Sleeping Hot in Canada - Is the buying experience just Trial and Error?

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

I’m having trouble finding a new mattress I really like. I’m in the midst of my second sleep trial.

We started with the Douglas mattress. The purchase and return experience was excellent. I found it quite soft compared to our spring mattress (I’m 250 lb and 6’ tall) and my wife found it firmer (she’s 165 lb and 5’8"). We are combo sleepers but mainly side/stomach. I think it was probably too soft for me for the long term, but the reason I returned it was because I was getting super hot sleeping in it (even clammy). My wife found it hot as times as well, but she wasn’t “overheating” like me. She would have been quite happy to keep it.

We then purchased a Silk and Snow Hybrid. The purchase experience was good, but not quite on par with Douglas. Keep in mind both were purchased during COVID crisis. This mattress had more off gasing than the Douglas (my opinion), but just for a few days. It has more support for me than the Douglas, but I think it may be a bit soft for me when I sleep on my stomach. For me, it is still much softer than our innerspring mattress. For my wife, this mattress is the firmest of the three. The S&S mattress dramatically reduced heat compared to Douglas, but it does heat up after a number of hours and it does still impact my sleep. My wife would be happy to keep this mattress. I think that if I keep it, I will always regret not having tried some others; especially those nights I’m waking up hot at 3 am and unable to get back to sleep. My wife isn’t bothered by the heat, but she does agree innerspring was coolest, followed by S&S and then Douglas the hottest.

I’ve done quite a bit of reading with regards to heat build up and it seems like it’s really hit and miss; what works for one person and not another. Is it simply trial and error? Both mattresses I bought were advertised as sleeping cool and many reviewers suggested they did sleep cool. Is it possible for me as a consumer to figure out what will work for me without actually trialing it? I hate wasting these companies money by buying and returning.

Before you ask, I will tell you that the slats on my platform bed have appropriate spacing and we have 300 thread count cotton percale sheets. We’ve tried with and without mattress protector. We don’t have AC so nights start off hot, but cool down fairly quickly in the evening due to proximity of mountains. It’s usually middle of night when the bed is too hot and I have trouble sleeping. The part of me in contact with the bed is uncomfortably warm, and the rest of me is too cold because I’ve got the sheets off trying to not to overheat. We normally can sleep on anything; we’ve had to travel a bit this summer and we’ve slept on 3 hotel beds, 2 older innerspring mattresses, and a futon; we didn’t really mind any of them.

As a next step, I’ve been debating a the firm version of theLogan and Cover Hybrid. On paper, I can’t tell if it will be any better than the S&S hybrid we have for heat build up. It might be a lot worse. Can anyone tell/know in advance of purchase? Fortunately, they have sleep trial.

I’ve also been debating aCostco Stearns and Foster Lakeridge mattress. Again, can I know that this is any better or worse than the S&S before I purchase? Fortunately, they have good return policies.

The mattresses I have listed are generally on the lower end of what this site recommends for longevity for my weight. Are there any higher end mattresses available to Canada that have sleep trials that sleep cool that I should look into?

https://www.tmasc.ca/pocket-coil-mattresses/pocket-coil-talalay-latex-mattress.htmlIf I was to go the local TMSC (a company this site endorses), I could buy a higher end Berkley Malmo mattress that would be more in line with the materials this site would recommend for my weight. . Despite it being a higher end mattress, is there any way for me to know before I make that purchase that I won’t overheat in this bed? TMSC doesn’t have a money back sleep trial, thus I would be taking on more risk. Given that sleeping hot is such a complex issue, is this wise? Thoughts?

Thank you for reading!

2

I hope that adding a picture to my original post might attract a bit more traffic. The picture is off topic though… The picture is of the platform bed I built earlier this year out of rough sawn Douglas Fir. Posts are 6x6; cross members are 4x4; 2x10 rails. 1x4 slats, with vertical 2x4 underneath (looks like letter T) to prevent any sort of sag. This was my COVID project. Trickiest part was trying to figure out how to build this out of lumber that was relatively green without it pulling itself apart as it dries. .

I’ve been dreaming of having a king size bed for about 15 years, and I finally got one. Unfortunately, I haven’t found the mattress I’ve dreamed of. I finally had a good sleep last night as I went and slept in the guest bedroom on an old Queen size spring mattress. Slept cool for a change! I’m not sure at all what I’m going to do for a king mattress. I need to return the one I have in the next couple weeks as the 100 days will be up. I’m starting to thinking about Nest or Bloom Hybrid with latex. They do deliver to Canada and they do have a sleep guarantee. These sleep guarantees have more strings attached than the Douglas/Silk and Snow and I really don’t want to guess wrong this time. Thus, if you have any thoughts on my quandary, please let me know.

