Cooling Guide 2026
Best Mattress for Hot Sleepers Australia
Wake up sweating? Six mattresses ranked on the cooling score from our own review of each — what the materials actually do, and what owners report after a summer.
Updated: August 2026
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6 mattresses compared
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7 min read
If you wake up sweating, kicking off the covers, or flipping your pillow to find the cool side — your mattress is a likely culprit. Foam holds heat, and it does so by design. Memory foam works by conforming to your body, which means more skin contact and less air moving around you. The closer it hugs, the warmer it runs.
There are two ways out of that. Pocket springs solve it structurally — air moves between the coils without anything needing to be engineered — which is why five of the six picks below use them. The other way is to engineer the foam itself, with open-cell structures and airflow channels, and one brand here does that well enough to top the list despite having no springs at all.
How these are ranked. Each score is the cooling sub-score from our full review of that mattress — the same number you will see if you click through. Nothing here is a separate cooling rating invented for this page. Koala is not on the list because we have not reviewed the Koala Plus, and the standard Koala’s review does not carry a cooling sub-score, so we have nothing to rank it on.
#1 Best Cooling
Best for: Hot sleepers who want the foam feel
What it does about heat
Airgocell is an open-cell foam with airflow channels cut through it, so air moves inside the comfort layer instead of being trapped by it. The cover is breathable and removable for washing. It is the only all-foam mattress here that scores above the spring hybrids on cooling, and it earns it.
Emma manages heat rather than avoiding it, and that distinction matters. Foam still touches more of you than springs do, so you will sink further and stay warmer than on a hybrid at the same room temperature — the difference is that Emma’s foam lets air through where ordinary memory foam does not. Owners rate it 4.6 from 8,914 reviews, the largest sample on this page by a wide margin. Worth knowing before you buy: Emma discounts heavily and often, so check the price against its RRP rather than assuming the first number you see is the deal.
150 nightsTrial
10 yearsWarranty
AirgocellOpen-cell foam
4.6 / 58,914 owners
#2 Best Premium
Best for: Hot sleepers who want a plush surface anyway
What it does about heat
Bamboo and wool in the cover rather than synthetics — both move moisture instead of holding it, which is what actually makes you feel clammy. Underneath, 2,020 pocket springs in two layers leave air space through the whole mattress, so the plush top does not come at the cost of airflow the way a foam pillow top would.
Plush surfaces usually sleep warm, because plushness means sinking and sinking means contact. Luxara gets around that by putting the softness in natural fibres and micro springs rather than in a thick foam layer, so you get the surface feel without the heat that normally comes with it. Handcrafted in Australia with GECA-certified foams. The trade-off against the picks below is the warranty — ten years against twelve and fifteen.
100 nightsTrial
10 yearsWarranty
2,020Pocket springs
Bamboo + woolCover
Exclusive code
$100 off any Luxara mattress
BESTMATTRESS100
#3 Most Adjustable
Best for: Couples where only one of you sleeps hot
What it does about heat
A pocket-spring hybrid with a breathable bamboo-blend cover, and firmness you can change after delivery — including differently on each side. That last part is the cooling feature people overlook: a firmer setting means you sink less, and sinking less is the single biggest thing you can do about heat on any mattress.
We earn nothing if you buy this, and it is here because it answers a problem none of the others can. If you sleep hot and your partner does not, every fixed mattress is a compromise for one of you — this one can be firm and airy on your side and softer on theirs. Owners rate it 4.8 from 5,742 reviews, the largest spring-mattress sample here.
100 nightsTrial
10 yearsWarranty
Per sideAdjustable
4.8 / 55,742 owners
#4 Firmest
Best for: Hot sleepers who also want firm support
What it does about heat
Boomerang open-cell foam over a 5-zone pocket spring system, and a genuine 9/10 firmness that keeps you on the mattress rather than in it. Less body sinkage means less of you is surrounded by mattress, which is the most reliable cooling mechanism there is — no coating or gel required.
Firmness is an underrated cooling feature and Sleep Firm has more of it than anything else we cover. The caveat is the obvious one: 9/10 is genuinely firm, and if you are a side sleeper it will press on your shoulder and hip rather than let them settle. Buy this for the cooling only if you would have wanted the firmness anyway. Melbourne-made, Spinal Foundation endorsed, 4.9 out of 5 from owners.
