The Very Best Cooling Mattresses

The materials a mattress is made of can affect how warm or cool you feel while lying on it. In addition, certain mattresses are constructed in a way that increases airflow; for example, a mattress with springs will typically have better ventilation than one made entirely of foam.Latex foamis considered more breathable thanmemory foam, which easily traps heat. The construction of your mattress will also determine how much support the bed provides and how comfortable you feel when you lie down in it.

Many of the mattresses on this list have some sort of cooling or temperature-regulating feature. As mentioned above, memory foam tends to trap body heat; however, cooling components, such as infusions ofgel, graphite, or copper to memory foam, can dissipate body heat. If you’re looking for other ways to prevent overheating, consider a mattress that has a cooling cover made with phase-change materials, cool-to-the-touch polyethylene fibers, moisture-wickingTencelor bamboo viscose, or breathable cotton.

The way you sleep will have an impact on the type of mattress you find most comfortable. Side sleepers, for example, need pressure relief on their hips and shoulders along with a mattress that supports the alignment of the spine, shoulders, and pelvis — a soft-to-medium-firm mattress is usually best. Stomach sleepers typically need a firm, supportive mattress that keeps their hips from sinking down, which can cause lower-back strain. Back sleepers need good back support as well but may also want pressure relief around the shoulders or lower back, so medium-to-firm mattresses are typically best.

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Noticeable cooling power:Druckman says the Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid feels cool to the touch thanks in part to the mattress’s cover (it includes polyethylene, one of the most common choices for a cool-to-the-touch fabric). “I’m a stomach sleeper and often sleep with my head directly on the mattress and never yearn to flip to the cold side of the pillow,” Druckman says. She doesn’t have air-conditioning in her bedroom, but in the summer she sleeps comfortably with just a few fans running to cool the room and says the mattress does a great job helping to prevent night sweats. She overheats only when the room itself has gotten too hot to bear — something no cooling mattress can fully combat. In the winter, Druckman actually finds the mattress to betoocold on occasion; her partner, Jack, runs much warmer and says he has found the mattress to be just the right level of chilly, even in colder temperatures.

Universally appealing medium feel:Though Leesa describes this mattress as medium-firm, Druckman felt it was just a bit softer. That has ended up working really well for her — she enjoys the initial softness of the mattress when she lies down but appreciates the sturdy support it also provides. As a side and stomach sleeper, she needs both pressure relief for her jointsandstructure to keep her hips from sinking, both of which she gets from the Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid. “On my old mattress, I often woke up with aches in my neck and back, but that rarely if ever happens on the Leesa,” Druckman says.

Strong edge support:After sleeping on a Zinus mattress that started drooping so much that she was rolling into her partner at night, Druckman was especially pleased by the sturdy edges of the Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid. “I can sleep as close to the edge as I please thanks to the strong support around the perimeter of the mattress,” she says.

Heavy:The Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid is a pretty hefty mattress — it has five layers of material (including two coil layers), and the queen size weighs about 113 pounds. It’s significantly heavier than Druckman’s previous mattress, which weighed only 57 pounds. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing forsleepingon the mattress, Druckman did notice it made changing her mattress protector and sheets more difficult.

Can be too cold in the winter:If you’re a truly hot sleeper, this may not even be a con. But since Druckman started testing this mattress in the winter, she did find the mattress was actually too cold on some especially chilly nights — particularly because she keeps the heat off in her bedroom during the day to save electricity. “During the coldest nights, I was actually shivering when I first got in bed because the Leesa had gotten so chilly throughout the day,” Druckman says.

Construction:The Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid has a fairly standard hybrid build, with three layers of foam over coils, but a couple features make it stand out. First is the cooling cover, which is a blend of polyester, polyethylene, and Lycra. (Polyethylene is common in cooling fabrics because it gives them a cool-to-the-touch feel.) Second is a layer of micro-coils that’s sandwiched between the second and third layers of foam; these micro-coils are only a fraction of the height of the main support coils but provide a little extra uplift to keep you from sinking too deeply into the foam. The mattress’s base coil layer has zoned support to promote spinal alignment. On top of the cooling power of the cover, the foam layers provide some additional temperature regulation via gel swirls and a more open foam structure to allow for easier airflow.

