Cooler memory foam?
| Has anyone found any memory foam that it is actually sleeps cooler than "normal" memory foam? I have 2" of Sensus memory foam, which I like, but it does tend to heat up. So far, I prefer memory foam over latex as the top comfort level, if it were not for the heat issue. I have not tried a wool topper. I just ordered a matress pad/cover that has wool tufting instead of polyester, so that might help a bit. The Sensus is under the cotton/wool mattress cover which should help too, but I still feel more heat than I would like. |
Re: Cooler memory foam?
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Catherine, it seems like we have some of the same issues. I have tried Outlast, cotton bamboo sheets, wool filled mattress pad, and snugfleece. None seem to really help, and in fact wool may make it slightly worse for me. I am returning all of them. I am probably going to stick with cotton sheets and a cotton mattress pad, and I will use the lightest blankets/comforter that keeps me warm enough. I don't have the cotton filled mattress pad yet, so not sure if that will be any better than a poly filled one. Recently, when I felt pretty warm at night, I took off the top sheet and felt the mattress pad (generic poly filled one) where I had been lying. It felt pretty warm. So, I took that off and felt the Flobed wool filled mattress cover top and that felt pretty warm as well. So, I unzipped the cover and felt the top convoluted latex layer and that felt pretty warm. Then I felt the layer below, and that was a little warm. The layer below that was not noticeably warm were I had been lying. So, (this is just common sense I guess) the areas were one lies will heat up to body temperature. I am not sure if they get any hotter, but they will definitely be significantly warmer than room temperature. The wool and the latex will hold the heat until you move away and give them a chance to disipate the heat. I don't think the layers of material between will make much of a difference, unless they don't have the ability to retain much heat. Maybe cotton is better at that than wool. Some people may be bothered by that warmth and some may not. It will also be a function of how much you toss and turn. I may be doing less of that on the new mattress, so the warmth may be more noticeable. Also, it seems to bother me most around 1-2am. Maybe something to do with the sleep cycle. Latex may retain the heat more than an innerspring, because it is denser. An innerspring may be able to breathe better to the spring filled area which is mainly air. However, once you start add layers of foam to the innerspring, the same issue will occur. It is possible that the Celsion latex would breathe better and let the heat dissipate further down. However, you would probably have to be a at least 2 layers of that. And I am skeptical it would work because it seem that the latex itself would still heat up. At some point I may try sleeping with the Flobed cover off and only cotton between me and the latex. That is the only way for me take the wool completely out of the equation. |
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Sandman: it sounds like possibly what you need is an old-fashioned innerspring mattress with cotton only over the spring. With the outer cover or mattress ticking as they used to call it, made of cotton as well. But I would think that you would find that this type of mattress will heat up also, at least to some degree. The whole thing about the human body is that it gives off heat, when it stops giving off heat it is dead. So it really is a matter of how much heat your body gives off and how sensitive you are to it. If you wore the least heat retaining material possible as clothing, there would still be some heat in it from your body, I would think. |
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Eagle, at this point I would say it is a minor problem, not a major problem. Some nights it does not seem to bother me much at all. With the right combination of cotton and layers above me, I think it will be okay. I may be more sensitive to it right now, due to the newness of the situation. However, pretty soon I will have to decide whether it is enough of an issue to stay with the Flobed or not. |
Re: finding ways to sleep cool
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sandman wrote: Catherine, it seems like we have some of the same issues. I have tried Outlast, cotton bamboo sheets, wool filled mattress pad, and snugfleece. None seem to really help, and in fact wool may make it slightly worse for me. I am returning all of them. Oh dear. Well, thank you for sharing your results with the forum here. Very helpful. I hope the plain cotton mattress pad helps, if you try that. Overstock.com has some good deals on blankets; looks like there are some lightweight ones available. I'm not sure if I'm going to get one now, or wait until spring. We're having a warm spell here in upstate NY, but the temps will probably drop back down fairly soon. Some people may be bothered by that warmth and some may not. It will also be a function of how much you toss and turn. I may be doing less of that on the new mattress, so the warmth may be more noticeable. ..... Ah, good point. I don't know how much I toss and turn, but it's probably a lot less now that my bed is comfortable, instead of hurting my shoulders & hips. It is possible that the Celsion latex would breathe better and let the heat dissipate further down. However, you would probably have to be a at least 2 layers of that. And I am skeptical it would work because it seem that the latex itself would still heat up. I'm curious about the Celsion, but not curious enough to fork over the dough for it. Wouldn't make a difference for me, anyway, unless I used it as the top layer in my toppers. Right now, my Talatech layer is on the bottom, with the Oodles latex topper and a thin fiber-bed on top of those. (Very cushy; no more sore shoulders.) Good luck with the hunt for cool sleep. I prefer cooler temps for sleeping, too. -Catherine |
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Temperature contol update. I tried sleeping with the cotton/wool flobed cover off. I put a cotton blanket (folded in half) over the convoluted latex latex, topped by an all cotton mattress pad and Supima cotton sheets. This felt even warmer than without the mattress cover. At 2am I reached under and felt the the convoluted latex and it was definitely pretty warm. So, my conclusion is that the wool probably does moderate the heat a bit, but at a temperature that might feel great to some and a bit too warm for others. Right now I am sleeping with the cotton/wool mattress cover on, with the cotton blanket over the mattress cover, with the cotton mattress pad and cotton sheets over that. I would say the temperature has been comfortably warm. Not so hot that it really bothers me. However, the weather is reasonably cool right now, so not sure how it will be in summer. I added the all cotton mattress pad within the past week. Not totally sure if it made much difference, but certainly did not make it worse. For kicks I am putting my wool filled mattress pad back on tonight, to see what difference I can detect. My final frontier will probably be to try Celsion latex at some point. I am a bit skeptical that it will make much difference, but I am curious to try it (on a returnable basis of course!). |
Re: Cooler memory foam?
