If you have ever gone camping in Canada during summer, you probably relate to the feeling of pure bliss and wonder as you gaze up at the stars. You also probably woke up at five in the morning with scorching heat from the sun bouncing off your sweaty brow—that is what it feels like to be a hot sleeper in the summertime.
From bed sheets to mattresses, here is a comprehensive guide to surviving summer as a hot sleeper.
Air conditioning and high-quality fans may offer room temperature customization, but the true temperate changer lies in the products you sleep on. From mattresses to pillows, every component presents an opportunity to heat or cool your body as you sleep.
Here are three vital factors in sleep products that will help you stay cool through the night:
Through the material, tech, or finish, your sleep products should offer a premium combination of all three attributes to create a solution for hot sleepers in the summer.
Technically, the result of a breathable and conductive sleep product would equal cooling technology, but we are talking about specific products with cool-to-touch materials. Cooling technology appears in two forms: gel foams and cool-to-touch fabrics.
When hot sleepers try to troubleshoot their nighttime routine, the first place they look is to their bedsheets and blankets. While fuzzy sheets and thick duvets may produce more heat while you sleep, the solution goes far beneath your covers.
Mattresses and pillows such as Air Cool by Beautyrest or Ice Gel by Blu Sleep contain gel foams. These gel foams help regulate temperate throughout the night so you can achieve a fulfilling rest.
As mentioned earlier, it takes more than a fan to create a cool sleep. Each component of your sleep setup works as a team to keep you cool at night—including your bedsheets and pillowcases.
Cooling fabrics such as Bedgear Dri-Tec Sheets or the Ver-Tex Mattress Protector offer immediate relief, cooling you down as soon as you climb into bed. Moisture-wicking materials in the fabric help decrease nighttime perspiration and prevent clinging and pulling while you sleep.
While a less popular talking point, breathability is the most important factor in creating a cool and comfortable sleep.
Your mattress and pillow do not generate warmth on their own. Instead, your body produces natural heat as you sleep, which your mattress and pillows absorb. Scarcely breathable mattresses retain the trapped heat, generating a massive heating pad—or a hot sleeper’s worst nightmare.
Your body temperature drops while you sleep, but if the space around you becomes warmer, your brain assumes you are too warm and seeks a way to cool off. When there is a significant difference between your body temperature and the area around your body, you are more sensitive to these fluctuations.
Your sleep solution should expel hot air and prevent heat from being trapped inside your mattress or pillows.
Breathable mattresses like our Stearns & Foster Estate Collection allow hot air to escape. The collection features Stearns & Foster’s cutting-edge AirVent™ System, which hosts a plethora of ventilated coils and four AirVents™ that allow air to move out of the mattress, increasing airflow and pulling warm air away from your body throughout the night.
Conductivity is not necessarily about cooling you down—it is about how quickly your sleep solution can get you to your most comfortable temperature.
Through technology such as phase change material and far infrared technology, mattresses can draw heat away from your body so that you can relax at a comfortable temperature and fall asleep faster.
Remember the first time a science teacher taught you water has three stages: solid, liquid, and gas? I don’t know about you, but my brain was in pieces. Well, that same scientific process is the essence of phase change materials (PCM). This technology absorbs your heat and changes its state to regulate your temperature as you sleep.
The Ver-Tex Mattress Protector hosts phase change materials that work with your mattress and bedsheets to transform hot air into a cool sleeping surface.
Far Infrared Technology (FIT) combines modern sleep technology with natural minerals to draw your body heat, use it to create far infrared light and reflect it to you while you sleep. The new heat penetrates deep into your skin, warming your muscles and improving blood flow and circulation.
The Venus Williams Collection by GhostBed brings FIT technology to the forefront of your sleep experience. This collection helps your body recover and rebuild as you sleep by infusing FIT directly into the contouring memory foam.
To recap, hot sleepers require a complete sleep system featuring a premium mix of cooling technology, breathability, and conductivity. Start with a cooling mattress and pillows, and then extend your search to complementary bedsheets, mattress protectors, and other sleep accessories.
Here are our picks for the best bed for a hot sleeper trying to survive a Canadian summer:
While radiating heat may provide a great night’s sleep through the winter, warm weather makes it hard to find comfort throughout the summer. Luckily, the future of sleep technology presents products that help hot sleepers find solace through the sun-filled season.
Take a break from the summer fun and recharge in the ultimate sleep sanctuary for hot sleepers. For more summer inspiration, check out our Sunny Days Collection or follow us on social media.
When shopping for a cooling sleep solution, ask our sleep experts about these three factors or book an appointment to get a specialized sleep assessment.
