The relief on pressure points (shoulders, hips, lower back) was immediate and wonderful! But after a few months, it got unbearably hot at night and we could not keep sleeping on it. (For context: We use 100% cotton sheets and mattress protector.)
Now we’re back to sleeping on just the mattress, but I’m tossing and turning because it’s still too firm. The latex topper is in storage.
I have two topper ideas:
Purchase a wool topper to go on top of the latex topper we already purchased.
Purchase an entirely new topper, maybe a combination of wool and latex like the one from Sleep and Beyond.
Thank you again for the support! Would especially love to hear if anyone has had experience adding a wool topper to cool down a latex topper, or any favorite toppers you’ve added for joint support that don’t heat up.
Hi Coral and thanks for the inquiry! I know wool is normally regarded as being great for temperature regulation, but it’s not as good as latex. And anything you have between yourself and the latex affects how quickly your body heat is able to dissipate into the latex and the rest of the mattress. We’ve actually had a few employees go through menopause and they’ve all confirmed that sleeping on a latex topper or latex mattress without a wool cover is the cooler option. So I don’t think a wool topper or latex and wool topper will be a better choice than the Talalay layer you have now.
You mentioned you’re using a mattress protector, and if that’s a waterproof protector then I’d recommend taking that off first before making any other purchases so you can see how much of an impact the protector has on the temperature of the mattress.
Since you are using an old mattress, maybe a new bed specifically designed for cooling could help. For example Brooklyn bedding has a thermobalance line that has both a cooling top with polyethylene fibers, phase change coating, and a thermophase layer in the top.
If you’re sleeping cooler without the topper, then maybe it’s about how you specifically interact with the topper. You might like the quilted type of top layer.
One thing you could do is get a wool pad mattress protector and try it anyway, and if for some reason you did get a new mattress you could still use the protector.
Simply remove the mattress protector, that is what’s causing the lack of air flow. I have that same topper on my bed and it breathes perfectly well and being in Phoenix air flow is very important.
I have nothing to do with Brooklyn Bedding it’s just that we sell the same Talalay latex as they do. We make our own breathable topper covers here and yes, I keep it on.
Hi Coral, Hendrik from CBH Wood Furniture here (we use Talalay latex and wool in our beds, so I’ve thought about this one a lot).
Talalay is an open-cell foam and usually breathes well on its own, so when it suddenly feels hot after a few months, I’d look at what’s around it. Two things I’d check:
What’s underneath. A topper on top of a firm hybrid with a dense foam layer and a tight cover can hold heat and moisture between the two. Lifting the topper in the morning and feeling the surface below for dampness can tell you a lot.
The topper’s own cover and anything on top. A thick cover, a quilted pad, or heavy bedding all slow heat leaving the bed.
On wool: people disagree, and it depends on the person. Wool mostly helps with moisture. It takes up sweat and lets it go, so for people who wake up clammy it can feel cooler. For people who just run hot, any extra layer between you and the latex can feel warmer, which is what Sleep_EZ described. If you try wool, a thin pad you can return or easily remove is a cheap way to find out which group you’re in before buying a whole new topper.