Firmness and support:Though the mattress is billed as medium-firm, Druckman says she’d describe the feel as supportive without actually feeling firm — more like true medium than medium-firm. She says it keeps her back aligned but without feeling rigid. As someone who hates feeling like she’s “sleeping on a board,” Druckman says she looks forward toslightlysinking into her Leesa every night.

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Stays cool:I was surprised by the cooling power of the Purple mattress. It doesn’t feel as initially chilly as the Tempur-LuxeBreeze, below, but its low-key coolness lasts longer. Every time I lay on the mattress, I could feel air flowing through the gridded top layer when I moved around — almost like little puffs coming through the surface. That kind of airflow is difficult to achieve in foam mattresses. In the few months I spent sleeping on the Purple, I frequently felt cold in bed, even when the weather was fairly warm.

Unique feel:Purple’s signature grid layer gives this mattress a unique, jellylike feel. It’s similar to the squishiness of a softer memory foam, with the bounciness of springs — kind of like latex but also more flexible than most latex I’ve tried. You can feel the grid through the cover, which takes some getting used to but which I ultimately didn’t find off-putting.

Pressure relief without stiffness:After spending a couple of months sleeping on the Purple, I’d say it functions similarly to a soft memory foam in the way the mattress contours around your body. But the grid feels considerably less stiff than most memory foam — it’s flexible and has a much quicker bounce-back time, where memory foam more slowly resumes its original shape when you get up. The grid cradled my shoulders, hips, and back very comfortably. For those who need some pressure relief but don’t love foam, the Purple may be just right.

Thin mattress construction:The Purple mattress is just over nine inches tall, which is pretty thin (11 or 12 inches is more typical). For many people, this may not be an issue, but it does make me concerned about how supportive thePurple mattress will be in the long term — with a thinner mattress, any sagging from wear and tear over time will be more noticeable. It also means there is literally less material supporting you; when I sit down on the mattress, if I land with much force, I’ll actually sink through and feel my bed frame beneath. This doesn’t happen when I’m sleeping, but I worry about how well this mattress would work for heavier people. (If you’re interested in a thicker, more supportive Purple mattress, the brand makes a variety of more substantial models, like the Purple RestorePremier Hybrid we reviewed below.)

Grid may be off-putting:While I ultimately enjoyed the sensation of Purple’s grid layer, I could see some people disliking it — especially given that you can feel its texture through your sheets. (Fortunately, it’s not visible through them.) It definitely does not feel like a traditional mattress.

Construction:The standout feature of Purple’s original mattress is a two-inch layer of the brand’s proprietary hyperelastic polymer GelFlex Grid.The layer isn’t a smooth plane but a squishy grid of squares. The polymer was invented in 1996, and it’s a strong but moldable gel-like material that was first used in medical beds, Dr. Scholl’s soles, and toy balls. The Original mattress layers the GelFlex Grid over two layers of foam.

Firmness and support:Purple describes this mattress as medium-firm, but I think it feels more medium-soft thanks to the GelFlex layer. It’s still firmer than any mattress I’d describe as “soft” or “plush,” but I wouldn’t choose it if you’re specifically shopping for afirm mattress.

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Effective cooling tech:After sleeping on the Tempur-LuxeBreeze for about two months, I can confirm it’s impressively cooling — especially for anall-foam mattress. In addition to cooling foams inside the mattress, the Tempur-LuxeBreeze has a cooling cover made from a blend of polyester, polyethylene, spandex, and nylon, according to the tag. Every time I lay down on the mattress, I felt the cover’s coolness — even through mysheetsandmattress protector. And while that initial sensation would eventually fade, it usually lasted a good hour or so and was very effective. Only on the hottest days (during spring and summer in North Carolina) did I ever get toasty. My partner, Sam, even noted that on chillier nights, he occasionally felttoocold on this mattress.

Zip-off cover:The cooling cover of the Tempur-LuxeBreeze can be partially removed for cleaning, which is not common but extremely convenient. There’s a zipper along the perimeter of the mattress with a large, good-quality zipper pull; once you unzip it, you can lift off the top portion and throw it in the washing machine. You can’t take off the entire cover, so I still recommend using amattress protector, but I appreciate this feature for those who want to keep their sleep surface extra-clean.

