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Jun 13, 2023

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For hot sleepers, there's no dread like uncomfortably warm nights. No matter how low you turn the air conditioner or how strategically you place your cooling fan, it's still possible to find yourself tossing and turning, overheating from your blankets and sheets. Fortunately, there's a science-backed solution: a bed cooling system.

Instead of cooling the air around you, these bed cooling systems chill the air and fabrics in your bed. That means you get cooling that cuts straight to the source—and nips hot sleep in the bud. To enhance their benefits, use them with a cooling mattress, cooling bed sheets and cooling weighted blankets.

We asked several sleep experts for their input in choosing the best bed cooling systems on the market. Here are the best of the best.

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This air-based bed cooling system comes recommended by both Derek Hales, founder and editor-in-chief of NapLab, a sleep testing platform, and Stephen Light, CEO of Nolah Mattress and a certified sleep science coach. "The BedJet 3 is widely regarded as one of the finest cooling systems on the market," says Light. "It circulates air through the tubes of a mattress pad, is incredibly easy to set up and is easily controlled with a remote or an app on your phone."

This bed cooling system works with all mattresses and bed frames, and is relatively inexpensive compared to other bed cooling products. What's more, you can control the temperature to a specific degree and set each side of the bed to a different temperature. It also has a heat mode to achieve that just-out-of-the-dryer feeling for your sheets in winter.

In a 2018 study published in Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, 94% of participants who suffered from hot flashes reported improved sleep quality when using the BedJet. If you’re revamping your entire sleep setup, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with our list of the best mattresses, too.

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If you don't want to drop hundreds on a bed cooling system, try a cooling blanket before you invest in more expensive gear. This one from Elegear absorbs body heat and can reduce skin temperatures, from 35 to 41 degrees Fahrenheit.

The blanket comes in four sizes and weighs under 3 pounds, meaning it can provide cooling to one or more people or be brought on vacations or camping trips. Simply toss it in the washing machine to clean. It has an average of 4.5 out of five stars from nearly 23,000 reviewers on Amazon. "It is definitely cold but not overwhelmingly cold at all," writes customer, Madison Price. "It's like flipping your pillow over the cold side, except it's an entire blanket!" P.S. For another excellent pick, check out the Dangtop cooling blanket, too.

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This water-based bed cooling system gets the stamp of approval from Hales and Mollie McGlocklin, founder of the sleep-consulting company Sleep Is a Skill. "There are few pieces of technology that make more of a measurable difference than the Chilisleep cooling mattress pad," says McGlocklin. "Because we have every client we work with wear sleep trackers, I get to see a lot of data on what works and what doesn't work—cooling mattress pads work."

The Chilisleep Cube Sleep System can be used with any mattress, and can be set from 55 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit for warming or cooling. You can control the temperature from a remote or from the cube itself, which easily fits under most beds so it doesn't show. Use your Chilisleep in tandem with one of the best portable air conditioners for your coolest sleep yet.

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Christen Costa, CEO of Gadget Review, recommends this bed cooling system for its versatility. "You can simply outfit your existing mattress with the Pod Pro Cover instead of replacing your whole mattress, which also makes the cost of owning a bed cooling system much lower," Cost explains.

The Pod Pro zips onto your mattress easily and can be set anywhere from 55 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit. You can schedule different temperatures for each phase of the night and even set an alarm clock that wakes you with gentle vibrations and a gradual temperature change.

While you catch those zzz's, the pod tracks your sleep quality, as well as health metrics, such as respiratory rate, resting heart rate and heart rate variability. The Pro membership offers data insights and a digital coach so you can get your best sleep yet. Try the 30-day free trial if you don't believe us!

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While Chilisleep's other water cooling systems (the Cube and the OOLER) operate at 51 to 66 decibels and 51 to 56 decibels, respectively, the Dock Pro bed cooling system runs at a hushed 41 to 46 decieals. The device also offers nearly double the cooling capacity of the other two coolers (95 watts compared to 50 and 52, respectively).

It can be controlled using a mobile app that connects to your device on Wi-Fi. A removable water reservoir and air filter make it easy to clean, and you can schedule automated temperature adjustments throughout the night based on your preferences.

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If you’re serious about sleeping in a cooler, more controlled environment, you might consider a cooling mattress. This one from the experts at Eight Sleep is 12 inches deep and contains five foam layers, plus a 1-inch ComfortBlend Topper. You can independently cool each side of the bed from 55 to 110 degrees and control the Pod Pro from an iOS/Android app.

The app and mattress allow you to track your sleep with metrics, including sleep stages, sleep time, toss and turns and more. There is also wellness tracking on indicators, such as respiratory rate, resting heart rate and heart rate variability. All in all, there's no easier way to invest in your sleep than with this all-in-one cooling mattress. Don't miss even more inside advice on how to buy a mattress.

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Many people can benefit from a bed cooling system, from those who require one for medical reasons to those who simply prefer chilled bedding (think of cold sheets as a similar luxury as warm towels). "Anyone who finds they sleep hot at night, especially to the point it causes them to wake up, can benefit from a bed cooling system," says Hales. These may include heavyweight sleepers, sleepers going through menopause, sleepers with medical conditions that cause them to sleep hot and sleepers who enjoy the feel of memory foam, but dislike its heat retention quality.

The benefits of bed cooling systems include improved sleep quality and duration. "When our bodies are too hot at night, it can be difficult to fall and stay asleep, tanking our sleep quality and blocking our bodies from repairing, recharging and refreshing in the way they need to," says Light. "Bed cooling systems can ensure our bodies stay at the optimal temperature for high-quality sleep."

There are two types of bed cooling systems: passive and active. Passive systems provide a layer of cooling material and are typically seen in the form of cooling mattress pads, cooling blankets and cooling pillows. Active systems use either water or air to cool your mattress and bedding.

Air cooling systems are quite simple. "They create additional airflow to bedding and/or the mattress," says Hales. "This helps bring cool air into the bedding system and push hot air out."

Water cooling systems are somewhat more complex. "These involve channels of water running through a bedding attachment (typically a type of mattress pad) or through the mattress itself," explains Hales. "The cooled water flows through the bedding, coming into contact with sleepers and cooling them." The water is then cycled to an external device where it is re-cooled before channeling back into the bedding attachment or mattress.

As shopping experts, our only job is to help you find a winning product. We start with the research and reporting basics—what products are made of, what they look like and how much they cost—to ensure that we’re only recommending the buys that are worth your time and money. Then, we research the features that speak to the product's quality, taking advice from industry insiders and subject matter experts on what makes a product a smart value (or worthy of a splurge). Finally, we do the work of combing through user reviews to see how real people interact with the product, and if it stands up to the test.

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