Cooling Bedding For Hot Sleepers

Cool bedding is the perfect solution for hot summer nights, especially if you don’t want to invest in a cooling mattress. If you really prefer a cooler night’s sleep, you can pair your mattress, such as a cool gel mattress, with some of our innovative cooling bedding.

In this guide, we’ll take you through the best types of cooling bedding, as well as how each product works and benefits you.

What bedding material keeps you cool?

Natural fibres are the best type of fabric for staying cool at night. This is because they're far more breathable than other materials, letting air pass through without trapping heat and warming you up.

Bedding with wool can trap heat and keep you warm, while fabrics like cotton will wick away moisture and keep you fresh and dry. Some innovative bedding features both wool and cotton in order to create a climate control unit, storing just enough heat in the wool to keep you at the optimal sleeping temperature, and letting the cotton keep you feeling fresh.

Hollowfibre is also a great bedding material for keeping you cool at night, and is often used as a more breathable alternative to traditional materials, such as down in pillows. Hollowfibre is just as soft and comfortable as many other materials, but, as the name suggests, features space between the individual fibres to allow air to pass through, preventing heat retention.

Some really innovative cooling bedding have special properties that actively cool you down, such as TEMPUR®'s Outlast® thermo-regulating technology, a material that monitors your body temperature and warms or cools you to keep you at the right temperature.

Cooling pillows

Cooling pillows are excellent for anyone who loves that ‘cool side of the pillow’ feeling. Specialist cooling pillows often use integrated gel pads, which are infused with gel microbeads that maintain a cold temperature. You might also find cooling pillows that use cool gel foam, which you can read more about in our Gel Foam Mattress Buying Guide.

‘Summer pillows’ can also be used for a cooler sleep set-up. These have a lighter feel and are made from fillings that promote air circulation. They won’t necessarily have a specialist cooling feature, but are less dense and don't actively trap heat.

As we mentioned before, some pillows use hollowfibre, which lets air travel through the pillow more easily. This material can be used as an alternative to down, as it is just as soft and comfortable, but is much cooler, as well as less expensive.

Cooling duvets & quilts

Summer duvets that keep you cool tend to be a lot lighter and have a lower tog. A tog rating refers to the thermal resistance, and is essentially an indicator of how well a duvet insulates warmth. In the summer, or if you generally prefer a cooler bed set up, you'll want to choose a lower tog duvet, such as a tog rating of 4.5.

Some duvets have specialist cooling features, such as the Emma® Cloud Duvet. This duvet is filled with special temperature regulating microfibres which allow air to pass through and over your body, cooling you down at night.

When choosing bedding to stay cool at night, look for a microfibre cover like the Emma® Cloud Duvet has, as this is not only soft to the touch and breathable, but maintains a super hygienic environment. This is essential during summer months when you tend to sweat at night, or if you suffer from night sweats.

Cooling mattress toppers

Arguably the best bedding to keep you cool, cooling mattress toppers can easily be removed from your mattress when you no longer want a colder night's sleep.

Cooling toppers work in the same way cooling mattresses do - by containing special features that actively draw heat away from your body. This can be cool gel foam, or other innovative technology like graphite strips.

Some mattress toppers are naturally cooling, as they are made from materials that promote air circulation. For example, the Emma® Flip Memory Foam Mattress Topper features a side of open-cell memory foam that draws in air to cool your bed down, and there are many other ways to make your memory foam mattress cooler, too.

Cooling mattress protectors

Even mattress protectors can have cooling properties, so you can complete your cool bed set up. Mattress protectors are a great bedding addition for a cooler and cleaner sleeping surface, as they are often made from cotton or linen that promotes air flow and minimises allergens.

If you tend to sweat a lot at night, a mattress protector is essential. You should ensure your sleeping envionment is clean and hygienic to prevent breakouts and triggering allergies.

If you're going through the menopause, investing in a cooling mattress protector will not only keep you cool at night, but also help you keep your bed clean after experiencing night sweats.

Cooling bed sheets

The best cooling bed sheets, like all cooling bedding, is made from materials that promote air flow. Cotton and linen are light and breathable, making them brilliant at keeping you at the right temperature all night.

Lightweight and cooling duvet covers, pillow cases and bed sheets can make all the difference when it comes to creating the ideal bed set up if you're a hot sleeper. Microfibre sheets will help keep you cool, as well as absorb and evaporate excess moisture as you sweat in the night. Remember to change your sheets more regularly than usual in the summer!

Lighter coloured sheets will reflect heat, while darker colours will absorb it. So, during the summer months, or all the time if you prefer a cooler sleep, opt for white or light bed sheets and duvet covers. White bed sheets also emulate hotel style luxury, so your bed will feel crisp, fresh and cool. Our range of Silentnight Supersoft bed sheets are available in a range of colours, including white, and have no iron technology so you can enjoy crease-free sheets as well as a refreshing night's sleep.

A cool bedding set is the easiest way to create a temperature optimised sleep set up, as you can easily swap your bedding set over for a thicker, warmer one when the weather changes.