Hi - I’ve been lurking and reading a lot recently and decided to jump in because I don’t think I’ve seen my particular question - what is really, truly the most cool sleeping innerspring mattress?
My current mattress is 15/16 years old (Serta Perfect Sleeper - innerspring - not a pillow top) and I’m looking to replace it in Spring 2017. It has held up pretty well until this year, starting to sag and I’m getting some pressure point pains in my shoulders and hips - I’m a side sleeper. So I’ve begun the research and needless to say, the mattress industry has changed since my last trip to the mattress store! Most notably all of these foams - in particular memory and latex.
While I know I will stick with an innerspring mattress, I’m not so sure about the accompanying foams that seem to top most of them. Last year I bought a 100% natural dunlop latex pillow (with all the fancy air holes - to keep it “cool”). I love the feel of it. Right amount of softness and support without sinking into it. But despite it being advertised as “cool” it really isn’t at all. I flip it multiple times a night because of the heat (all cotton pillowcase btw).
Because of my pillow experience, I’m not really sure I buy the “cool / doesn’t retain heat” claims of all of these foams in the comfort layers of mattresses. I’m also not terribly convinced about the same type of claims of wool. I live in central VA and it is HOT and HUMID in the summer. I can’t even stand wearing my merino wool socks by the spring because they are too hot - I can’t imagine sleeping on / in wool either.
In addition to naturally sleeping (and sometimes just being) hot, I’m a female heading into my mid-40’s. Hot flashes haven’t started yet but I know it is just a matter of time.
So with all of that, I know I can research materials and test for comfort in the stores (somewhat) but I won’t really know about the true actual heat build up without sleeping on one i.e. purchasing it. Given how much they cost, that is a bit disconcerting.
Would love to hear if anyone else was in the same “hot” boat and what worked (or didn’t)
While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on sleeping temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
Having said that … while again it’s not possible to be specific because of all the variables involved … I would probably say that in very general terms an innerspring mattress that has natural fibers such as cotton, wool, or horsehair, in the comfort layers and covers that are made from natural fabrics or semi synthetic fabrics (such as various types of viscose rayon fabrics) would probably be the “best” in terms of temperature regulation.
Again in very general terms (and keeping in mind that there are many variations of each foam material) … latex is generally the most breathable and “temperature neutral” of all the foam materials (latex foam, polyfoam, and memory foam) and Talalay latex is a less dense and more breathable than Dunlop latex although any foam material won’t generally be as breathable and temperature regulating as natural fiber materials.
While there are always exceptions and some people may sleep warmer on mattresses that most people would be fine with … it would be unusual for most people to have temperature regulation issues on a mattress that has latex comfort layers … particularly if it has wool quilting with a natural or semi synthetic cover material.
I would certainly agree that the industry has changed a great deal from 15/16 years ago and in the case of the major manufacturers such as Sealy, Simmons, and Serta … not for the better. Having said that … latex is the oldest foam material in the industry and has been available for many decades (see post #9 here). Polyfoam has been used in mattresses since the late 1950’s when it began to replace latex foams because of its much lower cost and memory foam has been available since Tempurpedic first introduced it in the early 1990’s.
I’m looking forward to finding out what you end up deciding … and of course to any other comments or questions you may have along the way that I or any of the other more knowledgeable members of the site can help with.
Thanks Phoenix. I guess in short what I’m still trying to understand is if my current dunlop latex pillow with plenty of air holes is “hot” for me (100% cotton pillowcase), is that a good indicator that a mattresses with latex comfort layers (near the top) are going to likely be “hot” for me as well?
Yes I have 100% cotton sheets, And I will need to get a new mattress pad with the new mattress, currently using 100% cotton one now but open to others if “cooler”
As I mentioned in my previous reply … there is no way for me to quantify or predict your sleeping temperature on any specific mattress design with a particular combination of layers and components in combination with the mattress protector and bedding that you use and the only way to know for certain will be to sleep on it.
All I can really say is that the odds are higher that you will sleep in a more comfortable temperature range if you are sleeping directly on Talalay latex compared to sleeping directly on other types of foam materials such as polyfoam or memory foam or even Dunlop latex. The odds would be higher yet if a mattress has a wool quilted cotton or viscose/rayon cover and would be higher once again if your mattress protector doesn’t contain a “semi breathable” waterproof membrane (which for some people can make even a relatively “cool” mattress sleep warmer).
Adding sheets such as cotton, viscose rayon, silk, or perhaps best of all flax linen will increase your odds of sleeping in a more neutral temperature range even further.
Thank you SO much Phoenix. I cannot even begin to tell you how valuable this information is for me (and I’m sure many others reading as well). This whole site is a fantastic wealth of information - I’m so glad I found it
