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If you’re like most people, then you were probably skeptical the first time you heard about cooling pillows. The idea of getting a cold night of sleep seems almost too good to be true. So are they legit? Let’s take a look at how cooling pillows work so you can decide for yourself if they’re the right option for you.
How Cooling Pillows Work
First of all, cooling pillows have somewhat of a misleading name. They don’t actively cool you down – they can only be breathable which can help the pillow temperature to stay neutral, or be cool to the touch at first, but warm up within about fifteen minutes.
Sorry to burst your bubble right at the beginning, but if the room temperature is so hot that you can’t sleep, these pillows won’t cool you down. You need to sleep in a cool room first, and then one of these pillows might help pick up from there.
There’s only one exception I’ve been able to find, and that’s a smart pillow pad developed by Moona. It includes a water pouch, a pump, and a small AI-powered gadget that changes the temperature. It makes your pillow cool at bedtime, keeps it cool throughout the night, and then warms up in the morning to help you wake up easily. You control it over your phone app and make temperature adjustments to fit your preferences.
This product seems to be sold out for now and the company is trying to develop the second version on Kickstarter, so you probably won’t be able to get a hold of this cooling pillow any time soon.
Now let’s take a look at how the four main types of “cooling pillows” work and what makes them different from typical pillows.
Breathable materials
Natural materials allow the air to circulate inside the pillow and in and out of it. The air carries the temperature away from your head and neck into the surrounding air. This natural process makes it a so-called “cooling pillow”.
Or, to be honest, it just prevents unnecessary and unnatural overheating.
A breathable pillow starts with a pillow cover made of natural materials. This is usually cotton. Your pillowcase should also be breathable and made of cotton or linen.
Breathable fillings include cotton, wool, and buckwheat hulls. The whole point is that the inside of your breathable pillow should have open “pockets” of air which allow circulation. Any dense or thick material is naturally going to accumulate heat.
A big plus of buckwheat pillows is that the hulls make a firm enough filling to give your head and neck necessary support, but also can be easily adjusted to the shape you need at any moment. The triangular empty hulls allow airflow and make it one of the coolest-sleeping pillows you can find.
Breathable pillows are the best at reducing excess heat as there’s no heat retention.
Cooling gel
A layer of cooling gel on the surface of the pillow makes it feel really cool to touch. The way it works is in the fact that gel is slow to get warm, so when you lay your head on gel pillows, you’ll instantly feel a fresh, cool effect.
But just as the gel is slow to warm up, it is also slow to cool down, and so gel cooling pillows work for up to 15 minutes before they get as warm as your body. After that, they become warmer, so, the “cooling pillow” actually becomes a “warming pillow” during the night.
The gel can’t cool down on its own, and since there’s usually dense memory foam underneath, the heat has pretty much nowhere to escape. So your “cooling gel pillow” can actually have the opposite effect.
I won’t say that cooling gel pillows are a complete waste. I myself sleep on a foam pillow with a layer of cooling gel and every night I look forward to that instant cooling effect, although it quickly disappears.
If the room is hot, or if I didn’t fall asleep right away and the gel got too warm, I always flip it over to the gel-less side as it turns out to be cooler. I’m fine with it, but I don’t have any serious overheating issues. If I did, I don’t think this would cut it.
There’s another gel pillow category – the gel-infused memory foam pillow.
Gel memory foam pillows are made of shredded memory foam pieces stuffed into a pillow. The gel is the same as the gel I mentioned above, but the cooling properties are somewhat different.
For example, this kind of gel pillow doesn’t have a cool-to-touch surface because there is no cooling gel layer. It’s more similar to a regular shredded memory foam pillow than to other cooling pillows.
You can also buy separate gel pads and use them in your regular pillow. They’re cheaper than the whole pillow and often thicker than the gel layer which comes as a part of a cooling pillow.
Phase-change material
Phase-change material (PCM) is some next-level pillow science in cooling technology.
PCM pillows usually have this material on the top side. What’s special about it is that PCM can absorb lots of heat and store it inside. So it’s the PCM absorbing body heat that gives it a cooling effect.
However, when the temperature goes down, the phase-change materials release the previously stored heat, making the pillow feel warmer. This is why makers of PCM pillows highlight that their pillow is great at both, cooling you down and warming you up.
If you really think about the dynamics of it, this statement means that in reality most of the time you’ll be getting a regular pillow.
Looking at what the research has to say about phase-change materials, they apparently do somewhat help with body heat dissipation, but it’s not enough for people to perceive the change or to feel more comfortable.
This brings us back to what I said previously about gel pillows. They work for a while, and then it either stops or does the opposite of what you want.
PCM pillows can still help you fall asleep faster if that’s what you’re going for. But they’re not so great if you want something that actually keeps you cool throughout the night.
If you want to try a pillow that uses PCM cooling materials, you should try the GhostPillow.
Water-filled pillows
While gel in pillows warms up somewhat slowly, there’s usually just a thin layer of it so it kind of defeats the purpose. Water, on the other hand, is slower to warm up and there’s more of it in a water pouch of a pillow, so there’s more “coolness stored” in your pillow.