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Sandman: I thought about you last night, right after I first went to bed. And no, this is not some kind of a wacko sexual perverted post. I have been suffering with a bout of some kind of flu, hopefully it is not H1N1. I Am Already Feeling Better! So whatever it is, it can't be to bad. But the point I want to make is this. I was still running fever and had some chills when I went to bed. The temperature was down around 40° outdoors, and the bed felt quite cool indeed. But within about two or three minutes it was warming up nicely and I felt quite comfortable. That's when I thought of you. I thought to myself "if this latex warms up this quickly under these conditions what is it going to be like when it is 80 and 90° F. at midnight come next summer"? My part of the country can get very hot in July and August. So it's going to be quite a trip when the temperature gets in the upper digits next year. That's quite sometime in the future, and I know you're having difficulties now, and I am sorry I can't give you any real moral support from actual experience. But good luck with your experimentation. |
Re: Cooler memory foam?
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At least you will have the air conditioner cranking away next summer. I have a small portable A/C, but I rarely use it when sleeping. It will be intersting to see if the wool helps keep one cooler in summer. Hopefully. So far it is keeping up with the warmer in winter part of the bargain. I assume the latex heats up to roughly body temperature. Therefore, summer may not be that different, other than it being hotter above the mattress. That is handled somewhat with less or no blankets, a fan, or a/c. Although, the latex will reach body temperature more quickly in summer (since it starts warmer). I always find it harder to sleep on the hot summer days, and I am sure that problem will still exist. I am also wondering if the latex will be softer when in summer? It does seem a little firmer to me after it has cooled down a bit. I know memory foam is firmer when colder. |
Re: Cooler memory foam?
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You make an interesting point about the latex softening when warmed up by the sleepers body. I have wondered about this myself, although the sensation is so slight that it's hard to tell. I would liken it more to a slight conforming of the latex to the body as it heats up. But not nearly as much as a memory foam would do. At least the few times that I have tried out memory foam. Quite frankly, I find it a rather pleasant experience. I think you're right about the summertime heat, at least I hope so. We normally keep our home in the 76°F range in the summertime with our air-conditioning. This keeps the humidity down, and the house quite comfortable for my wife and I. This message was modified Nov 18, 2009 by eagle2
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Re: Cooler memory foam?
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Eagle, after thinking about it more, the latex may warm up more (beneath where one is sleeping) in summer. Let's say in winter the latex below where one is sleeping warms up to only 85 degrees because the heat dissipates to the surrounding latex which is cooler (say 70 degrees). If the surrounding latex in summer is at 80 degrees, then the heat will dissipate more slowly. So maybe the latex below the body will warm up to 90 degrees. I assume it wil never get up to full body temperature, due to dissipation and the layers in between. This is just a hypothetical theory. I can't really know for sure without a way to test it. At some point I may try to put a thermometer probe in the top layer of latex to see what temperature it really does warm up to. This message was modified Nov 18, 2009 by sandman
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Re: Cooler memory foam?
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For those who are interested. I put a thermometer sensor in the top convoluted layer of latex below where I sleep the last 2 nights. The max. temperature it hit was 90.3 degrees (same for both nights). Room temperature was about 69-70. So, as expected, it approaches body temperature, but does not quite get there. The temperature above the wool cover will probably be different, so that may be the next place to measure. It was comfortable warm with just cotton/wool cover, cotton mattress pad and 200 TC cotton sheets. |