Best Cooling Mattress Pads for Night Sweats

The key takeaways

• Cooling mattress pads come in five types. Two are active and let you set the bed's temperature, and three are passive materials that draw heat or moisture away from your skin.
• Water-cooled pads, like the Orion Sleep System, move water through a thin cover on the mattress you already own. Each side of the bed can be set anywhere from 50°F to 113°F.
• Smart toppers with built-in fans, like the Perfectly Snug Smart Topper, push air under and around you from inside a 2-inch topper.
• Passive pads use phase-change fabric, gel-infused foam, or wool and latex. They generally cost less than active pads, and you can't dial any of them warmer or cooler.

What a cooling mattress pad can do about night sweats

By the time night sweats send someone shopping for a mattress pad, the room has usually been dealt with. The thermostat is turned down and the ceiling fan is running. What's left is the heat under you, building in the mattress for hours while you sleep on it.

A cooling mattress pad works on that layer. Some pads change the temperature of the surface you lie on. Others are made of materials that pull heat or moisture away from your skin. The sections below cover the types available. Each explains how that type cools and how it handles sweat, then names one pick, with who it suits, whether each side can be set separately, and how much control you get over temperature.

The types of cooling mattress pads, at a glance

Type	How it cools	Separate sides	Pick	Temperature control
Water-cooled pad	Active, water moves through a thin cover	Yes	Orion Sleep System	Any temperature 50°F to 113°F
Smart topper with fans	Active, fans move air through the topper	Yes, Queen and larger	Perfectly Snug Smart Topper	20 levels, heating and cooling
Phase-change pad	Passive, fabric absorbs and releases heat	No	Slumber Cloud Performance Mattress Pad	Not adjustable
Gel-infused foam topper	Passive, gel in the foam tempers heat	No	ViscoSoft Refresh Reflex Gel Mattress Topper	Not adjustable
Wool and latex topper	Passive, breathable natural materials	No	Saatva Organic Quilted Mattress Topper	Not adjustable

Water-cooled mattress pads

A water-cooled pad is a thin cover with water running through it, connected to a small system beside the bed that chills or warms that water. The water carries heat away from the surface you lie on, and the tower keeps it at the temperature you pick.

That's the draw for someone with night sweats. The water keeps circulating at your setting, which keeps your side of the bed at the temperature you choose all night.

Water conducts heat about 23 times better than air, and it holds about four times as much heat by weight (Engineering ToolBox), so it's a more effective way to keep you cool throughout the night.

Our pick: Orion Sleep System

The Orion Sleep System adds heating and cooling to the mattress you already own. Its Smart Cover fits over the mattress like a fitted sheet, about as thick as one, and your own fitted sheet goes on top. The Control Tower beside the bed cools or heats water and circulates it through the cover.

You set a temperature for each side of the bed in the Orion app, anywhere from 50°F to 113°F. If you wake up hot and your partner sleeps cold, your side can stay cool while theirs stays warm. A schedule can start cooling before bedtime, so the bed's already at your temperature when you get in.

It comes in Queen, King, and California King, for mattresses 10 to 18 inches deep, on a standard bed or a single adjustable base kept nearly flat.

Best for: People who wake up hot and damp and want to choose the exact temperature of their side of the bed.

Separate sides: Yes. Each side is its own zone with its own setting.

Temperature control: 50°F to 113°F water temperature, shown in the app on a -10 to +10 scale or in degrees.

Smart toppers with fans inside

An air-cooling smart topper puts active cooling inside a foam topper. Fans in the topper move air under and around your body, and some models add heat for cold nights. Instead of a temperature in degrees, you pick a level.

The moving air is what matters if you sweat at night. It carries warmth and moisture away from your skin. And since the topper is also a cushioning layer, it changes how soft the bed feels, too.

Our pick: Perfectly Snug Smart Topper

The Perfectly Snug Smart Topper is a 2-inch topper with its fans, heater, and controls built in. Two fans at the foot of each zone deliver air under and around you, a foot heater handles warmth, and you choose from 20 levels across heating and cooling.

Best for: Sleepers who want active cooling and a softer top layer in one product, including on a Split King.

Separate sides: Yes on Queen, King, California King, and Split King. Twin, Twin XL, and Full have one zone.

Temperature control: 20 levels across heating and cooling, rather than degrees.

