We bought our Tempurpedic about ten years ago. It always slept “warm”, but probably due to our age (60+), it’s just way too hot now. We have invested several hundred dollars in products (gel layers, etc) that are designed to make it sleep cooler, but it just hasn’t worked. We have decided to get a new mattress and had just about decided on a latex mattress until I saw that latex was close behind memory foam in sleeping hot. So now I’m uncertain.
We want to have our new mattress be adjustable-base compatible, and it would really be a disaster if we spent good money and ended up with another hot mattress. So is there any way we can make sure our new mattress won’t sleep hot? Is latex just too risky for us to consider?
I’d welcome any thoughts from folks in the know and experiences from people that have switched from memory foam due to heat issues. And thanks for this great site!
Latex in general is actually the most breathable of all the foam materials so it would be much less likely that someone would sleep hot on a latex mattress … especially compared to memory foam which in general is the least breathable and warmest of the foam materials. This would be particularly true if the cover is quilted with natural fibers such as wool which is great at regulating temperature. There is more about the many variables that can affect sleeping temperature (including the cover and qulting in a mattress, the mattress protector you use, and your sheets and bedding) in post #2 here and the posts it links to.
While everyone has their own internal thermostat, I would echo the comments left by Phoenix. I’ve had a very good experience with people being comfortable on latex mattresses. I have found that the few complaints I’ve received are almost always related to the mattress pad being used, or the latex mattress containing some other materials in the core or quilt (rendering it to not be a true all-latex mattress).
Personally, I am a very warm sleeper and I have slept on latex for about 20 years. I did discover that the older mattress protector I was using (the Premium from Protectabed) was too warm for me and when I switched to the Luxury version I was much more comfortable. There are some wonderful natural fiber mattress pads that also would do a great job. (I’m not endorsing the Protectabed for you to use, but instead using it as an illustration of how the mattress pad / protector can influence sleeping temperature. And as a disclaimer, I carry latex mattresses and Protectabed products in my store.).
I’ll chime in by saying I just experienced my first full night on a 10" latex mattress last night, and it was a warm night. I really doubt most people would find latex to be “hot”. I certainly did not. One note, however is that I’ve got wool (a great temperature regulator) in both my mattress case and mattress pad.
Thanks to all that have replied! Knowledge is power . . . or so they say. LJGMDAD, you said it was a warm night. Could you elaborate? I don’t know your locale or how you keep your thermostat set, nor do I know what you used before the 10" latex mattress. And most importantly, I’m not sure if it slept warmer than you were expecting and it just wasn’t “too objectionable”".
Of course, I’m running out of options. I’m certain to not go back with memory foam. If I don’t use latex, then I’m stuck with innerspring models . . . and that is “depressing” (pun intended).
There are some memory foam designs and materials that will sleep a little cooler than others so depending on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range, the specific design of the memory foam mattress and the type of memory foam it uses, and on the type of mattress protector and sheets you use, you may find that you will be OK on some memory foam mattresses in terms of sleeping temperature even if you tend to sleep warmer on others. There is more about cooling down memory foam in post #6 here.
Polyfoam tends to be more breathable and cooler than memory foam and polyfoam itself isn’t an issue with durability … only lower quality/density polyfoam (which is what you will typically find in the comfort layers of most major brand mattresses). There are many high quality and durable mattresses that use polyfoam that won’t have durability issues or issues with premature body impressions or sagging. This is why it’s so important to make sure you know the quality of all the materials in any mattress you purchase so you can confirm that there are no “weak links” in the mattress regardless of which type of material or mattress you tend to prefer (see this article and the foam quality/density guidelines it links to).