Tech
Night Sweats, Be Gone! Here Are the Best WIRED-Tested Cooling Mattresses
Honorable Mentions
There are a ton of mattresses and related items on the market that claim to have cooling benefits. Here are a few others we tested and liked, but not as much as the options above.
BedJet 3 for $427: WIRED reviewer Christopher Null liked this climate-control device a lot because it allowed him to sleep cool without having to buy a whole new mattress. This device uses a large blower under your bed to blast hot or cool air beneath your covers. If you like your existing mattress but find yourself sleeping hot, this could be just the ticket.
Courtesy of Sealy
Sealy Cocoon Chill Memory Foam Mattress for $919: Its surface is noticeably cool to the touch thanks to its exclusive phase change material, which works wonders at drawing and storing the body’s heat. This all-foam mattress leans firm, making it well-suited for back and stomach sleepers. If you’re a side sleeper looking for more body contouring, I’d suggest looking elsewhere. If you’re a stomach sleeper looking for a firm mattress that’s also cooling, this one will do the trick. There was almost no motion transfer in my testing, allowing my husband and me to get up at different times without disturbing each other. —Nicole Kinning
Casper Snow Hybrid for $2,595: When you come across a mattress with a name that includes “snow,” your expectations for cooling effects are naturally high—and this mattress indeed lives up to that expectation. Structurally, this hybrid bed combines poly foam, memory foam, and pocketed coils, and provides targeted support at the hips, waist, and lower back to alleviate pressure, making it ideal for back and stomach sleepers. I noticed it came out of the box slightly misshapen from its packaging and emitted a faint plasticky scent. After about two days, the mattress was ready to go, the smell gone, and it had settled into its intended neat rectangle shape. —Nicole Kinning
Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid for $2,049: The Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid is marketed as firm, and that’s exactly what you should expect. Crafted with patented AirCradle memory foam, the mattress features concentrated cushioning in the center, strategically intended to support your lower back. Since I’m only 5’2,” the middle-back cushioning didn’t hit where it was intended to. Despite its firmness, I didn’t find this mattress particularly exceptional, especially with its cooling properties. Despite incorporating a triple-phase LuxeCool system and cooling gel-infused memory foam, the cooling effect didn’t stand out. —Nicole Kinning
Courtesy of Wayfair
Wayfair Sleep 12-Inch Medium Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress for $500: This bed has four layers of hypoallergenic gel memory foam infused with green tea, using cooling technology and a breathable design to ensure you’re having a super-cool sleep. This medium-plush bed has two top layers of gel-infused memory and comfort foam to help with breathability and cooling, and the top material is a breathable knitted cover to aid in airflow circulation. This mattress had the perfect balance of soft cooling with the memory foam, and the breathable knitted cover also helped with airflow. Most importantly, though, I always slept coolly on this sleeper hit (pun intended).
Wayfair 10.5-Inch Plush Cooling Gel Mattress for $536 (King): This cooling gel hybrid mattress comprises five layers of various memory foams. The memory foam pillow top aims to relieve pressure points and help reduce motion transfer, and it has a breathable knit cover to aid in the cooling effect. The mattress is compatible with an adjustable base and has a 100-night trial and 10-year warranty. Although it doesn’t have as noticeable a cooling effect as some others on this list, it’s a true plush mattress that uses cooling gel technology at an affordable price.
Wayfair Sleep 8-Inch Medium Cooling Gel Memory Foam for $400: This super-cheap medium-firm cooling mattress has eight total inches of memory foam—the top layer of cooling gel, charcoal, and green tea-infused memory foams (to aid in freshness and odor absorption), followed by a soft comfort foam on a durable high-density foam base. The top layer has a breathable, woven jacquard design that helps to keep the sleeper cool and reduces motion transfer. The layers of ultra-cooling gel and green tea-infused memory foams help with the cooling effect and keep any odors at bay. This super-inexpensive mattress delivers well above expectations, but there are better cooling options on our list.
Wayfair Sleep 14-Inch Plush Cooling Gel Hybrid Mattress for $326 (Full): This plush cooling gel mattress features a top plush layer of gel memory foam to relieve pressure and help with airflow, plus the quilted Euro-top knit cover and sides promote continuous airflow around the mattress to keep the sleeper cool. The bed also features classic pocket coils below for structure and support, with layers of memory foams surrounding the coils (this helps with low-motion transfer, too). The mattress is also compatible with an adjustable bed base, has solid edge support, offers a 100-night trial, and has a 10-year warranty. I love a plush mattress, but it may be too plush for someone with a bigger body, since the first super-soft memory foam layer is on top of a coil system.
