a thick waterproof cover traps heat and moisture.

Then look at the room. A warm bedroom makes any mattress feel warmer, because heat has less room to go.

Keeping the room cool and moving air with a fan helps both gel and open-cell foam work.

Finally, think about what's on top of you. A heavy duvet or several layers hold heat close to your body.

A light, breathable cover lets heat escape while you sleep.

If you've tried bedding and a cooler room and still wake up hot, the mattress is the next thing to change. Our cooling mattress roundup lists models built around gel and airflow.

Do cooling mattress toppers help?

A topper can help when the mattress underneath is the problem. A gel or breathable latex topper adds a cooler top layer over an existing bed.

It adds height, so check that your sheets still fit and the topper stays put.

A topper is cheaper than a new mattress and easier to try. A gel memory foam topper adds heat transfer on top; a latex or ventilated foam topper adds airflow.

Either one helps most when the mattress below is dense traditional foam.

The catch is height. A thick topper changes how the bed feels and can make fitted sheets tight.

A thin topper changes less but also cools less. If the mattress itself is worn out, a topper won't fix the sag or the heat held in the base foam.

What type of mattress keeps you cool?

Pick gel memory foam or open-cell foam in a medium feel, with a breathable cover, and you've covered the main cooling factors. Gel moves heat away from your body, open cells let air through, and the cover decides whether that air can escape.

The feel keeps you from sinking into foam that holds heat.

Here's the decision rule. Pick gel foam if your bedroom is cool and dry and you like a body-hugging feel.

Pick open-cell foam or a hybrid if your room runs warm or humid and you want airflow. Pick a medium or medium-firm feel over a soft one if you tend to sink in and overheat.

And skip dense traditional memory foam if staying cool at night is your main goal.

If you want a shortlist, start with the Zinus 12 Inch Cooling Gel Queen for gel foam in a medium feel. The Casper Element Queen is the open-cell option for a lower profile.

The Sweetnight CoolNest fits couples in a cal king who want gel and PCM foam with a breathable cover. Compare more models in our cooling mattress roundup before you decide.

Frequently asked questions

Is memory foam always hot?

No. Traditional memory foam traps heat because it packs tightly.

Gel-infused and open-cell versions are built to shed heat or let air pass through, so the foam type matters more than the memory foam label alone.

Does a thicker mattress sleep cooler?

Not by itself. Thickness adds comfort layers, but cooling comes from the materials in those layers.

A 12-inch mattress with gel foam can sleep cooler than a thinner one with dense traditional foam.

Does mattress firmness affect how cool you sleep?

It can. A very soft mattress lets your body sink in and wrap around the foam, which holds heat close.

A medium or medium-firm feel keeps more of your surface exposed to airflow, so it tends to sleep cooler.

Can a mattress topper make a hot mattress cooler?

Sometimes. A gel topper or a breathable latex topper can add a cooler top layer over an existing mattress.

It adds height though, so check that your sheets still fit and that the topper stays in place.

Do cooling mattresses need special sheets?

No special sheets are required, but breathable cotton or linen sheets help. Heavy waterproof covers and thick mattress pads block airflow, so they can cancel out the cooling work the foam is doing.