Solutions for Cooling Down My Memory Foam Mattress? Q: I have Graves Disease and that makes me generally warm, I have a memory foam mattress, and sleeping on foam is ridiculously warm. I wake up so over heated I have to get out of bed and cool down. It's really impacting my sleep. I want to buy a new mattress, but don't have the money so I thought maybe there could be some sort of mattress pad that might insulate me from the foam. I bought one, but despite the claims, it doesn't insulate any better. Editor: Please share your ideas and suggestions with Wolsey in the comments below - thanks! • Got a question? Email yours with pic attachments here (those with pics get answered first)A gel mattress pad or topper makes memory foam feel cooler. Memory foam mattresses utilize body heat to conform to your body as you rest. After resting on it a while, the mattress may feel a little too warm for comfort, especially if you prefer cooler sleeping conditions. While there are several ways to reduce the warming sensation of sleeping on memory foam, cooling the mattress is often a matter of placing a cooling material between your body and mattress, but this may also change the feel of the mattress itself.
Cooling with Cotton A cotton cover over the mattress -- between the mattress and fitted sheet -- keeps the mattress a bit cooler than not using such a cover. Cotton breathes and feels cool against the skin; pair the cotton cover with 100 percent cotton sheets for even more cooling properties. Synthetic materials such as polyester blends trap heat and moisture in, rather than wicking body perspiration away. Woolly Wonders A wool-based mattress pad or blanket beneath the sheet also helps keep the heat of the foam away from your skin. While wool offers warmth in cool weather, such as with a wool sweater, wool also has cooling properties because it draws moisture away from the body. A wool blanket or pad keeps your body from feeling clammy atop memory foam. Wool mattress covers or pads are also washable. Air Cooling A bed fan -- a special fan designed to blow air beneath the covers -- offers a cooling sensation no matter what type of bedding is used. This type of fan draws air from beneath the bed, transferring it through the vertical body of the fan through a vent that extends over the mattress, beneath the top sheet and blanket.
The vertical portion of the fan body adjusts to the height of the bed. Under Covers The type of pajamas worn while in bed also affects your comfort level in terms of feeling too hot or too cold. Warm materials such as fleece or synthetic fabrics may cause sweating, warming the body more than you'd like. Swap the pajamas out for thin, breathable fabrics, such as cotton to help ensure you feel cool enough for a good night's rest. Any blankets and comforters should also be made of breathable, natural fabrics to avoid trapping in too much heat. /Getty Images Suggest a CorrectionHow To Adjust Tempur-Pedic Mattress Tempurature Few mattresses require as much adjustment from consumers as a memory foam mattress does (be it Tempurpedic or other brand). So why would you change how you sleep, even if just for the length of the free home trial, for the sake of a memory mattress? And if you are willing to compromise, just what can you do to make sleeping on a Tempur mattress as comfortable as possible?
Tempurpedic Mattress Foam Formula And Heat Problems The way Tempur-Pedic mattresses respond to heat is the number one reason consumers choose them over other brands but it is also the number one reported reason of most returns according to the countless consumer opinions we have read online. A large proportion of people who return their memory bed or mattress and then say they are uncomfortably warm to sleep on. But many go the other way and say it is too cold and firm. How do we know? Because many people for whom this mattress does not work have expressed their dissapointment in online reviews and comments. Depending on your unique body chemistry, you may find sleeping on a memory foam mattress too hot or too cold. Having said that, you may really like the feeling of memory foam and you really do see yourself sleeping better on a Tempur mattress, if only you could adjust the temperature to make it more comfortable. It's also important to remember that for every consumer who says Tempur feels too hot or too cold there are many others who don't have this problem.