Phase-change and moisture-wicking pads

A phase-change pad has a coating on its fabric that absorbs heat as your skin warms and gives it back as you cool. The pad sits under your fitted sheet and is usually thin, so the mattress feels about the same.

If you sweat at night, pair a phase-change pad with breathable bedding on top of it. The coating can take up some heat at the surface, but it holds only so much, and it can't be set cooler on a hot night.

Our pick: Slumber Cloud Performance Mattress Pad

Slumber Cloud's Performance Mattress Pad has a TENCEL Lyocell top fabric coated with Outlast, a phase-change material that Slumber Cloud says absorbs excess body heat as you warm and releases it as your temperature drops. It's a quarter of an inch thick and goes under your fitted sheet.

Best for: Adding a cooling fabric layer under your sheet at a pad's price.

Separate sides: No. The whole surface is the same.

Temperature control: Not adjustable.

Gel-infused foam toppers

Memory foam molds closely to your body, and that close fit can hold warmth. Gel-infused foam mixes gel into the memory foam, which makers say tempers the heat that plain memory foam can trap.

Of the five types, gel foam does the least to cool the bed. A gel topper is a comfort layer first, with the pressure relief of memory foam. ViscoSoft says as much about its own gel topper, describing it as built for temperature-regulated comfort rather than active cooling.

Our pick: ViscoSoft Refresh Reflex Gel Mattress Topper

ViscoSoft's Refresh Reflex Gel Mattress Topper is gel-infused memory foam, 3 or 4 inches thick, with a padded cover you can take off and machine wash. A 16-inch elastic skirt holds it on the mattress.

Best for: Memory foam pressure relief with less of the heat that plain foam holds.

Separate sides: No. The whole surface is the same.

Temperature control: Not adjustable.

Wool and latex toppers

Wool and latex toppers manage heat through their materials. Wool batting regulates temperature, latex is often perforated so air can move through it, and an organic cotton cover breathes and wicks moisture away from the skin.

Moisture handling is why someone with night sweats might look at this type. Like any topper, it also changes how the bed feels, so it suits someone who wants a softer surface made of natural materials, and a drier one.

Our pick: Saatva Organic Quilted Mattress Topper

Saatva's Organic Quilted Mattress Topper is 3 inches thick, with organic wool batting quilted around a layer of latex. Saatva describes its organic cotton cover as naturally breathable and moisture-wicking, and adds vented airflow channels for more breathability.

Best for: A cushioned layer of natural materials that wicks moisture.

Separate sides: No. The whole surface is the same.

Temperature control: Not adjustable.

Cooling mattress pads and night sweats: common questions

Do cooling mattress pads help with night sweats?

A cooling mattress pad can make the bed feel cooler and drier while night sweats are happening. It doesn't treat night sweats or what causes them. Active pads let you set the temperature of the surface you sleep on, and passive pads use materials that absorb heat or wick moisture.

What's the difference between active and passive cooling pads?

Active pads plug in and change the temperature of the bed, by moving water through a cover or air through a topper. Passive pads rely on materials like phase-change fabric, gel foam, wool, or latex, and can't be set to a temperature.

Is a cooling pad or a cooling topper better for night sweats?

A pad is thin and leaves your mattress feeling much the same. A topper adds a cushioning layer, so it changes softness and temperature. If you like your mattress as it is, start with a pad. If you'd also like it softer, a topper does both jobs.

Can each side of the bed be a different temperature?

Only with an active pad that has two zones. The Orion Sleep System, a water-cooled pad, sets each side anywhere from 50°F to 113°F. The Perfectly Snug Smart Topper has two zones on Queen and larger. Passive pads treat the whole surface the same way.

Do active cooling pads need a subscription?

Not for temperature control. With the Orion Sleep System, heating and cooling don't require a subscription. Orion Intelligence, the sleep tracking layer, is optional, and if you cancel it, the bed keeps heating and cooling. The Perfectly Snug Smart Topper has no subscription.

Will a cooling pad fit my mattress or adjustable base?

Most pads list a maximum mattress depth, so measure yours first. Thin pads and water-cooled covers go under your fitted sheet, while toppers add 2 to 4 inches of height. If you use an adjustable base, check whether the pad works on a split base or only on a single one.

Want to set the temperature of your side of the bed? See how the Orion Sleep System works.