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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It seems like Select Comfort might have mispriced it, so I am hoping they come through for me. I forgot to add that I ordered a new pillow as well. I like down, but I tend to sink in too far. So, I splurged and ordered an 800 fill power firm one from United Pillow. It is expensive, but they also have cheaper ones with lower fill power. I read about them in the Wall Street Journal. There was another pillow place (myidealpillow.com) that sounds interesting. They design a pillow for you based on specification you put in (height, how sleep, chest size, mattress firmness, etc.). They have a guarantee as well, so I might try them if I am not happy with the United Pillow one. I tried a shredded latex pillow, but was not totally happy. It had some smell (which might have gone away eventually), and seemed like it might get too hard (if used for 8 hours straight). I bought a new dust mite cover for the mattress as well. I have not been able to put it on, since I am still figuring out the bed configuation. This one slips over and zippers, but I if had to do it again I would have bought one that just fits over the top of the mattress. I am a little worried that it might add to the heat of the mattress, but it is so thin, I don't think so. |
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I tried the washable wool filled / cotton mattress pad last night. I am not sure I could notice much difference. I would NOT say it was cooler than my generic cotton/ polyester fill mattress pad. However, it was a cooler night, so this might be the wool being warmer in winter? I guess the wool in the mattress pad and mattress cover and comforter act as insulators (but breathable), so they will warm one up to body temperature. Then I put on the bamboo/cotton sheets for about 45 minutes. This did seem to have some cooling effect. I was still warm enough, but almost like the thermostat had been turned down a couple of degrees. However, that was just in the morning, so I'll have to see how they work for a whole night. I have not washed them yet, and I would say they don't feel quite as soft as all cotton. However, they are suppose to get softer after washing, so we'll have to see if that is an issue or not. Almost had the feel of a polyester/cotton blend. Has anyone used bamboo and found that it does get softer? Maybe a long staple low thread count cotton will still be the best overall? Time will tell. |
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Sandman: I am curious. What temperature do you have in your bedroom at night? I keep a digital monitor in my bedroom and the temperature usually runs between 70 to 73 degrees Fahrenheit. Much below 70 and it is too cool. And I do not like it about 73°F, that is too warm. Unless of course we're talking about the summertime then I like it around 76°F. |
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Eagle, I live about 1 mile from the ccean, and I don't have central air conditioning. I have 1 heater (no vent in the bedroom), but I rarely use that at night. So, while the weather here is pretty mild, I can't totally control the temperature. In summer, I might have the window open with a fan going. In winter I might use an electric blanket and a down comforter. Generally, I prefer the cooler weather for sleeping. I can't say for sure what the temperature was last night. Maybe I should get a thermometer in my room. I would guess it was 67-70 degrees inside last night. I was plenty warm with just sheets and a comforter. I have learned from this board that sheets may have a bigger effect than I ever thought. Not too long ago I bought single ply 600 TC Supima sheets. I think they are warmer than what I use to have. So, I am experimenting with some different things now to try to get the right temperature feel as well. I am probably more sensitive to it right now, since I am thinking a lot about mattress and how I am sleeping. Probably too many things going on, but I hopefully I will settle in on the right combination pretty soon. |
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I am wondering if possibly part of your temperature difficulties, as regards sleeping, may have to do with humidity more than temperature. Living near the ocean, I would think, it has to be fairly humid year-round. It might be a good idea to get an inexpensive digital temperature and humidity gauge and began to record what the various temperature and humidity conditions are in your bedroom. With very little control over these two very important variables can make it very difficult for somebody who is having body temperature problems while sleeping. I make no claims about being an authority on the subject. But if my recall is correct, our bodies are perspiring all the time. However until that perspiration begins to accumulate on our skin we are not aware of it. But we are losing moisture through our skin 24/7. If there is not proper evaporation we become uncomfortable. They say in the desert, where there is almost no humidity at all, that you can dehydrate to the point of death, and not even realize it is happening to you. So if you are experiencing humidity at a fairly high level, I do not believe you will be as comfortable as you could be in your bed at night. My guess is that anything over 60% humidity will make it difficult to get comfortable. If my recall is correct, it is at approximately 60% humidity that mold begins to grow. I believe this is the reason that various people in the latex mattress business recommend slatted foundations for ventilation. I personally do not believe that slatted foundations are the best kind to get the full benefit out of latex. I would think that a very solid foundation would be the best. Thereby allowing the latex to do the flexing and not the foundation. But humidity may blow that idea into "a cocked hat!" The thread count of your sheets will definitely make a difference. I have found that between 250 and 300 thread count, in an all natural cotton sheet, to be very comfortable on my latex bed. This message was modified Nov 4, 2009 by eagle2
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Actually, humidity is not that big of a problem on the Pacific Ocean. I would say that humidity is normally around 30-40%. I probably live in one of the best climates in the world, but I don't use A/C or much heat to perfectly control it. Latex may run a bit hotter than an innerspring, due to the higher density. I am pretty much okay heat wise with all latex with the right covers on top. I think using the right kind of sheets will help as well. I am not convinced that wool does much to keep one cool. It may moderate the extremes, but may keep one at fairly warm (body?) temperature. I know that a wool sweater will be warmer than a cotton sweater (in summer and winter), due to the greater insulation ability. |
Re: mattress covers
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sandman wrote: I bought a new dust mite cover for the mattress as well. I have not been able to put it on, since I am still figuring out the bed configuration. This one slips over and zippers, but I if had to do it again I would have bought one that just fits over the top of the mattress. I am a little worried that it might add to the heat of the mattress, but it is so thin, I don't think so. I doubt that the mattress encasing will add to the heat. When I bought mine, I thought about getting a deeper one to cover both the mattress and the toppers, but I didn't know how many inches of topper I was going to end up with, so I got an encasing that's 9" deep (from National Allergy). It fits the mattress perfectly. It was a little difficult to get on without someone to help, so I'm glad I got the 9" deep one; if I had to fight with taking it off and putting it on every time I flipped the mattress (so the toppers would still be on the top), I'd get lazy and wouldn't flip it. Doesn't sound like the wool/cotton pad is doing much in the way of temperature regulation. I think I'll hold off on trying that, and just keep the thermostat turned down until I'm out of bed. I probably dragged out the comforter too soon; I'll need to get a medium-weight blanket for fall & spring. The comforter will be nice when it's 20 degrees outside at night. (The head of my bed is in front of a window, and this is an old house, not well insulated.) -Catherine |
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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. |