Are you thinking of investing in a mattress pad? That’s a great idea for comfort, but if you’ve sought advice from others, you may be worried that a new topper will make you hot and sweaty at night. Let us clear up your concerns. What are toppers? Do mattress pads make you sweat and how can you find bedding that keeps you cool?
What are mattress pads?
Mattress pads are an additional bedding item that sits on top of a mattress. They can range in thickness, from not much thicker than a sheet, to several inches high (often referred to as a mattress topper). The main reason for using a mattress pad or topper is to increase the comfort of your mattress, perhaps if it is getting old or is a little too firm. But they can also be useful to keep your mattress clean and even extend its life.
Unfortunately, mattress pads have gained a bit of a bad reputation - there is one thing that plays on people’s minds when it comes to making a purchase. And that’s, do mattress pads make you sweat? So, let’s try to clear that up for you.
Do mattress toppers make you sweat?
The answer to “do mattress toppers make you sweat?” is, as with a lot of things, it depends. In this case it depends what it’s made from.
A common material to make a mattress topper from is memory foam. However, there are some drawbacks to sleeping on memory foam. The dense nature of the material can interrupt air flow meaning that the heat and perspiration that escapes from your body has nowhere to go. This can cause you to overheat and leave you waking up feeling clammy and uncomfortable.
Other synthetic materials can have a similar effect. If only it was possible to find mattress pads that keep you cool, hey?
Is there such a thing as mattress pads that keep you cool?
It is possible to choose a cooling mattress topper – a pad for your mattress that keeps you cool. But to do this, you’ll need to pay attention to what it’s made from.
The best mattress pad to keep you cool is one made from natural fibers like wool. One of the great benefits of wool is its ability to circulate air and keep you cool by wicking away perspiration, keeping you dry and preventing overheating.
Supplement this with wool bedding that is designed by nature to keep you comfortable and dry and you’ll be enjoying a cool, contented night’s sleep before you know it.
If you want to make your mattress more comfortable without buying a new one, consider a stay cool mattress topper. Is it likely to make you sweat? Not if you follow our advice and choose a cooling mattress topper and wool bedding that keeps you cool.
If you are looking for more ideas about how to sleep better at night naturally, visit our Sleep Health & Advice hub.
People we speak to are often surprised when we tell them they should consider wool for their summer weight comforter and other summer bedding. They assume it gets hot, itchy and uncomfortable in warmer weather, causing even more tossing and turning and kicking-off of covers than usual.
In fact, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. That’s why we’d like to share 5 reasons why wool does make the best comforter for summer. So, we can debunk some of those common misconceptions.
1. To keep you cool on a warm night
Yes, you read that right! Wool doesn’t just keep you warm and snuggly when it’s cold. It also has incredible thermo-regulating properties that make sure that when the weather is warm, you won’t overheat. Wool fibers are naturally adapted to keep us at a steady temperature – they’ve evolved this way so that sheep don’t swelter when they’re roaming around a sunny mountainside. But we can use this trait to our advantage too, by using it to create summer bedding.
When choosing a summer comforter, you need to be sure it is breathable so that your excess body heat can naturally escape, helping you to stay at a constantly comfortable temperature. A summer wool weight comforter will help with this, allowing you to sleep better for longer. Even when the temperature rises.
2. To stop you feeling clammy in bed
When nights are warm, we find ourselves getting hot and sweaty, often tossing and turning and kicking off the covers only to get cold and pull them back over us again. All this interruption can play havoc with a night’s sleep. So, what can be done?
One of our favorite properties of wool is its ability to absorb moisture and then desorb it back out into the atmosphere. This means it can literally take sweat away from your skin and lock it up so neither you, nor your bedcovers, feel damp. This makes it by far the best comforter for summer if you find yourself lying awake feeling hot and sticky.
3. To limit humidity-loving allergens
You’ve probably read a fair bit about the health-risks of allergens in your bed and bedding. But did you know that the risks are even greater during the summer? This is because the molds and dust mites responsible thrive in damp, humid conditions. The kind of conditions that are far more prevalent in warmer weather.
This is where a summer weight wool comforter comes into its own. Because of wool fibers’ amazing ability to absorb and desorb moisture they create a very dry atmosphere, unlike many other summer comforter fillings. Mold and dust mites are much less able to survive in these arid conditions meaning a summer weight wool comforter will provide a healthier sleeping environment for your family.
4. To stop nighttime arguments over the comforter
It’s not uncommon to find that two people sharing a bed prefer different temperatures to sleep in. One may be a cold sleeper and the other a warm sleeper. At no time of the year does this cause as many arguments as in the summer months. Wool has the answer though.
Wool fibers manage the microclimate around them, allowing them to support each sleeper differently. While the wool fibers on the other side of your summer comforter are busy wicking away perspiration from your partner, those on your side could be creating an insulating layer to keep you snugly warm.
5. It’s light but not too light
Many people report that they are unable to sleep without the comforter, needing to feel that they’re ‘snuggling down’ into bed, even if it is not cold. And it’s been proven that the weight of covers on your body can create a feeling of calm and help you relax. A summer weight wool comforter is the perfect compromise as it will feel pleasantly lightweight, but not so light you don’t notice it.
If you’re looking for a summer weight comforter that will help you to stay relaxed and enjoy a good night’s sleep, consider wool. The facts speak for themselves. That’s why, we think wool makes the best summer weight comforter out there.
If you're looking for a particular sized comforter, the links below may help: