4 Reasons Foam Mattresses Could be Cooler than Innersprings.
It’s a common perception that foam mattresses can potentially sleep hotter than other mattresses, and it’s true that they can.
What needs to be understood, however, is that it would be misguided to conclude that foam mattresses are always hotter than innerspring mattresses.
If you’re worried about sleeping hot on a new foam mattress, here’s what you need to know.
The Facts About Owner Complaints
The percentages of mattress owners that complain about sleeping hot on foam mattresses are lower than you think.
You can learn all about this on these two links:
The summary is that yes, memory foam and foam mattresses have reports of owners sleeping hot. But, not as many as you might think.
Do you notice that?
Just under 10% of memory foam mattress owners report sleeping hot.
About 6% of innerspring mattress owners report sleeping hot (only a 4% variance compared to memory foam).
At a little over 5%, foam mattresses actually have LESS reports of owners sleeping hot than innerspring mattress owners.
Now, that last point is especially interesting. Why would that be? What’s the difference between foam and memory foam?
Not All Foam is Created Equal
There are literally hundreds of different foam types that could go into mattresses, and each offers different benefits.
When Robert Taylor Elliott founded our parent company, Foamcraft, Inc., in 1952 there were three foam types. When his son Robert W. Elliott took over a few decades later, the product line had doubled! All the way to six.
In 2016 Foamcraft, Inc. carried over 100 foam types.
Foam is not all the same, and when you hear the term “foam mattress“ that does not have to mean that memory foam is included.
Memory foam is a great product. It has incredible pressure-relieving capabilities, a very attractive hand feel, and it limits motion transfer in a mattress so you can’t tell when the person sleeping next to you is tossing and turning. But it’s not perfect.
The density and chemistry of the product have traditionally limited airflow. This lack of airflow is the reason memory foam has more reports of sleeping hot than other types of foam.
However, these complaints are becoming less and less frequent as foam manufacturers focus on this issue. Basically, every new memory foam that’s launched now has some kind of cooling story — maybe it’s gel infused, or maybe it has a metallic conductor added in to move heat away from the body. One way or another, memory foam without cooling is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
That said, we still have not addressed the issue of airflow. This is important if a foam mattress is going to compete from a cooling standpoint with materials that are inherently more breathable — like innersprings and latex.
Innovative Fabrication Helps Air Flow
The biggest issue with foam compared to innerspring is the differences in airflow. However, creativity in the fabrication process can be a serious help.
It used to be that a foam mattress was just a whole bunch of slabs glued together. Not so anymore.
Automated CNC fabrication equipment has given the industry some pretty unique ways of adding pressure relief and airflow to foam.
Comfort Option’s foam core uses a unique CNC design called I-Beam, which provides consistent airflow from the head to toe during the entire night’s sleep.
The bottom line is that unless there is some kind of a fabricated solution, a foam mattress will never match an innerspring mattress in terms of airflow.
Don’t settle. Coatings work.
At the end of the day, whatever temperature is at the surface of the mattress is what you’re going to feel.
From Comfort Option’s perspective, we’ve always sought to utilize the latest cooling technology in each of our customized mattress constructions.
Whether it’s our heat-conducting copper-infused memory foam, temperature-neutral foams, or temperature-responsive foams, each material we utilize was selected — in part — for the cooling properties it brings to the table.
Now, we are excited to announce the latest addition to our product line: KulKote – Temperature Regulating Technology.
If you’ve experienced our SoftFlo Pillows, you’re already familiar with the seemingly-magic, immediately-tangible cooling that KulKote brings.
If you’re unfamiliar, KulKote is a water-based, polymer coating that is applied to the surface of the foam; it is a “phase change material” (PCM) which, in short, means that it utilizes micro-capsules that continually change phases from a liquid to a solid in order to effectively manage heat energy.
In other words, it regulates your temperature while you sleep and keeps your mattress at a perfect, comfortably-cool level all night long.
It actually works. The graphics below show the tangible temperature difference that KulKote brings.
KulKote is now offered as an optional upgrade on all Comfort Option customized mattress constructions, as well as our Alpha mattresses.
There’s an upcharge for a product like this, but if temperature is a primary concern in pursuing a foam mattress, it’s the best option to consider.
To summarize, if you’re concerned about a foam mattress sleeping too hot, all you have to do is ask the right question. Make sure to find out:
What kind of foam is it?
How is it fabricated?
Does it have a coating?
To experience our answers firsthand, click either of the links below!