The Very Best Cooling Mattresses

The materials a mattress is made of can affect how warm or cool you feel while lying on it. In addition, certain mattresses are constructed in a way that increases airflow; for example, a mattress with springs will typically have better ventilation than one made entirely of foam. Latex foam is considered more breathable than memory foam, which easily traps heat. The construction of your mattress will also determine how much support the bed provides and how comfortable you feel when you lie down in it.

Many of the mattresses on this list have some sort of cooling or temperature-regulating feature. As mentioned above, memory foam tends to trap body heat; however, cooling components, such as infusions of gel, graphite, or copper to memory foam, can dissipate body heat. If you’re looking for other ways to prevent overheating, consider a mattress that has a cooling cover made with phase-change materials, cool-to-the-touch polyethylene fibers, moisture-wicking Tencel or bamboo viscose, or breathable cotton.

The way you sleep will have an impact on the type of mattress you find most comfortable. Side sleepers, for example, need pressure relief on their hips and shoulders along with a mattress that supports the alignment of the spine, shoulders, and pelvis — a soft-to-medium-firm mattress is usually best. Stomach sleepers typically need a firm, supportive mattress that keeps their hips from sinking down, which can cause lower-back strain. Back sleepers need good back support as well but may also want pressure relief around the shoulders or lower back, so medium-to-firm mattresses are typically best.

Noticeable cooling power: Druckman says the Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid feels cool to the touch thanks in part to the mattress’s cover (it includes polyethylene, one of the most common choices for a cool-to-the-touch fabric). “I’m a stomach sleeper and often sleep with my head directly on the mattress and never yearn to flip to the cold side of the pillow,” Druckman says. She doesn’t have air-conditioning in her bedroom, but in the summer she sleeps comfortably with just a few fans running to cool the room and says the mattress does a great job helping to prevent night sweats. She overheats only when the room itself has gotten too hot to bear — something no cooling mattress can fully combat. In the winter, Druckman actually finds the mattress to be too cold on occasion; her partner, Jack, runs much warmer and says he has found the mattress to be just the right level of chilly, even in colder temperatures.

Universally appealing medium feel: Though Leesa describes this mattress as medium-firm, Druckman felt it was just a bit softer. That has ended up working really well for her — she enjoys the initial softness of the mattress when she lies down but appreciates the sturdy support it also provides. As a side and stomach sleeper, she needs both pressure relief for her joints and structure to keep her hips from sinking, both of which she gets from the Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid. “On my old mattress, I often woke up with aches in my neck and back, but that rarely if ever happens on the Leesa,” Druckman says.

Strong edge support: After sleeping on a Zinus mattress that started drooping so much that she was rolling into her partner at night, Druckman was especially pleased by the sturdy edges of the Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid. “I can sleep as close to the edge as I please thanks to the strong support around the perimeter of the mattress,” she says.

Heavy: The Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid is a pretty hefty mattress — it has five layers of material (including two coil layers), and the queen size weighs about 113 pounds. It’s significantly heavier than Druckman’s previous mattress, which weighed only 57 pounds. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing for sleeping on the mattress, Druckman did notice it made changing her mattress protector and sheets more difficult.

Can be too cold in the winter: If you’re a truly hot sleeper, this may not even be a con. But since Druckman started testing this mattress in the winter, she did find the mattress was actually too cold on some especially chilly nights — particularly because she keeps the heat off in her bedroom during the day to save electricity. “During the coldest nights, I was actually shivering when I first got in bed because the Leesa had gotten so chilly throughout the day,” Druckman says.

Construction: The Leesa Legend Chill Hybrid has a fairly standard hybrid build, with three layers of foam over coils, but a couple features make it stand out. First is the cooling cover, which is a blend of polyester, polyethylene, and Lycra. (Polyethylene is common in cooling fabrics because it gives them a cool-to-the-touch feel.) Second is a layer of micro-coils that’s sandwiched between the second and third layers of foam; these micro-coils are only a fraction of the height of the main support coils but provide a little extra uplift to keep you from sinking too deeply into the foam. The mattress’s base coil layer has zoned support to promote spinal alignment. On top of the cooling power of the cover, the foam layers provide some additional temperature regulation via gel swirls and a more open foam structure to allow for easier airflow.

Firmness and support: Though the mattress is billed as medium-firm, Druckman says she’d describe the feel as supportive without actually feeling firm — more like true medium than medium-firm. She says it keeps her back aligned but without feeling rigid. As someone who hates feeling like she’s “sleeping on a board,” Druckman says she looks forward to slightly sinking into her Leesa every night.

Doesn’t overheat: While it’s not as physically chilly as the Leesa above, Avila says she doesn’t overheat while sleeping on the Tuft & Needle Mint Mattress, even with the fan off. Her partner, who also runs quite warm, agrees that he doesn’t get as hot while sleeping on the Mint as he has on other mattresses.

Supportive but not too firm: Like Druckman, Avila had been sleeping on a Zinus mattress prior to the Mint, and it had started losing some of its structure and becoming less supportive. She says this “quickly became apparent when I started sleeping on the Mint, which felt way more supportive.” Still, though the Mint provided much more support, Avila says it never felt too firm on her hips or shoulders when she rolled over onto her side.

Feels substantial: Sometimes, despite being giant pieces of furniture, mattresses can feel a bit flimsy. That’s not the case for the Mint, Avila says: “While it actually isn’t as thick as my Zinus, the Mint felt more substantial and looked nicer with its gray knit cover.”

Lack of durability in the long term: While Avila appreciates the support the Mint offers, after three years of sleeping on it, she and her partner have noticed it softening and becoming a bit less supportive. It’s not a deal-breaker — Avila says she still loves the mattress and has very few complaints overall — but it’s worth noting if you don’t like a softer mattress.

