There are plenty of products to help you keep warm at night, from duvets to bedspreads and throws. But when it’s summer and the evenings swelter, a bed that stays cool is the stuff of dreams.
Getting home air conditioning can be a pricey thing, but that doesn’t mean you have to lay there sweating. There are other ways to bring down the temperature when a heatwave hits.
Sleep experts believe that a cooler bedroom results in a better night’s sleep. Some simple tips to keep your cool include:
- Keep blinds and curtains closed during the day to keep the worst of the sun’s rays out
- Keep windows open (make sure you consider the safety of kids and pets) to create air flow through your home
- Use a fan or a portable air conditioning unit to keep the air cooler and moving, which makes it feel cooler
- Swap bedding (and even your mattress) for ones made from natural fabrics such as cotton and linen
There’s one other genius move you can make and that’s to invest in a cooling mattress topper that helps to wick your body heat away, either by using increased airflow or by the use of thermoregulating materials. They also help make your bed more comfortable, as they add an extra layer, so they are a good choice if you want to make a budget mattress softer.
Here are some of the best cooling mattress toppers, from the super luxe to budget models. Stay cool!
Best cooling mattress toppers at a glance
- Best for doubling as a cooler and as a mattress protector: Tempur Cool Mattress Protector - from £119, John Lewis
- Best for natural and organic fibres: Woolroom Deluxe Wool Mattress Topper - £169.99, Woolroom
- Best for springs that add an extra layer of comfort: SIMBA Hybrid Topper - from £249, Amazon
- Best for advanced technology developed by NASA: The White Company Temperature Balance Quilted Mattress Protector - from £100
- Best for an easy clean: John Lewis Balancing Smart Cool Mattress Topper - from £50, John Lewis
- Best for a risk-free trial: Emma Premium Mattress Topper - from £330, Amazon
- Best for improved air flow: Silentnight Airmax Mattress Topper - from £39, Amazon
- Best for using sustainable bamboo: Panda Bamboo Mattress Topper - from £99.95, Amazon
- Best for a budget choice: Aidapt Memory Foam Cool Mattress Topper - from £65, Argos
- Best for softness: Kally Sleep Cooling Mattress Topper - from £89.99, Amazon
Shop the best cooling mattress toppers below, and prepare for an easy, breezy snooze.
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Tempur Cool Mattress Protector
Sizes available: small single, double, king, superking
Best for: works as a cooler and as a mattress protector
Stains are the very last thing you want to see when you’ve splashed out on a new mattress, yet signs of wear are inevitable as you lay on your mattress each night. Unless, that is, you have a mattress protector.
It’s a worthwhile investment as it will keep your new mattress clean while adding an extra layer of comfort. Better yet for hot sleepers, this organic, chemical-free OEKO-TEX protector also acts as a cooling topper: it’s win-win-win! It employs THERMIC microcapsules inside its TENCEL material which are thermoregulating (ideally keeping you between 28-30 degrees all night) to help keep you cooler as you snooze.
We noticed a marked difference with this protector on one of the hottest nights of the year when we weren’t constantly turning to find a cool patch of sheet. It has a breathable membrane layer called PERLAM that helps encourage airflow through the bed at night, too. It feels a little thin at first but it sits well under a fitted sheet and it feels soft and luxurious. It’s waterproof and protects from mites too.
Buy now £119.00, John Lewis
Woolroom Deluxe Wool Mattress Topper
Sizes available: single, small double, double, king, superking, emperor, EU double, EU king, large emperor
Best for: natural materials
It may seem counterintuitive to choose wool to keep you cooler, but the textile is famously a great natural thermoregulator, keeping you warm in winter and sweat-free in the summer by wicking sweat away from your body. Wool is also naturally hypoallergenic and flame resistant so it’s a worthy choice from a safety perspective too.
Woolroom’s deluxe topper will keep you cooler, especially if you pair it with a thin and lightweight wool duvet from the brand. This soft and comfortable and chemical-free topper is packed with British wool from sheep that can be traced to the Chatsworth Estate and it is covered with an organic cotton cover. The elasticated bands may look a little insubstantial at first glance, but they fit well and stop the design sliding about once it’s on.
Woolroom’s design is good for allergy-sufferers and there is a 30 night sleep trial period to try it out for size too. Dry clean only.
Buy now £169.99, Woolroom
Simba Hybrid Topper
Sizes available: single, small double, double, king, superking
Best for: springs add an extra layer of comfort
From sleep expert Simba comes this mattress-like topper with 2500 Aerocoil springs inside for extra support and comfort. It also includes a layer of open-cell Simbatex foam, to keep you cooler by allowing 30 times more airflow than other foam, according to the company.
Graphite, a natural mineral that draws away heat, is part of the parcel too, and a breathable surface helps keep things comfortable too. We expected foam to add heat but were glad to enjoy a better quality sleep on the non-slip Simba topper.
It comes with a 10-year guarantee. A free trial of 200 nights is offered, so there’s no risk if you don’t get on with it.
Buy now £249.00, Amazon
The White Company Temperature Balance Quilter Mattress Protector
Sizes available: single, double, king, superking, emperor
Best for: advanced technology developed by NASA
If you’re forever throwing one leg out of the duvet to find the perfect sleep temperature, this could be the topper for you.
