If a pillow tends to store heat, so-called heat build-up can occur in summer, i.e. moisture is not wicked away, so you sweat more around your head and neck when the temperature is high. This is not only uncomfortable, but also reduces sleep at night – and thus also the ability to perform during the day. In order to keep a cool head in the truest sense of the word, you should take a closer look at your pillow. Both the material and the air circulation are decisive. For this reason, special cooling pillows are a pleasant alternative to the classic pillow in summer. They usually have special gel inserts that conduct heat and moisture away from the body and air channels for better circulation. Below we present five different models.
1. Premium CoolGelTM with Eco-Gel
Made from pressure-sensitive memory foam, this Supportiback cooling pad features heat-dissipating Eco-Gel. On warm days, it can promote healthy sleep by reducing head sweating. On cold days you can simply turn the pillow and use the soft and cuddly side to sleep. The dimensions are 30 x 11 x 36 cm.
2. Club spur with thermoelastic gel foam
Ikea also has an ergonomic cooling pad (74 x 35 cm) for side and back sleepers. It also consists of cushioning memory foam on one side and thermoelastic gel foam on the other side: This is intended to increase sleeping comfort on warm days as a cool contact surface. The cover is breathable, moisture-balancing and washable.
3. Cooling pad with ClimaCool cover
Third of Life’s viscoelastic foam pillow won the Ergonomics Innovation Award in 2021. It has a special ClimaCool cover (washable at 40 degrees), which is intended to ensure optimal cooling during sleep on hot days. In addition, the lying height can be changed with a removable insert. The dimensions are: 56 x 36 x 11.5 cm.
4. Neck support pillow with cooling effect
In contrast to the other models, this neck support pillow for side, stomach and back sleepers has standard dimensions (40 x 80 cm). It contains 400 grams of new PES fiber beads, which – according to the manufacturer – should provide the right cuddly feeling. The cushion, which can be washed at 60 degrees, gets its cooling effect from its polyamide fibres.
5. Cooling pillow insert
The bottom of this series is not a real pillow, but a cooling gel insert (56 cm x 32 cm) for your normal sleeping pillow. The corresponding cover contains cotton and is washable. According to the manufacturer, the use in the refrigerator can also be tempered, but it is not a must – the cooling effect is given by the gel it contains.
And one more tip at the end: There are also cooling pillowcases in different sizes that you can put over your regular pillows.
If you are interested in a cooling pad, you should pay attention to the following criteria when buying:
Breathable materials: Whether cotton, bamboo or Tencel – natural fibers provide the necessary comfort, good air circulation and fast heat conduction. In addition, moisture should be able to evaporate better, so that a cooling effect is achieved. The thread density can be used to determine how breathable a pillow is. The value should be below 400.
Washable pillowcase: Despite the integrated cooling layer, it will not be possible to completely avoid sweating during the night. For this reason, when buying a cooling pad, you should make sure that the cover can be removed separately (e.g. via a zipper) and cleaned in the washing machine.
Ergonomic shape: As you can see from our presented series of cooling pads, there are many different sizes. Depending on whether you sleep on your back, side or stomach, you should pay attention to the (ergonomic) shape of the pillow when buying it – depending on the manufacturer, some models have been designed for different sleep types or specifically for neck problems.
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