How a Latex Mattress Can Make You a “Cooler Sleeper”
Do you get hot at night? Do you wake up sweating or feeling as if your skin is dry? Believe it or not, changing your mattress can help.
The Causes of “Sleeping Hot”
“Sleeping hot” is the phenomenon of generating extra body heat at night so that you wake up feeling sweaty or overheated. Here are some of the most common causes:
- Biochemistry. What you eat, whether you have enough/too much of certain key vitamins and minerals, and natural hormonal changes can all contribute to your body temperature at night.
- Room Temperature. Obviously, the temperature in your bedroom will have an effect on your body temperature. You may not be able to control the air temperature as well as you would like, especially during the heat of the summer.
- Bedding. A blanket that’s too warm or that’s made from synthetic materials can trap excess heat. Even a warm blanket made from natural fibers will breathe better than a synthetic quilt, allowing you to be comfortably warm without stifling.
- Mattress. Your mattress may contribute to your nighttime temperature. Memory foam, for example, holds heat—and responds to it. Memory foam may become softer with prolonged exposure to body heat, affecting its support and stability over the course of the night. Air mattresses are by nature impermeable to air flow and so can make you hotter, as can water beds (especially the heated variety).
The Benefits of Latex: How a Latex Mattress Can Help
While you can control what you eat, you can’t always regulate your body chemistry sufficiently to alter your nighttime temperature. Choosing the right mattress and bedding can help.
Latex foam is produced with an open cellular structure that facilitates air flow. When a latex mattress is placed on a proper foundation—one made for use with latex mattresses and approved by the mattress manufacturer—air is allowed to circulate through the mattress itself. This air flow can carry excess heat away from your body while you sleep.
Latex also does not react to nor hold body heat. Your latex mattress will remain consistently supportive and temperature-neutral all night long. When combined with natural fiber bedding, latex foam is one of the best materials on the market for those who tend to “sleep hot”—with the comfort of memory foam but without the “heat sink” effect.
Buyer Beware
Some “latex” mattresses aren’t all natural—or even all latex. Look for a mattress that is labeled “100% natural latex” to be sure you’re getting botanical latex and not synthetic fillers.
Some mattresses that contain latex are hybrid beds that may also have layers of other materials, including heat-holding memory foam, gel, or inner springs. Understand exactly what you’re buying so you know whether the new mattress can help you sleep more comfortably.
Do you “sleep hot?” Have you tried sleeping on latex foam?
Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.