Like the promotional posters for the final season of Game of Thrones, it seems as though everyone is always acutely aware of the advent of winter, at all times of the year.
Even as we creep slowly along into the coming of spring, brighter mornings and long, sunny evenings, the mercurial British weather can always change in an instant. The pessimistics among us know not to get our hopes up when we’re awoken by a beaming blue sky, for we’re well aware that the temperatures are still likely to be sub-zero until the beginning of April at the very least.
Once our eyes and bodies adjust to a new day, full-body shivers ensue and getting out of bed becomes that extra bit more challenging. Perhaps the answer lies in making your bed so warm, so unbelievably cosy that getting up after eight hours of sauna-like slumber means you just have to throw off the covers for some respite.
Electric blankets consume electricity (albeit less than central heating), hot water bottles only last so long and too many layers of bedding and pyjamas combined makes us claustrophobic just thinking about it. So, you can imagine our delight when this wondrous self-heating mattress topper by Silentnight popped up on our radar.
At just £40, Silentnight’s seemingly magical device promises to add 7.5 tog of extra warmth to your bed. Utilising heat reflecting foil, thermal lining and a super soft fabric outer quilt, this mattress topper is not out to make your bed feel like a hot bath. Rather, the heat reflective properties help to gradually warm up your bed by responding to your own body temperature and redistributing the heat that you naturally generate.
What is tog?
Tog is a measure of warmth in an item of bedding. The unit measures the thermal insulance, or thermal resistance, of a particular bedding product and it is most commonly used to differentiate between different duvets.
How do I know what tog I need?
It all depends on what kind of sleeper you are. Do you suffer terribly from hot flushes? Or do find your sleeping conditions feel closer to that of Everest Base Camp than a UK-based home?
For the former, you won’t want a duvet or mattress topper with a tog measurement of any higher than 10, and an additional 7.5 might feel like too much. For the latter, 10.5 and above is likely to be your sweet spot.
For context, I’m a 24-year-old woman who has already fallen victim to the curse of the hot flush. No matter how cold I feel before falling asleep on a brisk winter’s night, I can pretty much guarantee I’ll wake up a sweaty mess. As such, you can imagine my reluctance to try a mattress topper that functions by reflecting your own body heat. Nevertheless, let’s get down to business with this review. Pun intended.
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Functionality and warmth
I’ve given electric blankets a go in the past, but what stands out about this product is the fact that there are no wires to plug in - or, more importantly, switches to remember to turn off. However, unlike an electric blanket, you naturally cannot expect your bed to be warmer as soon as you slip under the covers.
It takes a few minutes to feel any reflective, warming effect. Even then, I found the extra warmth to be almost negligible. Silentnight claims that this mattress topper will help you save money on your electricity bill due to its three-part construction (that heat reflecting foil, thermal lining and deeply filled quilting that we mentioned earlier) – yet I actually found the topper itself to be quite slim and well, functionless.
As I mentioned above, it’s important to note that I often feel like a space heater during even the most peaceful night’s sleep. So, this topper should’ve taken me to Sahara-levels of warmth but this was not the case.
The only added benefit to my bedding set-up was an extra layer of added comfort and softness. This brings us nicely to the next section of the review…
Comfort
Ultra-soft, cosy and not so thick that it disrupts your usual sleeping habits, this cloud-like mattress topper certainly wins points in the comfort department - even despite its slimline appearance. What it lacks in its warming ability, it makes up for the sink-right-in feel that will have you relishing bedtime.
As far as regular, non-magic mattress toppers go, this one actually takes the biscuit. It is hypoallergenic and kind to skin, so even those with slightly thinning fitted sheets (we’ve all been there) won’t be aggravated by any potentially prodding feathers and interference.
Verdict
This self-heating mattress doesn’t do a huge amount in the warming department. If you’re truly struggling to sleep and refuse to turn on your central heating, you’re better off investing in a really decent electric blanket. According to Sleepseeker, a standard 100W electric blanket costs just 70p to run for a whopping 24 hours so they won’t add too much on to electricity bills. Plus, with a little preplanning, will up the temperature the second that you slip beneath the sheets.
Yet, if you’re looking for a simple and value-for-money mattress topper with soft support for added comfort, we couldn’t recommend it more. You win some, you lose some.
