Heavy, non-breathable materials like flannel or polyester can trap heat and make you feel warmer. These fabrics do not allow for proper air circulation, causing the heat to build up around you as you sleep. Choose lightweight, breathable fabrics like cotton, linen, or bamboo for a cooler sleep experience.
Body Heat Regulation: As you sleep, your body naturally generates heat. A bed can amplify this effect if it does not allow for adequate airflow or if the bedding is too thick. Sleep Position: Certain sleep positions can also affect heat retention.
You really only have three options to actually reduce the heat build up. (1) replace portions of the current mattress with less insulating materials (which would change the feel), (2) add something like a wool topper to try to keep the heat from reaching the mattress (also change the feel), (3) active cooling.
Particularly troublesome are mattresses with limited air flow (breath-ability) that allow you to sink deeply into them like many types of memory foam. Since your body ends up surrounded by dense foam that limits air flow it's only natural to feel hot, causing your body to sweat to cool it down.
Here are some key reasons why this happens: Metabolic Activity: During sleep, especially during deeper stages like REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the body's metabolic processes continue. This can generate heat, contributing to an overall increase in body temperature.
It's normal to sweat during the night if the room or your bedding is making you too hot. Night sweats are when you sweat so much that your night clothes and bedding are soaking wet, even though where you're sleeping is cool. Adults and children can get night sweats.
Your body makes heat, which your mattress can absorb. This is especially true if the mattress is made from heat-retaining materials. This can create a feedback loop where the heat from your body warms the mattress, radiating the heat back to you. Choose a mattress that suits your sleeping style and body temperature.
Use cooling sheets made with materials such as cotton, linen, or bamboo. Sheets with lower thread counts allow for better airflow and thus keep you cooler. If you're sleeping hot, avoid insulating comforters and duvets. Sleep with a light blanket or even just a flat sheet, instead.
Combining the support of innerspring coils with the contouring comfort of foam or latex layers, hybrid mattresses provide excellent airflow. The coil system enables air circulation and prevents any heat buildup. And, the foam or latex layers offer pressure relief and support without trapping heat.
Dr. Carlea Weiss, PhD, MS, RN, and sleep scientist, tells Sleepopolis that our core body temperature naturally dips slightly to promote sleep onset. “When that occurs, the skin temperature may rise to help release heat,” she says. “That is often why people feel they get hot during sleep.”
The Egyptian Sleep Method is pretty simple: sleepers wrap themselves in a wet towel when it's too hot to slumber comfortably. This trick supposedly dates back to ancient Egypt when they didn't have the modern conveniences to help them with the high temperatures.
If you suffer from night sweats, overheating or even hot flashes during the night, your mattress may be to blame. Plush, pillow top mattresses and extra mattress toppers are very popular nowadays, but these incredibly thick bases often leave people feeling far too hot during the night.
Basically, at some point in our sleep, we stop sweating and the temperature of the body rises. This higher temperature is retained by the mattress which makes it hotter.
Use a refreshing topper or mattress cover
If your memory foam mattress is particularly warm, you might consider using a topper or mattress cover designed to be cooling. These accessories are made of materials such as cooling gel, open cell foam or latex, which help maintain the ideal sleeping temperature.
Hot and Humid Climates: There is a special category of mattresses, such as natural latex or innerspring mattresses with an open coil structure. These mattress materials encourage air permeability, which helps avoid heat-trapping and is best used when one wants to sleep cooler at night.
After testing and reviewing over 120 beds, we named the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe the best cooling mattress overall. Nearly every layer contains an active cooling feature, plus it excels in other key areas like pressure relief and spinal alignment.
In general, we recommend hybrid mattresses with a core of individually wrapped springs because they feel more supportive and have better airflow, so they don't sleep as hot. You may also find our Best Mattresses guide helpful.
Things like alcohol, spicy foods, caffeine and smoking can be sweating triggers. Keep your bedroom cool and sleepwear light. Adjust the thermostat, use fans, open windows (if it's cold outside), wear breathable pajamas and use lightweight bedding. Cool yourself down.
For those of you lucky enough not to have not heard the term, a 'hot sleeper' refers to people who constantly feel hot when they're in bed and struggle to cool down during the night. This can be incredibly frustrating and lead to a disruptive and uncomfortable night's sleep.
Though it's common to feel like a hot flash has awakened you, research shows that many menopausal women actually awaken just before a hot flash occurs. There are changes in the brain that lead to the hot flash itself, and those changes — not just the feeling of heat — may also be what triggers the awakening.