The main difference is that the water pouch is at the bottom of the pillow, while there’s some kind of fill on the top – down, memory foam, polyester, etc. For example, Mediflow pillows come with various fillings you can choose from.
The filling plays a role in how a water pillow feels.
Memory foam pillows trap heat and that’s why a water-filled memory foam pillow is likely to be warmer than a down pillow. Still, any filling is likely to feel cooler when it’s on a water pouch because it will keep getting chilled from the bottom side throughout the night. It acts as a counterbalance to your body heat which is coming from the top side of the pillow.
People sleeping on water pillows usually love the cooling effect. Although the material on the very top gets warmed up, the counterbalance works all night and cools the pillow.
The negative sides are that water pillows can feel “sloshy” and heavy, not to mention the possible leaks or mold development.
Benefits of Using a Cooling Pillow
If you choose a good cooling pillow (by which I mean one that won’t aggravate your hot sleeping issues, and by now you know there are some that might), you’ll enjoy the following benefits:
- falling asleep faster
- reducing night sweats
- regulating internal body temperature
- increased airflow
Falling asleep faster
You probably know the effect a cool pillow surface can have when it comes to falling asleep.
With the right pillow, the surface on which you rest your head and neck won’t get hot almost instantly. On the contrary – you’ll be lulled into the fresh cloud of ocean mist as you doze off.
Reducing night sweats
I can’t say that cooling pillows can help you get rid of night sweats altogether, but you can enjoy cooler sleep and a reduced effect of hot flashes or night sweats.
Head cooling seems to help both men and women lower their overall amount of sweating during sleep. You might start waking up less frequently throughout the night, or even stop waking up. You’ll just know that your pillow is breathable enough and that it dissipates heat properly once you get the right one.
Whether it’s your hair that doesn’t get drenched at night anymore or your entire body that lessens the amount of sweat – you’ll have to notice it.
Regulating internal body temperature
Some studies showed that head cooling improves the quality of sleep and it might also help regulate internal body temperature.
So, although you’re getting your skin cooled down, it helps your whole body to remain somewhat cooler.
This can mean a lot to people whose body gets overheated at night. By the way, you shouldn’t put all your hopes solely in a cooling pillow but also use thinner pajamas, a breathable blanket, and have the A/C on.
Cooling pillows can also help you avoid hot flashes and get restful sleep.
Increased airflow
Plenty of airflow is one of the most important features of a pillow if you don’t want it to accumulate heat. Increased airflow keeps your neck and head cool, but it also adds airflow to your bed.
The air will more easily escape from under your blanket and the mattress will trap somewhat less heat in the head area. I am talking about small things that can add up and make a cool bed that helps dissipate heat and that provides a cool surface for you to rest and sleep on.
FAQs
Cooling pillows can last for about four years. Better ones can last even longer, and cheap ones much less. It depends on the type of materials, their quality and thickness, and, of course, how often and how much you use the cooling pillow.
They are generally safe, especially the ones made of completely natural materials. With natural pillows, there’s nothing to worry about. When it comes to foam pillows, especially memory foam pillows, you should learn about the risks of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). It’s the “new pillow/new mattress smell” that comes out of foam. Children shouldn’t be exposed to VOCs, but with adults, they are officially considered safe. However, those who are a bit more sensitive might suffer from headaches, itches, nasal congestion, etc. Those symptoms are pretty much the same as toxic mattress symptoms.
Copper pillows have several benefits, but they don’t really make good cooling pillows. But don’t go just yet! Copper pillows often contain some kind of cooling materials and you might actually find a copper pillow with just the cooling properties you’re looking for. There are different types of copper pillows, so you just need to get the right one. I’d recommend simply getting a copper-infused pillowcase and using a cooling pillow inside.
Conclusion
If you sleep hot, it might be time to try a cooling pillow.
But you need to choose wisely.
You could go for a breathable pillow made of natural materials for starters. You might benefit from the air circulation and heat dissipation so much that your problems get solved.
For actual cooling capabilities, a water-filled pillow could work for you, ideally with a natural fill. If you love modern technology, you can go for some of the gel-cooling pillows or pads.
As for phase-change materials, I personally can’t recommend these pillows because you can’t really feel the difference between a PCM and a regular pillow, so they just haven’t sold it to me. But then again, if you’re willing to risk it, who knows, it just might work for you.
Next step: Read our Nuzzle Pillow review. If you aren’t sure which cooling pillow to get, the Nuzzle is a popular choice you might want to consider. We tested it out and came up with a list of pros and cons so you can decide for yourself if it’s right for you.
With over 5 years experience writing about sleep and mattresses, she's considered one of the go-to experts on the topic.
She likes cycling, nature, art, and languages. She pays special attention to providing you with accurate and useful information when it comes to your sleep quality.
After solving her personal sleep and tiredness problems, she is on to help others by sharing this invaluable information.
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