The right sheet set and pajamas can help you stay cool. Today’s memory-foam mattresses don't sleep as "hot" as older models did, thanks to air-circulating layers and ventilated toppers that keep the foam from absorbing and retaining all your body heat. But a certain insulating effect is unavoidable when you're sleeping on a foam block. If your memory foam mattress leaves you sweating at night, a few remedies can help turn down the heat -- if only by a few degrees. Top It Off Anything you can do to distance your body from the memory foam will help keep you cool. Place a non-foam topper or pad over the mattress, or use sheets made of breathable material -- such as cotton or bamboo -- with a high thread count. Both remedies reduce the amount of body heat that penetrates to the foam. Turn It Down Lower the ambient temperature by turning the thermostat down, opening a window, or changing into lighter-weight, breathable pajamas. While these might not be the most convenient solutions, they're less expensive than purchasing a whole new mattress.
Switch to a Topper If you just can't stay cool on a memory foam mattress, consider switching to a non-foam mattress. You can always layer a memory foam topper over the mattress for comfort, while still enjoying the other mattress's greater breathability to help keep the foam cool. : Memory Foam Mattress FAQ Photo Credits Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images Suggest a Correction 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)Viscoelastic foam is a specialized type of polyurethane foam design to have properties that are both viscous and elastic in nature, and one of its design characteristic was to absorb the energy of motion (NASA AMES research project). Being a dense material, it has thicker struts (cell walls) and smaller windows (cell openings). The specialized chemical composition does take heat and "absorbs" it to soften the struts and the feel of the foam - this is part of the design. Additionally, humidity affects the feel of the foam, softening it. Combine this with the smaller windows for a lower air flow (cfm), you have a foam that isn't the best at heat transfer.To correct an earlier reply to this question, viscoelastic foam is open cell in construction. Closed cell foams are typically your flotation types of foam - not for mattress cushioning materials.To minimize this innate characteristic of viscoelastic foam of being poor at heat transfer (it's not simply about having a high cfm), foam manufacturers have recently come up with different types of phase changing additives (fillers) to add to the viscoelastic foam, lowering the density and also increasing the rate of heat transfer.
Some of these work better than others, but chances are you'll still tend to sleep a bit warmer upon a memory foam mattress. It's simply the nature of the construction and composition of the product.As far as ways to help minimize the heat trapping characteristics, make sure you're placing the item upon some sort of a foundation that allows air to circulate under the mattress (slatted decks are better than plywood, for example). Also, using a thin mattress pad that uses an embedded phase changing product will greatly assist with heat transfer - something that uses Outlast would be an example (disclaimer: I don't sell Outlast products at my stores). Or, some people enjoy using mattress toppers made of wool for the natural temperature and humidity regulating properties of that product.There is a large wealth of information about the foam technology of viscoelastic foam at the Polyurethane Foam Association website (PFA), and there's also quite a bit of objective and detailed foam and topper information at The Mattress Underground website (Your best source for information on mattress brands, materials, and choices).
About 9% of memory foam mattress owners report sleeping hot. An additional 15% report their bed being warm, but at most times not uncomfortably so. In other words, the clear majority of memory foam mattress owners report no heat problems.Keep in mind, however, that these numbers may be affected by the fact that memory foam is often known to sleep hot for some people. As a result, people who are naturally hot sleepers may avoid buying a memory foam bed in the first place – making the rate somewhat lower than it otherwise would be.Owner experience data suggests that the main factors effecting memory foam heat retention are foam density and comfort layer / cover material.Different memory foam mattress brands / models can have different foam density. Mattresses with higher foam density tend to have at least two times the number of heat retention reports than do mattresses with lower density foam. High foam density appears to allow less air flow through the foam and also envelopes the sleeper to a significant extent resulting in less heat dispersal.
When I purchased my memory foam mattress (Memory Foam Mattress - 3rd Gen Memory Foam Mattress by Ergoflex, Deluxe HD Visco-Elastic Specialist), I had the same fear about the heat. I put a mattress topper in between the mattress and my sheets and that seems to help keep it cool. Hi,Foam, cushion or memory foam makes your body hot. It is simple science, cushion or foams does not allow any air to pass through the sitting or sleeping position. It is like the memory foam completely locks the surface area of your back, air do not pass in. And also the cushion or foam do not dissipate heat but it retains them, so there is no wonder your body gets hot.Consider a car or bike. it needs air + water cooled radiator to cool its own parts. Such like your body needs air to circulate around . Foam stops it, by locking your lower area.Right way, is to sleep in flat surface, metal or wood. Since metal transfers the heat from your body to ground. And it does not tightly pack your back surface like foam.Metals are the best, next comes wood, then plastics with holes in bottom.