Our Mattress Tests  
Cooling

 0
By Theresa KetterlingUpdated Mar 18, 2026 at 10:43 am
What it is:
How readily the mattress transfers heat away from the sleeper's body.
When it matters:
If you're a hot sleeper or bothered by high temperatures while sleeping.
Score distribution

This test aims to objectively assess how well a mattress transfers heat away from a sleeper. It involves measuring the electrical energy required to maintain a heating pad on the mattress surface at normal body temperature for 8 hours.

Test results

Our Tests

Conditioning:

The mattress is left in a climate-controlled room for at least 5 hours before the test begins. The room conditions are kept at a stable 23°C with 40% relative humidity.

How it's tested:

  • A heating pad is placed on one sleeping side, covered by insulation panels and two 45 lb weights on top of the stack, providing the pressure contact needed for proper heat transfer.
  • A PID controller maintains the pad temperature, which is set to 25°C at first to stabilize the initial temperature.
  • Once the temperature has stabilized, the PID is set to 37°C for 8 hours while cumulative energy draw is recorded.

Energy Transferred Over 1st Hour

What it is:
The total cumulative energy required to keep the mattress surface at normal body temperature (37 °C) during the first hour of the test.
When it matters:
More energy transferred in the first hour means it's less likely that heat-sensitive sleepers will struggle to fall asleep.
Score distribution

We output the results of the energy transferred over the first hour to give users information on how cool the mattress can keep you as you fall asleep.

Energy Transferred Over 8 Hours

What it is:
The total cumulative energy required to keep the mattress surface at normal body temperature (37 °C) over the entire 8-hour test.
When it matters:
More energy transferred over 8 hours means it's less likely a sleeper will wake up from overheating.
Score distribution

The energy transferred after eight hours indicates how effectively the mattress dissipates heat from the sleeper's body throughout the night.

A low transferred value for both comparisons indicates that the bed retains heat, which may not be a bad thing if you or your partner sleeps cool, but this will score low on this test.