The question is figuring out which group you fall into. The strange thing is that visco elastic memory foam mattresses are supposed to absorb body heat and breathe it out through millions of tiny air passages within the memory foam mattress. For many people though, these next two factors are overpowering and counteract that ability. Memory foam mattresses trap heat well because they: Use high density memory foam Heat responsiveness improves body contouring (better body contouring results in more skin touching the mattress instead of being exposed to air to cool off) The following tips apply not just to Tempurpedic but to any other heat-responsive memory foam mattress. How To Make Your Tempur-Pedic Mattress Cooler While you cannot alter Tempur foam density, you can change how the memory mattress reacts to body heat. If the Tempur-Pedic bed didn't react to heat as well as it could, there would be less contact with it and more exposure to air (which causes cooling).
Tempur-Pedic mattresses come with a breathable terry cloth cover which acts as a light barrier between you and the viscoelastic memory mattress. The cover solves the heat problem for many people but for many others, it doesn't. If the Tempur-Pedic mattress sleeps hot even with the cover on, use an additional pad or cover over it to insulate the mattress from the body. The thicker the insulation, the longer it takes body heat to reach the Tempur foam layer. It becomes, therefore, less responsive to heat. But sadly, there is a trade-off. Insulation means the Tempurpedic mattress cannot react the best it possibly could to body temperature, The end result is a somewhat firmer memory foam mattress that won't soften to become more gentle. Some suppliers use pillowtops or fiberfill padding over the visco foam mattress to make it cooler to sleep on. To make up for the reduced heat responsiveness, they use lower density foam to allow better body conforming. Their attempt to recapture the gentle feeling visco elastic mattresses are best known for, however, results in less support and shorter longevity.
Other suggestions for making sleeping on Tempur-Pedic-style mattresses more comfortable without losing support or gentleness include: Using fewer blankets to cover yourself Keeping several terry cloth towels close by Sleeping in a cooler environment (less than 65F) by airing the room before going to sleep or keeping windows open. How To Make Your Tempur-Pedic Mattress Warmer There are significantly fewer people who say Tempur-Pedic beds feel too cold. Cold memory foam mattresses also feel somewhat firmer. Here are some suggestions to make a Tempur mattress warmer and softer. First thing to try would be to make sure the memory foam layer within the bed or mattress reacts the best it possibly can to body heat. Try removing any pads or covers and sleeping directly on the Tempur-Pedic mattress. This should increase heat responsiveness, improve body contouring and allow more contact with the mattress. Less exposure to air equates to warmer Tempur mattresses.
Other suggestions for warming up and softening the foam include sleeping in a warmer environment (more than 65F) by heating the room before going to bed and walking or laying on the mattress for 20 minutes before actually going to bed. Using electric blankets or heated pads to warm the Tempur-Pedic bed is not recommended as they may damage the viscoelastic foam layer. There are many compromises you may have to make if you really like the feel of memory foam mattresses, be it from Tempur-Pedic or others. Unfortunately, only your own body chemistry can tell you if and just how much adjustment you may have to go through before being completely comfortable sleeping on a memory mattress -- not too hot and not too cold. And the best way to find that out is a mattress home trial. My Foam Mattress Has Memory! A Critical Eye On The Latest Mattress Technologies 3.5 lb vs 5.5 lbWhich to choose from a 3.5lb foam toppers versus 5.5lb Tempur-Pedic bed topper comparison? Higher density alone does not make a quality sleeping surface.
The formula behind the best sleeping surface uses best quality, high-density foam that responds to body temperature. Known BrandsWhat is the secret behind Tempur-Pedic mattress technology and why is it in the top 5 most popular brands alongside the likes of Sensus, Isotonic, Bergad and Sealy? The answer is that it uses good quality, high density, heat responsive foam. How Long Does It Last?What affects the expected lifetime of a memory overlay and does a Tempur mattress pad last longer? The answer is years and years as long as it's made of better quality, higher-density foam. Real NASA LinkMany manufacturers claim Swedish foam was first used by the NASA Space Program to boost sales for their visco memory foam beds.NASA never did use that basic material in the 1960s. NASA bedding or space bedding technology simply does not exist as such.The truth is the Swedish Tempurpedic company did eventually come up with a reliable formula now used in the best-selling Tempur mattress.While Tempur-Pedic beds are commonly known to use Swedish mattress technology, not all such products made in Sweden are made of the so-called NASA bed foam.