How we Score and Test Mattress Cooling

Achieving a good night's sleep is more complex than it seems. Many factors influence sleep quality, and one of the most significant is mattress cooling.

At Sleepiverse, we are committed to providing you with reliable and accurate mattress reviews. A key component of this commitment is our rigorous research methodology. This article focuses specifically on our mattress cooling performance testing methodology, empowering you to make informed decisions about mattresses with our testing techniques in mind.

Why Mattress Cooling Matters

As mentioned previously, mattress cooling is a crucial factor in improving sleep quality. Many sleepers toss and turn throughout the night due to feeling hot, which disrupts their sleep cycle and reduces overall sleep quality.

Our bodies naturally emit heat during sleep, especially for hot sleepers or those living in warm climates. This inevitably leads to discomfort and restlessness.

That's why a cool mattress is crucial. Its construction and materials work to prevent overheating. Even more importantly, cooler sleep environments promote deeper sleep and REM cycles, exactly what your body needs.

Therefore, if you experience any of the issues mentioned above, a cool mattress should be your priority. Throughout this article and our mattress reviews, we'll guide you toward finding the perfect cool mattress to achieve a restful night's sleep.

Overall, cool mattresses enhance sleep quality, which we'll discuss further in the next section.

How Temperature Control Can Improve Your Sleep

• Reduced Overheating: A cool mattress stops too much heat from building up. It uses breathable materials or cooling technology to keep you comfy all night.
• Faster Fall Asleep: A cooler sleep setting helps your body relax, making it easier to fall asleep quickly and sleep deeply.
• Reduced Nighttime Waking: A cool mattress keeps your body temperature steady, so you’re less likely to wake up from overheating. This means longer, uninterrupted sleep.
• Deeper Sleep: A cool sleep space helps you sleep deeper by letting your body go through all the needed sleep stages.
• Regulated Circadian Rhythms: A cool mattress reduces sleep disruptions, helping you stay comfortable and maintain regular sleep cycles. This supports your circadian rhythm.

Mattress Cooling

Mattress cooling refers to a mattress's ability to regulate temperature and dissipate heat, all while promoting comfortable sleep. For some sleepers, effective mattress cooling is a top priority.

This section will delve into the factors influencing a mattress's cooling capabilities and the technologies that have further enhanced this process.

Factors Affecting Mattress Cooling

• Material Composition: The choice of materials affects a mattress's ability to cool down. Memory foam, latex, and in particular gel-infused foam are known to have high breathability in addition to being able to dissipate heat effectively.
• Construction and Design: The general structure of a mattress, like the number of layers in its fabric or the presence of springs, among other things, may make it feel cooler.
• Cover Fabric: This plays a significant role in the initial touch sensation. People who get hot while sleeping often like materials that feel cool, such as cotton or special cooling fabrics.
• Airflow Channels: Some mattresses incorporate airflow channels within their layers to promote breathability and enhance cooling.
• Phase-Change Materials (PCMs): PCMs are substances whose solid-to-liquid state change absorbs or releases thermal energy. For temperature control purposes, mattresses may use PCMs in either foams or fabrics, where they remove excess heat by absorbing it and later release it whenever required.

Technology Advancements in Mattress Cooling

• Gel-Infused Foams: It is known that traditional memory foam mattresses can trap heat. Gel-infused foams address this issue by using gel beads or slabs within the foam that absorb and dissipate body heat, providing you with a cooler mattress.
• Advanced Memory Foams: More recent styles of memory foam have been created to be more breathable than their conventional counterparts. Many times, these foams will have open-cell structures that promote better air circulation and dispersion, so that a person can sleep cooler while still getting relief from pressure points.
• Cooling Fabrics: Mattress covers made from materials like Tencel, advanced polyesters, or copper, which breathe and help remove moisture, are effective in ensuring coolness. They wick sweat away from the body, facilitating better heat transfer and resulting in a cooler, more comfortable sleeping environment.
• Hybrid Designs: There are hybrid mattresses that combine materials like innerspring coils with cooling technologies such as gel-infused memory foam or ventilated latex. Since they use these cutting-edge materials as well, they enable the support and pressure relief that coils provide while also allowing cooling.
• Cooling Mattress Pads and Toppers: For those who may not be ready to invest in a whole new mattress, there are cooling mattress toppers and pads available. These accessories come in various materials, like gel, phase-change materials, or even water, and provide an extra layer of cooling comfort on top of your existing mattress. So, you can sleep cool and cozy without breaking the bank.