Wayfair Sleep 13.5-Inch Medium Cooling Gel Memory Foam Mattress for $550: This 13.5-inch cooling gel memory foam mattress is listed as medium, but I’d definitely consider it super-plush. The top layer has 2 inches of gel-infused memory foam and 4.5 inches of comfort foam, and the bottom layer is 7 inches of high-density base support foam. Like other cooling Wayfair mattresses, the top has a breathable jacquard pattern and is green tea-infused to help with freshness and cooling. The top layers of memory foam are designed to mold to your body and help relieve pains and achy joints. This in-a-box bed also has low-motion transfer, a 100-night trial, and a limited 10-year warranty. If you’re someone who wants a super-plush bed that helps to wick moisture, then I’d recommend this behemoth.
Compare the Best Cooling Mattresses
How Does WIRED Test Cooling Mattresses?
Mattresses are tested for at least a week, but in many cases for longer. I slept on the majority of these mattresses for half a month or more to really get a feel for the product. I tested them at different times of the season and with different types of sheets and bedding. I sat on the edges to test for edge support, jumped, and performed some other methods to test the bounce and motion transfer of the mattress. Perhaps most important for this guide, I was my normal, perpetually warm (and sweaty) self, and gauged more abstract things like my overall comfort at night, and how well I thought air flowed through the mattress, or how much heat was trapped in.
What Should You Look for in a Cooling Mattress?
When shopping for a cooling mattress, here are a few things to consider:
- Composition: Opt for mattress materials designed to promote airflow, which will help prevent heat buildup. Many mattresses are infused with gel or copper, which are designed to dissipate heat and keep you cool. A hybrid mattress combines the best of both worlds by using a coil support system under a foam, latex, or polyfoam comfort top. Hybrid mattresses tend to retain less heat than all-foam mattresses because they have a layer or two of springs to help dissipate heat.
- Cover fabric: Consider mattresses with covers made from moisture-wicking fabrics and phase-change fibers to draw sweat away from the body. Breathable fabrics include bamboo, Tencel lyocell, and synthetic fabrics, which are engineered to help regulate body temperature. Perforated cooling covers further amplify airflow between your body and the fabric. We find quilted tops help too, since they have ridges and valleys that allow air to escape.
- Airflow: With proper airflow, the heat you generate overnight is properly conducted through the mattress. Hybrid mattresses with individual coils help with this, but many mattresses marketed for their cooling benefits have other tricks.
- Firmness: While the debate of soft versus firm mattresses is a personal preference, your choice can play a crucial role in the way your body traps heat. Softer mattresses tend to envelop your body, leading to increased heat retention as your body sinks into the surface. Conversely, firmer mattresses provide better support and allow for more air circulation around your body.
How Did WIRED Select Models to Be Reviewed?
We have tested over 100 mattresses across all of our guides, like Best Organic Mattresses, Best Mattresses for Back Pain, and Best Mattresses You Can Buy Online, as well as for individual review. We talk with each other, discussing which mattress brands in general we’re fans of, and which we aren’t. Some mattresses are provided as review samples by the manufacturers, with the understanding that we don’t guarantee coverage or type of coverage—we aren’t paid for glowing reviews on products we think are just mid. We purchase and expense models we aren’t able to get a sample of.
We try to test a range of mattress types, firmness, and brands to ensure we know what’s out on the market, so we can best give you our honest, unbiased opinion on which mattresses you should spend your money (and one-third of your life sleeping) on.
What Does WIRED Do With Mattresses After Testing?
We keep top picks for longer-term durability testing in our own homes and the homes of other staffers, friends, and family members, while other models are donated locally.
Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.
I tried the battery version, which does require you recharge it every couple of weeks, but the wired-in version is the top recommendation on our guide to the Best Video Doorbells.
A Better Birdhouse
I had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.
If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.
Stylish Smart Lights
Govee
Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights
I’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)
Fresh Bulbs
Cync
Smart LED Light Bulb, PAR38
If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.
Remote-Controlled Garage
If your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.
Smart Shades
The front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.
Invisible Swaps
Looking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.
Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.