150 nightsTrial
15 yearsWarranty
9/10Firmness
4.9 / 5228 owners
#5 Best All-Rounder
Best for: Hot sleepers who also need back support
What it does about heat
1,850 individually wrapped pocket springs, so air moves through the whole mattress without anything being engineered to let it. A natural latex comfort layer sits above them, and latex breathes considerably better than memory foam does — it is a more open material to begin with.
This is the pick that does the most other things well. It cools by construction rather than by coating, so there is nothing to wear off; it carries the Australian Spinal Research Foundation endorsement if your back matters as much as your temperature; and the 150-night trial is the longest here, which counts for something when you are buying in winter for a problem you only have in summer. Rated 4.8 from more than 2,000 owners.
150 nightsTrial
12 yearsWarranty
1,850Pocket springs
4.8 / 52,157 owners
#6 Best Value
Best for: Budget-conscious hot sleepers
What it does about heat
A graphite-infused latex layer over 7-zone pocket springs. Graphite conducts heat, so instead of your body warming one patch of mattress, the warmth spreads across the surface and dissipates. Australian wool in the cover handles moisture. For the money, this is the most cooling technology in one mattress on the page.
It matches Sleep Republic on cooling at a considerably lower price, which is why it is here rather than further down. Where it gives ground is elsewhere: edge support scores 7.5, the weakest of the spring mattresses, and owners report sagging within the first couple of months more often than for the picks above. The 120-night trial is long enough to catch that, so use it rather than assuming.
120 nightsTrial
15 yearsWarranty
7-zonePocket springs
CHOICERecommended
How to Stay Cool While You Sleep
- Prefer pocket springs over all-foam — air moves between coils without anything having to be engineered to let it, and there is nothing to wear off
- Sink less — a firmer mattress runs cooler at the same room temperature, because less of you is surrounded by it. This is the most reliable lever there is
- Use cotton, linen or bamboo sheets — polyester holds heat and moisture, and no mattress will out-cool the wrong sheets
- Keep the bedroom around 18-19°C — the range sleep physicians generally recommend, and every degree above it makes falling asleep harder
- A cooling topper is worth trying before replacing a mattress — far cheaper, and it tells you whether the mattress really is the problem
- Skip memory foam pillows if you run hot — latex or buckwheat hold far less heat against your head
- Buy in the season you have the problem if you can. A mattress bought in July tells you nothing about February, and most trials are long enough to cover the wait
FAQ
Common questions from hot sleepers
Why does my mattress make me sweat?
Most often because it is all-foam. Memory foam works by conforming to your body, which increases how much of you is touching mattress and reduces how much air can move around you — and the foam holds the heat it absorbs rather than shedding it. It is not a fault in the mattress; it is how the material behaves. Pocket springs avoid the problem by leaving air space through the whole mattress.
Are hybrid mattresses always cooler than foam?
Usually, but not always, and this page is the proof. Springs solve heat structurally, which is why five of our six picks use them. But Emma’s Airgocell is an open-cell foam with airflow channels through it, and it scores higher on cooling in our reviews than any of the hybrids here. Construction is a strong signal, not a guarantee — read what the specific mattress does rather than what its category usually does.
Does a cooling mattress topper actually work?
A gel-infused or latex topper does make a noticeable difference, and it is far cheaper than a new mattress. Try one first: if it fixes the problem you have saved a lot of money, and if it does not, you have learnt that the heat is coming from the mattress underneath rather than the surface — which is worth knowing before you spend again.
What’s the ideal bedroom temperature for sleep?
Sleep physicians generally recommend 18-19°C. Every degree above that makes it harder to fall asleep and to stay asleep. If you cannot control the room — no air conditioning, upstairs bedroom, western sun — the mattress matters considerably more, because it is the only part of the equation you can change.
Can I return a mattress if it sleeps too hot?
Yes. Every mattress on this page carries a trial of at least 100 nights, and Emma, Sleep Firm and Sleep Republic give you 150. Read the return terms before you buy, though: most brands require the mattress to be unstained and on a proper base, and several ask you to arrange the donation or collection yourself. Photograph it on the day it arrives.
📢 Affiliate Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not influence the order — these six are ranked on the cooling sub-score from our own review of each, and the three at the top of the page earn us nothing. We include honest pros AND cons for every mattress. Last updated August 2026.