Great for those who are naturally hotter in bed than others, it’s made with Outlast, a high-tech fabric that uses microencapsulated natural wax to capture and store body heat, a trick that the company says avoids over-heating in the first place.
Crucially, if the temperature suddenly drops, the wax capsules can release the heat back, keeping your sleeping space a consistent temperature. This model feels very padded with a quilted cover and fits neatly over the mattress with a skirt, rather than straps.
We didn’t notice any noise from it at night, which can sometimes be a problem with waterproof fabrics. The outer is made from soft Outlast and 100 per cent cotton which felt cool, comfortable and gave a good night’s sleep.
Buy now £100.00, The White Company
John Lewis Balancing Smart Cool Mattress Topper
Sizes available: single, double, king, superking
Best for: easy to clean
With what John Lewis calls ‘dynamic cooling technology’ (or HeiQ Smart Temp inside), this soft-feeling cotton-covered topper reacts to your body, helping draw away the heat as the temperature rises and deactivating when the mercury falls again.
It fits over mattresses that are up to 35cm deep, and is shaped like a fitted sheet with an elasticated skirt making it easy to put on.
Best of all, it can be popped into the washing machine at 40 degrees when it needs a clean, and it dries fast, so you won’t have to endure a hot, sweaty night without it.
Buy now £50.00, John Lewis
Emma Premium Mattress Topper
Sizes available: single, small double, double, king, superking
Best for: risk-free trial
Emma actively encourages you to try its products and to return them if you’re not totally happy after 100 days.
This topper claims to offer several benefits; it has pressure-relieving, movement-isolating HRX foam with soft Airgocell foam, which means you’ll be able to rest in any position – and won’t be disturbed by a restless partner. It checks out: we sleep next to someone who spins like a fish on a line and we didn’t feel a thing.
The fabrics are breathable to allow the regulation of temperature (using tech called Premium ThermoSync) and they also wick away moisture, leaving you feeling cool and dry. It has two sides; just flip for a firmer or a softer surface.
Emma’s topper is made from OEKO-TEX non-toxic and vegan materials with a removable cover and washable at 40 degrees.
Buy now £330.00, Amazon
Silentnight Airmax Mattress Topper
Sizes available: single, small double, double, king, superking
Best for: improved air flow
Using what Silentnight calls Airmax technology, this topper has excellent airflow thanks simply to mesh sides, which allow air to freely circulate as you sleep. All fabrics are super breathable and it is easy to fit over your mattress using the elasticated corner straps that keep it snugly in place.
It’s one of the thicker toppers around, so perfect for adding extra cushioning on thinner mattresses. It can be machine washed at 40 degrees and is hypoallergenic, which will appeal to allergy sufferers.
Buy now £39.00, Amazon
Panda Bamboo Mattress Topper
Sizes available: single, double, small double, king, superking, EU single, EU double, EU king, EU emperor
Best for: uses sustainable bamboo
This topper relies on gel-infused memory foam that, at 5cm thick, offer support and comfort with your back, neck and hips in the best alignment. Using ‘open cell’ cooling technology (tiny capsules that expand as they get warmer, making more space inside to allow air through), it strives to keep you cool while remaining relaxing. The cover is made from soft and sustainable bamboo that is also naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic and like most bamboo fabrics, it feels soft on the skin.
Buy now £99.95, Amazon
Aidapt Memory Foam Cool Mattress Topper
Sizes available: single, double, king
Best for: budget choice
A funky topper with the appearance of egg boxes, this design relies on gel foam to keep you as cool as a cucumber. Not only do the peaks and dips of the structure keep cooler air circulating as you sleep but the topper also has gel-infused beads inside that help to regulate your temperature.
If you’re not into the feeling, simply flip it over for the reverse flat side. Made from foam, it is designed to contour to your body shape to help you get comfortable. This felt a little strange at first as I could feel the shape of the topper but once I had drifted off, it felt fine.
Use it to bring extra levels of comfort to make a camp bed or campervan mattress softer.
Buy now £65.00, Amazon
Kally Sleep Cooling Mattress Topper
Sizes available: double, king
Best for: softness
You’ll feel like you’re laying on cloud nine with this thick topper sandwiched between you and your mattress.
Perfect for reviving older or harder mattresses, it simply relies on air flow to keep you cool until sunrise. The sides are built with mesh, which allows air to circulate freely and it claims to be able to help with hot flushes and warmer weather, though when we tried it, it was still on the warm side - it was tested on a particularly balmy night.
The super-soft design almost feels like laying on top of a thick duvet.It also has an anti-allergy treatment that prevents bacteria from building up, which is a common cause of allergy. Elasticated straps kept it firmly on my mattress too.
Buy now £89.99, Amazon
Verdict
Having many types of cooling and tactical materials in one mattress topper, the Tempur Cool Mattress Protector is quite hard to beat. Not only does it have organic and chemical-free fabrics but it also has cooling microcapsules, thermo-regulating material and a breathable membrane layer. If you are keen to have a more natural night’s sleep, the Woolroom Deluxe Wool Mattress Topper is a comfortable and sustainable buy.