April might be springtime in the northern hemisphere, but some of the best streaming services seem to think it’s the perfect time for a dry run of spooky season. How else to explain the arrival of some exquisitely dark slices of horror, like 28 Days Later: The Bone Temple arriving on Netflix, Weapons coming to Prime Video, or Shelby Oaks landing on Hulu? If you prefer your off-season Halloween viewing to be in the vein of campy B movies rather than serious scares though, horror specialist Shudder has you covered with Deathstalker, a gloriously cheesy reboot of a near-forgotten ’80s series.
Reality is often scarier than fiction though, as shown by Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere—his first documentary film with Netflix, exploring the dark side of social media and the world of toxic male influencers. (Be sure to read our interview with the filmmaker.) And if the thought of that leaves you wanting something a bit more wholesome to watch, thankfully Zootopia 2 has popped up on Disney+—and there’s even a rabbit in that, for some appropriately springtime imagery.
Here are WIRED’s picks of the best movies to watch right now.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
The fourth film in the long-running postapocalyptic horror series switches focus from rampaging rage zombies to a more dangerous threat: humans. OK, OK, “people are the real monsters” isn’t a hot take for the genre, but The Bone Temple offers a unique twist, with 28 Years Later survivor Spike (Alfie Williams) trapped in the company of a murderous gang led by deranged satanist “Sir Lord” Jimmy Crystal (Sinners’ Jack O’Connell). The villain is modeled on disgraced British TV presenter Jimmy Savile, whose sexual abuse crimes hadn’t been revealed by the time of the initial outbreak in 28 Days Later, adding a dash of real-world terror.
As the group stalks what remains of the English countryside, Spike’s only hope might be Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), whose experiments on curing alpha zombie Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry) might hold humanity’s last hope. Although best watched back to back with its predecessor for the full, horrifying picture, director Nia DaCosta’s chapter stands on its own—and earns bonus points for one of the best uses of Iron Maiden’s “Number of the Beast” in film history.
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere
It’s the silence that does the trick; British documentarian Louis Theroux always knows when not to speak and instead let his subject expose themselves for the world to see. It’s a masterful technique whether Theroux is investigating the Westboro Baptist Church or UFO conspiracy theorists, but it is rarely put to better use than in his latest outing: exploring the online “manosphere” subculture of self-appointed “alphas” offering toxic advice on how to be a “real man.” Speaking with key figures in the loosely defined movement, Theroux’s mild-mannered approach often leaves them to do most of the talking, exposing shockingly misogynistic and extremist views. Even more distressing? The quiet revelation that for many of them their performative masculinity is all just one big grift, and how they rationalize the harm they cause in pursuit of a payout. Depressing but compelling viewing—not all men, but definitely all of these men.
Crime 101
Jewel thief Mike (Chris Hemsworth) is the best in the business, a meticulous planner who pulls off his heists without leaving a shred of evidence—much to the consternation of LAPD detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo), who doesn’t even know exactly who he’s hunting for a string of thefts. Elsewhere in the City of Angels, Sharon (Halle Berry) is an underappreciated VP at an insurance firm, frustrated at being passed over for promotion for years. She’s the perfect insider to help Mike orchestrate an elaborate $11 million diamond heist. But as Lou uncovers evidence connecting to Mike’s past, and the chaotic, violent biker Ormon (Barry Keoghan) aims to take the score for himself, even the most masterful planning can’t prevent everything spiraling dangerously out of control.
Kevin Weil, OpenAI’s former chief product officer who was recently tapped to build a new AI workspace for scientists, Prism, is leaving the company, WIRED has confirmed. Weil was previously an early executive leading product at Instagram.
OpenAI is also sunsetting Prism, which the company launched as a web app in January this year to give scientists a better way to work with AI. The company is folding the roughly 10-person team behind it into Thibault Sottiaux’s Codex team. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed the changes, and tells WIRED this is part of the company’s effort to unify its business and product strategy. OpenAI has broader ambitions to turn Codex, its AI coding application, into an “everything app.”
Weil, who joined OpenAI in June 2024, announced last September that he would be starting a new initiative inside of the company called “OpenAI for Science.” Now, OpenAI is dispersing those employees throughout the company’s product, research, and infrastructure teams. An OpenAI spokesperson reiterated the company’s commitment to accelerating scientific discovery, and says it’s one of the clearest ways AI can benefit humanity.
OpenAI is currently trying to refocus the company around a few key areas, such as enterprise offerings and coding. Last month, OpenAI’s CEO of AGI deployment Fidji Simo told staff that the company needs to simplify its product offerings. The push to divert resources to more consequential efforts resulted in OpenAI discontinuing its Sora video-generation app.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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