How We Test Mattress Cooling

Since you have now understood the significance of a cool mattress, we would like to go over how our reviews can precisely show mattress cooling performance.

It is important to be open and transparent about our methodology, which involves a systematic approach to evaluating a mattress’s cooling abilities. This will ensure that our evaluations and ratings are honest, unbiased, objective, and reliable. Below is how we test mattresses for their cooling abilities.

1) Pre-test Preparation

To ensure the accuracy and reliability of our cooling assessments, we implement a rigorous testing process conducted in a controlled environment. This minimizes the influence of external factors that could skew the results.

First, we maintain a neutral and comfortable temperature within the testing room. This establishes a baseline that allows us to accurately assess the mattress's ability to regulate temperature and dissipate heat.

Second, a qualified reviewer who is a hot sleeper and familiar with the testing process is selected. This reviewer understands how to avoid introducing bias into the results. The reviewer wears comfortable clothing of moderate weight and ensures they are in good health to minimize any external influences on their perception of cooling.

Finally, before testing begins, we gather comprehensive information about the mattress's cooling technology and any advertised cooling features. This knowledge helps us set realistic expectations for the mattress's performance during the evaluation.

2) Mattress Setup

The next step involves preparing the mattress for the cooling test. This preparation ensures a fair and accurate assessment.

First, we place the mattress on a flat, neutral surface that doesn't have any built-in cooling properties. This ensures the mattress itself is being evaluated, not any underlying support system.

Second, we verify that the mattress is in good condition and has fully decompressed. We typically allow the mattress to rest for a day to ensure it reaches its optimal form.

Finally, we avoid using any sheets during the test. Some sheets can influence the perception of breathability or coolness. Our goal overall is to isolate the mattress's inherent cooling properties for testing.

3) Conducting the 20-minute Nap Test

This forms the core of our mattress cooling testing methodology. We begin by measuring the mattress's initial temperature using a thermal thermometer gun. This baseline reading provides a reference point for evaluating temperature changes during the test.

Next, our reviewer lies on the mattress for 20 minutes. To ensure accurate heat buildup measurements, the reviewer maintains a single sleeping position and remains in the same spot throughout the test.

Following the 20 minutes, we measured the temperature of the area where the reviewer rested. This final reading is then compared to the initial temperature to assess heat retention.

In addition to the temperature measurements, we also incorporate the reviewer's subjective experience. The reviewer reports on their perceived coolness throughout the test, noting any instances of heat buildup and its tolerability.

4) Analyzing Results Post-Nap

Before assigning a final rating and conclusion regarding a mattress's cooling performance, we meticulously analyze the data collected during testing. It's important to acknowledge that a higher temperature reading after the test is expected due to natural body heat emissions.

However, a significant temperature increase compared to the initial reading, combined with negative feedback from the reviewer (complaints of heat buildup, sweating, or irritability), would indicate a less-than-optimal cooling performance. Ultimately, by considering all this data, we reach an unbiased conclusion about the mattress's ability to dissipate heat.

5) Rating and Reporting Performance

Following our in-depth analysis, we'll provide a clear and well-reasoned conclusion regarding the mattress's suitability for hot sleepers. This explanation will detail why the mattress performed well or poorly in the test.

We then assign a cooling performance rating on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 indicating the least effective cooling and 5 representing the most effective. This score considers several factors, including the initial temperature and temperature changes during the test, the presence of cooling technologies in the mattress, and the overall comfort and reviewer feedback.

The following breakdown clarifies how each score translates to perceived breathability:

• 0: There is no noticeable cooling effect. In other words, the mattress retains heat.
• 1: There is very minimal cooling and a slight difference in temperature regulation.
• 2: The cooling is below average. In other words, it is somewhat effective in reducing heat.
• 3: The cooling performance is average, with a noticeable cooling effect, but there is room for improvement.
• 4: The cooling is above average, and the mattress effectively maintains a cooler surface.
• 5: The cooling is excellent, with a significant and sustained cooling effect.

By simply reviewing this section, you'll gain valuable insight into the mattress's cooling performance and determine if it aligns with your sleep preferences.

Conclusion

A cool mattress is a vital factor in promoting quality sleep, especially for hot sleepers. Our comprehensive reviews and testing methodologies are designed to help you make an informed decision about your next mattress purchase by providing accurate and reliable assessments of each mattress's cooling capabilities.