Unique melting-in sensation:Though Tempur-Pedic is renowned for its signature memory-foam formula, I didn’t expect this mattress to feel so very different from other memory-foam mattresses I’ve tried.The Tempur-LuxeBreeze was quite firm when I first lay down on it — normal for a memory-foam mattress — but rather than immediately making an impression in the foam, I very slowly sank in, almost as if the foam was “melting” beneath me. It happened so gradually it was almost imperceptible until I got up and saw the deep impression where my body had been. This super-slow, melty characteristic allowed the foam to contour around me so precisely that I felt as if I were floating.

Comfortable for back and side sleeping:As a back and side sleeper, I was extremely comfortable on the Tempur-LuxeBreeze. On my back, my shoulders could sink in slightly for pressure relief, while the foam provided support for my lower back by filling the slight gap between me and the bed. On my side, I did feel some slight pressure buildup around my shoulders — a common issue for me — but was very comfortable overall. Thanks to the way the foam cradled his joints, Sam told me our time testing this mattress was the best he’d ever felt while sleeping on his side.

Expensive:There’s no way around the factthat this mattress is pricey.With a queen size nearing$6,000, the Tempur-LuxeBreeze is easily out of budget for many people.Even though I absolutely loved sleeping on it, I can’t imagine I’d ever spend this much on a mattress.

Doesn’t come in all standard sizes:The Tempur-LuxeBreeze only comes in twin long (Tempur-Pedic’s term for twin XL), queen, king, split king, California king, and split California king sizes; there’s no option to purchase a regular twin or full size.

Construction:The Tempur-LuxeBreeze is built from two memory-foam layers over a base of polyurethane support foam.According to the tag, the mattress is 61 percentviscoelastic polyurethane foam(a.k.a. memory foam) and 39 percentpoly foam. The top memory-foam layer is Tempur-Pedic’s proprietary Pure Cool Plus material, a foam the brand says is designed to “pull heat away from the body.” The second memory-foam layer is Tempur-Pedic’s Ventilated Advanced Relief material, which is described as pressure relieving with increased ventilation for cooling. The cover is a blend of polyester, polyethylene, spandex, and nylon.

Firmness and support:The all-foam version of the Tempur-LuxeBreeze comes in soft and firm variations; there’s also a medium hybrid version with coils. I tested the soft model, and while it’s great for pressure relief, I wouldn’t exactly call it soft. The mattress feels firm at first, before you sink into the foam. But even then, it’s not plush or squishy like many other “soft” mattresses. I think medium to medium-firm would be the most accurate way to label the Tempur-LuxeBreeze, with the caveat that it allows for deep contouring and pressure relief — you’ll definitely sink in rather than remaining “on top” of this one.

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Doesn’t overheat:While it’s not as physically chilly as the Leesa or Purple above, Avila says she doesn’t overheat while sleeping on the Tuft & Needle Mint Mattress, even with the fan off. Her partner, who also runs quite warm, agrees that he doesn’t get as hot while sleeping on the Mint as he has on other mattresses.

Supportive but not too firm:Like Druckman, Avila had been sleeping on a Zinus mattress prior to the Mint, and it had started losing some of its structure and becoming less supportive. She says this “quickly became apparent when I started sleeping on the Mint, which felt way more supportive.” Still, though the Mint provided much more support, Avila says it never felt too firm on her hips or shoulders when she rolled over onto her side.

Feels substantial:Sometimes, despite being giant pieces of furniture, mattresses can feel a bit flimsy. That’s not the case for the Mint, Avila says: “While it actually isn’t as thick as my Zinus, the Mint felt more substantial and looked nicer with its gray knit cover.”

Lack of durability in the long term:While Avila appreciates the support the Mint offers, after three years of sleeping on it, she and her partner have noticed it softening and becoming a bit less supportive. It’s not a deal-breaker — Avila says she still loves the mattress and has very few complaints overall — but it’s worth noting if you don’t like a softer mattress.

Construction:The Mint Mattress has three layers of foam: a top layer of the brand’s “highly-breathable fast-recovery” T&N Flex foam, followed by a layer of the more pressure-relieving T&N Release foam, and then a thick section of sturdy base foam. The cover is made from a blend of polyester and spandex.

Firmness and support:Tuft & Needle describes this mattress as “medium-plush,” which aligns with Avila’s experience of it feeling soft but supportive.