If I could find a spring mattress without foam, that might be my best bet. Hard to find though?

3

Hey Edgar,

Welcome to the TMU Forum :slight_smile: ! Thanks for your question.

[quote]I’m having trouble finding a new mattress I really like. I’m in the midst of my second sleep trial. We started with the Douglas mattress. The purchase and return experience was excellent. I found it quite soft compared to our spring mattress (I’m 250 lb and 6’ tall) and my wife found it firmer (she’s 165 lb and 5’8"). We are combo sleepers but mainly side/stomach. I think it was probably too soft for me for the long term, but the reason I returned it was because I was getting super hot sleeping in it (even clammy). My wife found it hot as times as well, but she wasn’t “overheating” like me. She would have been quite happy to keep it.
[/quote]
Sorry to hear of the difficulties you’re having finding a mattress suitable for both you and your wife’s individual comfort/ sleeping preferences, Edgar. It speaks well of the dealer that both your purchase and return experience were handled in an “excellent” fashion; it is a shame, however that they weren’t able to help you more with selecting a mattress better suited to your needs. With the Douglas mattress’s all foam/ memory foam construction, it was likely not supportive enough for your BMI, allowing you to “sink into” its upper comfort layers and enveloping your body impression, resulting in the “super-hot sleeping” feel you describe. Also, gel and/or other thermal conductive or phase change materials can have “some effect” on the sleeping temperature of a particular material, but how much of an effect they will have and how long the effect will last depends on the specific formulation of the material and on the “combined effect” of all the other materials and components of the sleeping system, including your sheets, mattress protector, and bedding. Many thermal conductive or phase change materials tend to have a more temporary effect when you first go to sleep at night or over the first part of the night than they will over the entire course of the night.

Good job on all of the research and hard work you’ve been doing! The conundrum you face is it’s nearly impossible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved. While finding yourself in the “oven to iceberg” range is frustrating, and with no standardized testing for temperature regulation regarding different combinations of materials, it is helpful understand the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range. This Phoenix post #2, “Do Latex Mattress Sleep Hot?” explores temperature regulation and the microclimate on a mattress, you may find it of interest. You do deserve extra credit points for your responsible attitude towards environmental sustainability vs. the ongoing mattress return challenge manufacturers face in the name of customer satisfaction.

Overall, if you are looking at a mattress that contains foam of some type, latex with natural fibers in the quilting (such as wool) and fabrics that can wick away moisture and help it evaporate more rapidly are the coolest sleeping or more accurately the most temperature regulating mattresses and firmer will tend to be cooler than softer. Mattresses that don’t use any foam at all and only use an innerspring with natural fiber comfort layers will tend to be cooler and more temperature regulating than any type of foam including latex.

Just for clarity, I don’t make recommendations for stores unless they are a vetted member here of the site. We have decided to discontinue the provision of listings of potential retailers in various geographic regions (unless they are already approved site members), because of the difficulty in maintaining such lists in a retail landscape that is constantly changing, and most importantly the confusion it was creating with the consumer subscribers who incorrectly assumed that these businesses had indeed gone through the strict qualification process and were approved as members of The Mattress Underground.

Here is a listing of Canadian and US manufacturers/retailers who are Trusted Members of our site that carry Latex or all Latex mattresses and ship across Canada that you may wish to consider. They are very seasoned in providing good guidance over the phone and fitting their customers with a suitable product in terms of comfort/support needs.

MFC: Canadian online retailer with a very good selection of latex mattresses and hybrids that close to your budget range.

Restmore Bedding: Canadian Manufacturer with a large array of mattress choices latex/ pocket coil, hybrid, springs. They are based in Winnipeg, but you can place an order over the phone.

CBH Wood Furniture

DormioCanadian Manufacturer specializing in organic/natural latex mattresses with options that fit all budget ranges.

SnugSleep Has a factory and showroom in North Vancouver, Canada carrying natural latex mattress products.

You can also peruse Our Trusted Mattress Members as there are some US-based companies that provide products to Canadian market but you’d need to call and ask with the Covid closures.

Hope this helps and looking forward to hearing more as you decide.

Thanks,
Sensei