The Cool-Bedroom Checklist: 9 Swaps for Sweaty Sleepers

Is there anything worse than trying to sleep in a boiling hot bed? Sure, yes, there are worse things, obviously. But it can be very aggravating and with more data coming out about how important sleep is, it’s important to set your bedroom up as ideal as possible. Your bedroom should be the best place for you to relax get cozy. Your sleep is important, so if you’re always waking up and tossing and turning because you’re boiling hot all night, that will have a waterfall effect on your health. And also, it’s just plain annoying.

We put together this list to help sweaty sleeper find relief. The order of this list has some logic to it. Heat issue are solved by looking at each layer on your bed (starting with the layer that touchs your skin the most) and works it’s way out. So if you are going to add each component to this list to your sleeping situation, start with #1 (sheets) first and work your way down. 

1. Swap to Breathable Sheets (Percale or Linen)

It may seem obvious, but having good, breathable sheets will make the biggest difference in how hot your bed feels. And when you think about it, sheets are the things that your skin touches the most when you’re lying in bed. So the material itself matters more than which brand you buy. Percale and linen are the best choices. They tend to breathe way more than something like a sateen (which is pretty dense and traps warmth) and polyester…well, if you’ve ever worn a polyester suit int he summer you know what we mean.

Mini-verdict: the highest cooling-per-dollar move on this list.

2. Moisture-Wicking Pillowcases

Your head loves to radiate heat. And while you may not have thought too much about your pillowcase, it’s a pretty important component in keeping your overall heat levels low. A pillowcase that doesn’t wick tends to collect and capture the heat you’re giving off. Remember the phrase “cool as the other side of the pillow”? Getting a good Tencel, bamboo-derived lyocell or performance knit pillow will mean that both sides of your pillow are the cool side. 

Mini-verdict: do it with the sheet swap; it rounds out the same order.

At our place we use pretty standard sheets — we like a decent thread count, nothing exotic. The one upgrade that punches above its weight: one of our pillows has silk on it, and it makes a nice little difference in terms of keeping things cool.

3. A Lighter Duvet or Comforter

Don’t buy an “all-season” comforter. That just means that it’s heavy enough to keep you warm in the winter. It also means it’s heavy enough to keep you boiling hot in the summer. Opt instead for a lighter comforter. Ideally something made with a simple cotton that won’t trap heat. If you end up getting too cold, that’s what a little throw blanket or quilt is for. The more layers you have the more control you have.

Mini-verdict: the fix most people skip because the duvet was expensive. The duvet doesn’t care. Retire it for summer.

4. A Cooling Pillow

We already told you about the pillowcases. Now let’s talk about what goes inside them. Try not to use a foam pillow. Those tend to trap the heat right where you’ll feel it the most. Get something that is more breathable will make a huge difference. Or you could always just fill your pillowcase with ice (that’s a joke.)

Mini-verdict: not the biggest lever, but the most noticeable one per dollar after sheets.

5. A Mattress Protector That Breathes

Remember growing up and when your little cousin who wet the bed would come over and your mom would put that rubber sheet on the mattress (no? Just me? OK!) Well, any mattress protector that doesn’t breathe is negating everything else you’ve done to try cool down you sleep situation. So peel off the sheets and see what’s under there. If you’ve got something that is vinyl, then strip it now and opt for a cotton-terry or Tencel protector. It keeps the waterproofing, while also letting it breathe at the same time. 

Mini-verdict: a stealth fix. Nobody suspects the protector.

6. A Cooling Mattress Topper

OK, this one isn’t cheap, but it’s probably worth it if you can afford it.Treating yourself to a cooling mattress topper will pay dividends. And when you think about the amount of time you’ll use it (eight hours a night for many many years, ideally), it’s pretty cheap in a per-use cost. There are two routes to go. First, a gel memory foam, which is a cheaper option. The Zinus 3-inch swirl gel is about $60 for a queen at the time of this writing. The reason this works is because latex cools more than any foam can. And the copper-gel is basically right between the coolest latex and the least cool gel foam. 

At the time of writing the Plushbeds organic latex topper is about $323. While the Layla copper-gel topper is about $254. Always looks for sales!

Mini-verdict: This is the cheapest way to get your mattress and bed cooler. The only thing to note here is that a topper can’t fix a sagging middle of a mattress. It can just help it stay cooler. 

Check topper price at PlushBeds →

7. Fix the Airflow (Fan Placement Most People Get Wrong)

If you are using a fan to stay cool at night, then there’s one thing you need to know. If you are putting a fan in your window, it should not be pointing in. Have it point out and make sure your bedroom is at least a cracked open a little. That will blow hot air out and keep circultating the air in your bedroom. If you don’t own a fan click the link for our recommendation.

Mini-verdict: If you already own a fan, it’s basically free. If you don’t they aren’t that expensive.

8. The Temperature and Light Habits (No Products Required)

Our own version of this is a three-part nighttime routine. First, we turn off the cat’s toy that makes a ton of noise, because we don’t want the cat playing with it in the middle of the night and waking us up. Second, we make sure the door is locked. And the last and probably most important thing: we turn the AC down to seventy-two. In our condo, the front where the living room is runs warmer than the bedroom, so if we keep it at seventy-two, the bedroom is probably down in the sixty-eight, sixty-nine range. We got a little lucky with the place where we live.

There are some totally free things you can do to help keep your bedroom from becoming an oven. If you bedroom faces the sun in the afternoon and evening, close your blinds by 2pm. That will keep it from heating up like crazy. And if you have a thermostat, drop it to the mid 60s an hour before you go to bed. That will give your sheets and bedding time to capture the cooler air before you get into bed. This will also help them shed some of their stored heat. And a lukewarm (not cold) shower will also help your body dump some of it’s heat before you hop under the covers.

Mini-verdict: these little things add up!

9. The Mattress Itself

If you’ve gotten this far and you’re still sweating throughout the night, it’s time to break out the big guns. If you have a memory foam, it may negate everything else you’ve done because those really trap heat. They’re almost like a brick oven and you’re a pizza. But if you’re willing to splurge, the Puffy Lux Hybrid (which runs around $1,549 for a queen) is the best overall in our opinion. While the latex PlushBeds Botanical Bliss is the naturally-cool pick. If you want to peruse some more options, we wrote a complete ranking in our guide to the best cooling mattresses for hot sleepers. 

So let’s say you’ve tried a few things on this list and you are still stuck with a bed that’s too hot. It’s time to look for a new mattress. We would recommend the Puffy Lux Hybrid ($1,500 for the queen if you can find a sale) and the PlushBeds Botanical Bliss. If you want to see all the best options, check out our guide to the best cooling mattresses for hot sleepers.

Mini-verdict: This is last on the list because it’s the most expensive.

Not sure if you want to opt for a new mattress or the topper? That’s essentially a question about budget and price. Luckily for you, we laid it all out in our cooling mattress vs. cooling topper: where to spend article.

Joseph Misulonas

Joseph has been writing and editing for a wide variety of publications over the last decade. He loves covering news in the health and wellness space and has written extensively about all aspects of wellness for a wide range of publications.