Cooling pillows and mattress toppers: which materials stay cool

The 3 side by side

Published specs from each maker's listing, read October 2026.

Why some beds are hotter than others

To fall asleep and stay in deep sleep, your body needs to shed heat through the skin. Studies on heat and sleep found that the air trapped under the covers and against the mattress matters as much as the room, and that small rises in skin temperature change how deeply people sleep. So the question for any pillow or topper is simple: how much of you does it wrap, and can air move through it?

Dense memory foam is temperature-sensitive: it softens as it warms, which is what lets you sink in. That same sink-in means more skin pressed against a material that holds heat. Latex behaves differently. It is springy, so you rest on top rather than inside it, and it is made with open cells that let air pass. Shredded fillings, whether foam or fibre, leave gaps between the pieces for air to move.

The three options

Natural latex topper. The Pure Green topper is solid natural latex, certified organic by the maker, and comes in 1, 2 or 3 inches and soft, medium or firm. Because every size and firmness is a separate listing, we link to a search rather than one item. It changes the surface you lie on without replacing the mattress, which makes it the cheaper test if your back gets hot on a foam mattress. Pick soft if the mattress feels hard, firm if it already feels soft; the topper adds feel but doesn’t fix a dip.

Adjustable shredded-foam pillow. The Coop Original pillow is filled with cross-cut memory foam blended with gel fibre, and the zip lets you take fill out until your neck is level with your spine. The shredded fill breathes better than a solid foam block and moulds to the head without the full sink. It is still foam, so very hot sleepers may want latex or buckwheat instead.

Gel-layer memory foam pillow. The TEMPUR-Cloud Breeze wraps TEMPUR memory foam in cooling gel layers on both sides, with a washable cover. It’s for people who love the cradled feel of memory foam. The gel feels cool when you first lie down; over a night it reaches skin temperature, and the solid core holds heat like other foam. Flipping it to the other side refreshes the cool feel.

Who should choose what

If you wake hot with a sweaty back, change the surface under your body first — a latex topper. If your head and neck get hot, or you need to fine-tune height, choose an adjustable shredded pillow. If you sleep well on memory foam and only want a cooler first few minutes, the gel-layer pillow keeps the feel you like.

Do these before spending

Lighter bedding and moving air fix more hot nights than any material, which is why our too hot to sleep guide puts them first. A fan across the bed costs less than a topper; we compare four in fans for a hot bedroom. And if your mattress is old and sagging, no topper will fix that — a new mattress is the real solution, and latex or coil designs tend to run cooler than all-foam ones.

People with a latex allergy should avoid latex toppers. Anyone with night sweats that soak the sheets in a cool room should see a doctor rather than shop for bedding.

Questions people ask

Do cooling pillows really stay cool all night?

Gel and phase-change surfaces feel cool at first contact and then reach skin temperature within minutes to an hour. Over a full night, airflow through the filling and how far you sink in matter more.

Is latex cooler than memory foam?

Generally, yes. Latex pushes back rather than letting you sink, so less of your body is wrapped in material, and its open cells let air through. Memory foam softens with warmth and moulds around you, which holds more heat.

Will a topper fix a sagging mattress?

No. A topper follows the shape below it. If the mattress has a dip you can see, a topper only changes the feel of the dip.

What size topper do I need?

The same size as the mattress. A thicker topper changes the feel more; 2 inches is a common middle ground. Check your fitted sheet still fits over the extra height.