Best cooling mattress: Tried and tested for a cooler night’s sleep

The best cooling mattress can be a lifesaver for those who get too hot during the night. Made with materials designed for maximum breathability, they’ll keep you comfortable throughout the warmest of summer nights. To be clear, no mattress will actively cool you down, but some will be better than others when it comes to temperature regulation. 

Finding the right mattress can require considerable research, particularly as most mattress brands claim to be breathable and cool in some way, shape or form. Thankfully, we’ve reviewed more than 40 mattresses here at Expert Reviews, allowing us to give you the best recommendations whatever your needs might be.

Below, you’ll find a roundup of some of our favourite tried-and-tested mattresses, picked specifically for breathability and temperature regulation. Below that, you’ll find a short buying guide on how to find the best cooling mattress for you. We’ve also taken the time to explain the process that goes into our mattress testing. If, however, you just want a quick list of recommendations, see our at a glance list directly below this introduction.

READ NEXT: Best mattresses

Best cooling mattress: At a glance

How we test mattresses

How better to test a mattress than to sleep on it. Though, we don’t just put our feet up for eight hours, there are also a number of key factors we take into consideration. Alongside comfort and support, we look closely at firmness and temperature control – though we also focus on edge support and motion isolation when needed.

To illustrate, when taking temperature into account, all-foam ones might feel warmer than some of its counterparts, which makes them a less viable option for those who may overheat at night.

Where you place your mattress – whether that be on a sprung slatted bed, durable divan base or even the floor – will have an effect on how the mattress feels beneath you. And though we are not able to test a variety of bed bases when reviewing a mattress, we will always factor it as part of our decisions.

Following our primary tests, we take into account any trial runs that might be on offer – which is a common occurrence within the bed-in-a-box market – before tackling the big question, is the mattress good value for money?

READ NEXT: Emma Original vs Simba Hybrid: Which is better?

The best cooling mattresses you can buy in 2024

1. Simba Hybrid Pro: The best cooling mattress bed-in-a-box overall

Price when reviewed: From £899 (single) | Check price at Simba

Great for… Its temperature regulating wool layer
Not so great for… Those who want a removable (and washable) top cover

One of the best hybrid mattresses we’ve ever tested, the Simba Hybrid Pro is constructed from several layers of foam, two microspring layers (one more than the regular Hybrid), an upper wool layer and a “breathable sleep surface”. For this reason, we felt it outperformed many other foam and hybrid mattresses when it came to heat regulation.

At £1,279 for a double mattress, it’s not cheap (the Hybrid Ultra holds the title of Simba’s most expensive mattress). However, it comes with a 200-night money-back guarantee, and can often be had at a discount in Simba’s regular sales.

Read our full Simba Hybrid Pro review 

2. Otty Original Hybrid: Best firm cooling mattress

Price when reviewed: From £530 (single) | Check price at Otty

Great for… People who prefer a firmer feel
Not so great for… Corner support

If the Simba Hybrid Pro is a bit of strain on the budget, Otty’s mattress is a good affordable alternative. We found it to be a firm and supportive mattress, even if our reviewer did note it lacking slightly in corner support. The Original Hybrid is constructed from several layers of foam, including an upper layer of temperature-regulating memory foam, as well as a layer of full-size pocket springs (up to 2,000 16cm springs according to Otty) and “airflow side support”.

Despite the savings, Otty still manages to match Simba’s trial period of 200 nights, which should be plenty of time for you to decide whether or not the Original Hybrid is right for you

Read our full Otty Original Hybrid review 

3. Emma NextGen Premium: Best value cooling mattress

Price when reviewed: From £489 (single) | Check prices at Emma

Great for… Comfort and breathability
Not so great for… Bounce, or for those who prefer a softer mattress

Emma’s premium mattress has gradually fallen in price since it launched in the height of summer 2023 and you can now snap up a king size for just £79809, and that’s before you take into account Emma’s occasional discount sales. What hasn’t changed, though, is the skin-friendly comfort and breathability that so impressed us when we tested it during a heatwave.

Thanks to an innovative combination of large, super-supportive pocket springs and assorted layers of foam, the Emma NextGen Premium achieves that rare feat among hybrid mattresses: it lets your skin breathe, even if you usually tend to feel warm in bed. The removable cover is another masterstroke, wicking sweat from your body and washing clean in time for another sleep.

Admittedly, we found the NextGen Premium quite firm so it’s perhaps not the first choice for those who prefer a soft mattress. But as far as its “cooling” properties are concerned, it does an excellent job with airflow and avoids the dreaded clamminess common with foam and hybrid mattresses.

Read our full Emma NextGen Premium review

What makes a cooling mattress cool?

Sprung mattresses: Mattresses with a sprung layer, whether they be pocket-sprung mattresses or hybrids (memory foam or latex mattresses with a spring or microspring layer), allow for improved airflow between their coils, meaning better breathability and a cooler night’s sleep.

Wool: Natural materials are often better than synthetic ones when it comes to heat regulation. Wool is particularly good for both its insulating qualities and its breathability, keeping you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Two of our top picks in this roundup, the Simba Hybrid Pro and the Harrison Spinks Velocity 4250, contain wool layers.

Latex: The open-cell design of latex foam allows for air circulation and breathability, which is why many have praised it as a cooler alternative to memory foam (which we’ll get into in more detail in the next section).

What about memory foam?

Because it retains body heat, memory foam has gained a reputation as a poor choice for hot sleepers – and not unfairly. However, you shouldn’t be too quick to completely write off memory foam.

Many modern memory foam mattresses use open-cell foam in their top comfort layers to improve breathability. Better still, many bed-in-a-box foam mattresses are hybrids, which, as we’ve touched on above, combine the benefits of foam with the breathability and air flow of a sprung layer.