Cooling Mattress

Yes, within limits. A cooling mattress cannot cool a warm room, but it can stop heat and sweat building up between you and the bed. The parts that do the work are a base that lets air move, usually pocketed coils, and a cover that breathes and wicks moisture. Gel and copper infusions help less than the marketing suggests, because the foam around them still blocks airflow, and the Sleep Foundation notes that hybrids tend to sleep cooler than all-foam beds for that reason. The Edge Signature hybrid has both a coil base and a breathable knit cover.

No. A cooling mattress built on airflow and a breathable cover is not cold; it only stops heat piling up around you, so in winter it feels like an ordinary bed under a warmer duvet. The exception is a powered mattress cooler that pumps chilled water through a pad, which can feel cold and is usually set to warm when the weather changes. On a hybrid such as the Edge Signature, the winter change is bedding, not the mattress: a heavier comforter or a flannel sheet holds warmth on top while the coils underneath carry on letting air through.

Three things, in order: a coil base rather than an all-foam core, a cover that breathes and wicks moisture, and a comfort layer no thicker than you need, since the top few inches are where heat collects. The best mattress for hot sleepers is usually a hybrid with a breathable knit cover. Firmness matters too, because a plush surface wraps more of your body, so a hot sleeper who wants a soft feel should put that plush layer over coils. The Edge Signature hybrid comes in plush or medium-firm, and our hybrid vs memory foam guide covers the rest of the trade-offs.

A gel flex grid mattress is a Purple mattress, since the GelFlex Grid is Purple's own top layer. Purple describes it as a temperature-neutral hyper-elastic polymer that flexes under pressure points, used over its foams and coil systems in every Purple mattress, and credits it with dissipating heat. It is a different material from memory foam, and it is not something you can add to another bed. If you want a memory foam feel that still sleeps cool, the alternative is memory foam over pocketed coils with a breathable cover, which is the Edge Signature hybrid's construction, and its comfort layer can be swapped later.

Usually not for the whole night. A cool gel mattress has gel beads or a gel swirl mixed into the memory foam, and it can feel cooler when you first lie down because the gel absorbs some surface heat. Gel absorbs heat rather than moving it away, so once it has warmed to body temperature the effect fades. Gel works best as a thin top over something that breathes, such as pocketed coils. On a mattress you already own, a gel topper such as the Reflex Gel topper gives you that surface effect for far less than a new bed.

A mattress cooler is a powered pad or system that sits on top of the mattress and circulates chilled water or air through it. They work, and some run each side at a different temperature, but they cost several hundred dollars or more, need power and a unit beside the bed, and add upkeep. Most hot sleepers do not need one. Try the cheaper steps first: a bedroom at 65 to 68°F, breathable sheets, a moisture-wicking mattress protector and a mattress or topper that lets air move. A mattress cooler is the last step, not the first.

Between 65 and 68°F, roughly 18 to 20°C, according to the Sleep Foundation, which names about 65°F as the best single figure. Core temperature starts falling about two hours before sleep and keeps dropping until early morning, and a warm room gets in the way of that drop, which is linked to less deep sleep and more waking. This matters when shopping, because no cooling mattress makes up for a bedroom at 75°F. Set the thermostat first, then choose the bed, so a hybrid with a breathable cover is not fighting the room.

The hybrid version is the one to choose if you sleep hot. The Edge Signature hybrid places a 3.5-inch memory foam comfort layer over 2.5 inches of firm foam and individually pocketed coils, so air can move through the base, and its breathable, moisture-wicking knit cover zips off for the washing machine. It is not an actively cooled mattress and will not feel cold to the touch. The all-foam Edge Signature and the 12-inch Edge will run warmer, because a foam core does not let air through. Both come with a 120-night trial, long enough to include some warm nights.

Work from the outside in. Lower the room to 65 to 68°F, add a fan, and switch to breathable sheets such as organic cotton rather than polyester or microfiber. If the mattress itself is the problem, a cooling topper changes the surface you sleep on, and the Active Cooling Copper topper is the Viscosoft option made for that. Check the base too, since a slatted frame lets air reach the underside of the mattress and a solid platform does not; our guide to the best foundation for a memory foam mattress covers the options.

It can reduce how much sweat stays in the bed, but it does not treat the cause. The Sleep Foundation lists a warm bedroom, heavy bedding and too many layers as common everyday causes, and medical ones including menopause, certain medications, fever and sleep apnea. For the everyday causes, a hybrid with a breathable, moisture-wicking cover, lighter sheets and a cooler room all help, and a washable cover like the Edge Signature's means the bed itself can be cleaned. If night sweats are frequent, severe or come with fever or weight loss, see a doctor; a mattress is not the fix.