Construction: The Mint Mattress has three layers of foam: a top layer of the brand’s “highly-breathable fast-recovery” T&N Flex foam, followed by a layer of the more pressure-relieving T&N Release foam, and then a thick section of sturdy base foam. The cover is made from a blend of polyester and spandex.

Firmness and support: Tuft & Needle describes this mattress as “medium-plush,” which aligns with Avila’s experience of it feeling soft but supportive.

Breathable grid layer: Thanks to the GelFlex grid comfort layer, the Purple allows for more airflow than a typical foam mattress might. “I used to have to move around to avoid spots that had dipped and retained heat, but the gel layer never held divots,” Chen says.

Pressure-relieving: In addition to keeping him cool, the GelFlex Grid layer kept Chen’s shoulders and hips cushioned. “When I lay on my side, it was like being cradled rather than smothered, the way I felt on my old foam mattress,” Chen says. On the Purple, he reports having no aches or pains like he used to.

Unique-feeling, supportive grid layer: For Chen, laying on the Purple was a brand-new experience compared to more traditional mattresses. He says he felt very aware of the GelFlex Grid as he lay on it, which he likens to the “rubbery give of a kids’-party bouncy house.” Despite the flexy comfort layer, though, Chen says the Purple mattress still felt very supportive.

Construction: The standout feature of the Purple’s Original mattress is a two-inch layer of the brand’s proprietary hyperelastic polymer GelFlex Grid. The layer isn’t a smooth plane but a grid of squares, which you can definitely feel. The polymer was invented in 1996 by brothers Tony and Terry Pearce (both engineers), and it’s a strong but moldable gel-like material that was then used in medical beds, Dr. Scholl’s soles, and toy balls. The construction of the Original mattress layers the GelFlex Grid over multiple layers of foam.

Firmness and support: Purple describes its Original mattress as medium-firm with a “very stable feel.”

Stays cool: While Corsillo doesn’t feel actively cooled on the Birch, she says she doesn’t typically overheat despite running warm. Compared to polyurethane foams, latex is generally considered to be less heat-trapping, but the rest of this mattress is highly breathable too. Atop the latex is a layer of wool — known for its thermoregulating properties — and the cotton cover should allow for more airflow than synthetics would.

Works for multiple sleeping positions: The Birch’s medium-firm feel works well for both Corsillo and her stomach-sleeper husband. “It’s my favorite mattress of the ones I’ve tried so far,” Corsillo says. “It’s firmer and feels sturdier than the Avocado and the Casper I’ve slept on in the past.”

Easy to move on without motion transfer: Latex is more responsive than most polyurethane foams, meaning it springs back when you remove pressure from it, so it’s typically a good option for those who rotate between sleeping positions at night. Corsillo confirms that’s the case with the Birch, saying she never feels stuck in the mattress. Despite that, the mattress is able to isolate motion well: “My husband tosses and turns, but I never feel it unless he actually bumps into me,” Corsillo says.

Not very bouncy: Though she is able to move around easily on the mattress, Corsillo says it isn’t particularly springy.

Lacking in hip support: Corsillo likes the medium-firm feel overall but says she may need a firmer mattress in the future. “I have noticed my hips feeling less supported on this mattress, particularly after having a baby,” she says.

Construction: The mattress is made with Rainforest Alliance–certified latex from sustainably tapped rubber trees, organic cotton, American-manufactured steel, and all-natural wool from New Zealand sheep. That wool is the standout material as it provides cushion and plushness and helps regulate temperature.

Firmness and support: Birch rates the Birch Natural as “medium-firm,” which is right in line with Corsillo’s testing.

Breathable grid layer: Like the Purple Original mattress that Chen tested, the Purple RestorePremier utilizes the GelFlex Grid. While Martin doesn’t typically overheat at night, she says the mattress feels slightly cool to the touch, and it stays noticeably cooler than foam mattresses she has slept on in the past.

“Suspended” feeling on the grid: In addition to keeping the mattress cool, the GelFlex Grid gives the Purple RestorePremier a “slightly suspended feel” that Martin says she has really grown to like. She particularly appreciates it when she’s flipping over to a different sleeping position given that the flexible grid provides shock absorption. The difference, Martin says, is like “wearing an excellent running shoe compared to a just-okay running shoe.”

Both supportive and pressure-relieving: Combination sleepers, who rotate between various positions, often need their mattress to do multiple things at once — supporting certain parts of the body in one position, then cushioning them in another. Martin says the Purple RestorePremier has the right support for her in every sleeping position and that she’s no longer dealing with shoulder pain.

Heavy: Martin says this mattress is easily the heaviest and most challenging mattress to move of the six different mattresses she has owned over the years. At 13 inches tall and weighing 137 pounds, it’s a hefty mattress.

Construction: One of Purple’s more high-end models, this hybrid mattress features a three-inch layer of the brand’s signature GelFlex Grid, a hyperelastic polymer that flexes under pressure but keeps you “floating” on top of the mattress rather than sinking too deeply into it. Beneath the GelFlex Grid, there’s a middle section of foam and then a base of pocketed coils to provide extra-responsive support and pressure relief. The mattress also has a band of high-density foam wrapped around its perimeter to bolster the edges and prevent them from collapsing under weight.

Firmness and support: Purple describes this mattress as soft and good for all sleeping positions. It originally came in two firmness levels (soft and firm), but the brand has since reduced it to one option. We tested the firm model, which Martin says was initially too firm but ended up being very comfortable after breaking it in. Now the soft model is the only one available.