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Stays cool:Rellosa is a very hot sleeper who never wears a shirt to bed and sometimes even adds a fan in the winter. So I understood the significance when he told me the Sealy Posturepedic Elite Hybrid sleeps quite cool: In the five months that he’s been sleeping on the mattress, Rellosa says he hasn’t had any issues with overheating. The mattress contains gel foams and has a cooling cover, which have worked well so far; I’ll be sure to check in with him this summer for an update on how it performs in warmer weather.

Supportive, but not stiff:In the decade prior to testing the Sealy Posturepedic Elite Albany II Hybrid, Rellosa had slept on threefoam mattresses— from Bear, Casper, and Ikea — but always ended up finding them too soft or too firm. The Sealy turned out to be his Goldilocks mattress, with just the right balance of softness and support. The foam layer is soft and conforming, but the coils beneath give the bed a sturdy structure: “A little ‘pushback’ is one way I’d describe it,” Rellosa says. “Almost like the opposite of a weighted blanket coming down on you, I wanted my mattress to support me from below.”

Multiple firmness options:The broader Sealy Posturepedic Elite collection includes a variety of hybrid mattresses. The Albany II that Rellosa tested is billed as “medium firmness”; the Brenham II is essentially the same mattress but with soft and firm options. You can also upgrade to the High Point II model, available in all three firmnesses, which includes additional cooling foams and is an inch taller than the Albany II or Brenham II. While the nomenclature is a bit confusing, Sealy has provided a nice range of options.

Very bouncy:While this may not be a con for everyone, Rellosa says it took him a while to adjust to sleeping on such a springy mattress after so many years on all foam.

Dark cover shows through light sheets:Rellosa also noted that the cover of the mattress, which is dark blue with red accents, sometimes shows through his white sheets.

Construction:The Sealy Posturepedic Elite Hybrid has two layers of foam over coils. The top foam layer is gel memory foam, followed by a more supportive foam underneath. The base is a section of Sealy’s proprietary PrecisionFit coils, which are designed to be both flexible and supportive. According to the brand, the top portion of the coils have more tightly wound “rings,” which can flex and conform more easily under your body. Then the lower portion is wider and sturdier to provide strong support. The mattress also contains a zoned section of coils for additional support under your lower back and a perimeter of smaller coils to beef up the bed’s edge support. Sealy says the cover is made with moisture-wicking yarns for the cooling effect.

Firmness and support:While there are several variations of the Sealy Posturepedic Elite Hybrid, the Albany II model that Rellosa tested has a pleasantly medium-firm feel that has kept him supported and comfortable.

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Effective cooling:The cover of the Glacier has the slippery, cool-to-the-touch feel that is common among mattresses with cooling fabrics; like many others, this one uses polyethylene for cooling. When lying on the mattress without any bedding, the surface definitely feels quite chilly. That feeling was dampened when I was actually sleeping and had a mattress protector and fitted sheet between me and the mattress, but I think the cooling cover kept me from overheating. The Glacier is not as noticeably cool as some other mattresses we’ve tried, like the Leesa Legend Chill or Tempur-LuxeBreeze, above. But it gets the job done well enough for an affordable price.

Pressure relief for side sleeping:The Glacier Summit mattress initially caught my attention because it’s made by thesame manufactureras Saatva mattresses, but the two brands don’t otherwise have much in common.I had beensleeping on the Saatva Classicbefore trying the Glacier Summit, so the memory of Saatva was fresh in my mind. While the Saatva is fairly firm, the Glacier is noticeably softer, and it took a couple of weeks for me to adjust from one to the other. However, after a few weeks, I was happy with it. The softer, more contouring foam layers make side sleeping very comfortable — I’m pretty sensitive to shoulder pain on too-firm a mattress — as the cushioning foam offers good pressure relief.

Easy to change sleeping positions:Even though there’s a good level of body contouring, I didn’t sinksodeeply into the bed that it was challenging to roll from my back to my side.

Lacking spinal support for back sleeping:The softer foams feel less ideal for back sleeping. I’ve noticed I’m not getting the same spinal support I got from the Saatva Classic, nor is the foam totally conforming around me to provide support for my lower back.The result is it feels like my hips/butt are sinking into the foam, but my lower back is left slightly arching. It’s not terrible, but not exactly ideal. (Glacier does make two other mattress models,one of whichis intended to be firmer than the Summit, and that one may be a better choice for back sleepers.)

Construction:The Glacier Summit Hybrid is apillow-top mattresswith two layers of foam over an eight-inch layer of pocketed coils — a fairly standard build for a hybrid mattress.One of the foam layers is gel-infused memory foam, and the other is proprietary “breathable” foam that the brand calls ARCFlow. The mattress also has zoned lumbar support, with an extra layer of foam running horizontally across the center where most people’s lower backs will lie. The zoned foam is graphite infused for cooling. The cover is made with a woven polyethylene fabric that the brand calls GLACIERTECH.

Firmness and support:Glacier rates this mattress as “medium” on its firmness scale; I found it more medium-soft than truly medium. That’s part of what made it so comfortable for side sleeping — it offers a lot of pressure relief — while also making it less than ideal for back sleeping.

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Stays cool:While Corsillo doesn’t feel actively cooled on the Birch, she says she doesn’t typically overheat despite running warm. Compared to polyurethane foams, latex is generally considered to be less heat-trapping, but the rest of this mattress is highly breathable too. Atop the latex is a layer of wool — known for its thermoregulating properties — and the cotton cover should allow for more airflow than synthetics would.

Works for multiple sleeping positions:The Birch’s medium-firm feel works well for both Corsillo and her stomach-sleeper husband. “It’s my favorite mattress of the ones I’ve tried so far,” Corsillo says. “It’s firmer and feels sturdier than the Avocado and the Casper I’ve slept on in the past.”

Easy to move on without motion transfer:Latex is more responsive than most polyurethane foams, meaning it springs back when you remove pressure from it, so it’s typically a good option for those who rotate between sleeping positions at night. Corsillo confirms that’s the case with the Birch, saying she never feels stuck in the mattress. Despite that, the mattress is able to isolate motion well: “My husband tosses and turns, but I never feel it unless he actually bumps into me,” Corsillo says.

Not very bouncy:Though she is able to move around easily on the mattress, Corsillo says it isn’t particularly springy.

Lacking in hip support:Corsillo likes the medium-firm feel overall but says she may need a firmer mattress in the future. “I have noticed my hips feeling less supported on this mattress, particularly after having a baby,” she says.

Construction:The mattress is made with Rainforest Alliance–certified latex from sustainably tapped rubber trees, organic cotton, American-manufactured steel, and all-natural wool from New Zealand sheep. That wool is the standout material as it provides cushion and plushness and helps regulate temperature.

Firmness and support:Birch rates the Birch Natural as “medium-firm,” which is right in line with Corsillo’s testing.

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Breathable grid layer:Like the Purple Original mattress that I tested, the Purple RestorePremier utilizes the GelFlex Grid. While Martin doesn’t typically overheat at night, she says the mattress feels slightly cool to the touch, and it stays noticeably cooler than foam mattresses she has slept on in the past.

“Suspended” feeling on the grid:In addition to keeping the mattress cool, the GelFlex Grid gives the Purple RestorePremier a “slightly suspended feel” that Martin says she has really grown to like. She particularly appreciates it when she’s flipping over to a different sleeping position given that the flexible grid provides shock absorption. The difference, Martin says, is like “wearing an excellent running shoe compared to a just-okay running shoe.”

Both supportive and pressure-relieving:Combination sleepers, who rotate between various positions, often need their mattress to do multiple things at once — supporting certain parts of the body in one position, then cushioning them in another. Martin says the Purple RestorePremier has the right support for her in every sleeping position and that she’s no longer dealing with shoulder pain.

Heavy:Martin says this mattress is easily the heaviest and most challenging mattress to move of the six different mattresses she has owned over the years. At 13 inches tall and weighing 137 pounds, it’s a hefty mattress.

Construction:One of Purple’s more high-end models, this hybrid mattress features a three-inch layer of the brand’s signature GelFlex Grid, a hyperelastic polymer that flexes under pressure but keeps you “floating” on top of the mattress rather than sinking too deeply into it. Beneath the GelFlex Grid, there’s a middle section of foam and then a base of pocketed coils to provide extra-responsive support and pressure relief. The mattress also has a band of high-density foam wrapped around its perimeter to bolster the edges and prevent them from collapsing under weight.

Firmness and support:Purple describes this mattress as soft and good for all sleeping positions. It originally came in two firmness levels (soft and firm), but the brand has since reduced it to one option. We tested the firm model, which Martin says was initiallytoofirm but ended up being very comfortable after breaking it in. Now the soft model is the only one available.