Always sleep on the cool side of the pillow with these top picks.
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Waking up feeling sweaty and overheated is a hot sleeper's worst nightmare — especially if it's happening regularly. A cooling pillow may help you sleep cooler and more soundly. Many feature technology that absorbs heat to prevent night sweats in the first place and have a cool-to-the-touch feel so every side of your pillow is the cool side. While a cooling pillow can’t stop your hot flashes or change a warm climate, sleeping on one in addition to cooling sheets or a temperature-regulating or cooling mattress pad certainly can help you feel less sweaty.
The Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab tested over 160 different pillows to find the best pillows to stay cool, whether you’re a side sleeper, back sleeper or stomach sleeper. A good cooling pillow should not only feel cool; it also needs to be comfy to sleep on and support your head and neck to maintain proper spinal alignment and avoid pain. To find the best cooling pillows, our textile pros evaluated washability and durability in the Lab and sent pillows to over 400 at-home testers to learn more about their cooling effects. We also verified all cooling claims and featured cooling technology to avoid any misleading marketing or overpromises.
You can learn more about how we test and how to pick the best cooling pillows at the bottom of this article. Looking for more cooling bedding and sleepwear? Check out our guides to the best cooling comforters and cooling pajamas.
With a similar feel to the best-selling Coop Home Goods Original Pillow, the Eden Pillow features shredded memory foam infused with cooling gel to prevent overheating. The fill is completely adjustable — add or remove as much as you like so you can find the best height and level of support for you. Testers especially liked its soft, plush feel that still provided ample neck support. In our Lab testing, the pillow maintained its shape after weights were applied, but we did notice some wear on the cover after washing. The foam is CertiPUR-US certified so you don’t have to worry about unsafe chemicals. We love that, unlike most memory foam pillows, the entire pillow is machine washable: cover and fill. Over 15,000 Amazon reviewers also love this pillow alongside our testers.
This memory foam pillow from Allswell is an excellent value. At under $50, this pillow uses gel-infused, perforated memory foam for improved ventilation and breathability compared to most memory foam pillows that tend to trap heat. This pillow is currently only available in one size with one height. It has dozens of excellent online reviews, saying, "It really does feel cool to the touch as if it just came out of the fridge," and, "This pillow is the absolute best I've ever had." While we haven't tested this exact style in our Lab yet, previous Allswell gel cooling pillows have aced our Lab tests and been tester favorites — we cannot wait to put this new style to the test!
Made with innovative cooling technologies, our testers were impressed by the cool-to-the-touch feel of this down alternative pillow that's ideal for all sleeping positions thanks to the two softness options (side sleepers should opt for the firmer style). The cover is made with Outlast technology, which stores and releases heat to keep you at a stable body temperature. Plus, testers agreed that they felt cooler when using it with comments like, "It's so icy to lie on, and I don't feel hot when using it," and, "[This pillow] has more of a cooling effect than other cooling pillows I've tried." The polyester fill stood up very well to Lab tests as this pillow kept its shape without snagging and washed beautifully.
This memory foam pillow is available in two heights, and the high height is perfect for side sleepers to keep your neck and spine aligned. Memory foam pillows tend to hold onto heat, but this Tempur-Pedic pick features cooling gel in the cover. Testers gave high scores for its supportive feel and cooling effects with one tester saying, "This pillow keeps me so nice and cool, plus I don't have to keep turning it or fluffing it up every time I change position." The Tempur-Pedic memory foam takes a bit longer to return to its original shape, but its signature construction forms to your head to provide ample neck support. Note that this pillow is not returnable, but our testers loved it so much that they all wanted to keep using it after testing.
The soft, fluffy feel of this down alternative pillow from SlumberCloud is ideal for stomach sleepers. Opt for the "soft/medium" firmness level because "medium/firm" is better suited for back or side sleepers. SlumberCloud’s down alternative pillow has a cotton and Outlast-infused cover, which actually stores and releases heat to keep your body at a comfortable temperature all night. Testers found the pillow very comfortable, but not as supportive as other styles, likely because of the nature of the plush polyester. There’s free shipping and a 60-night trial period.
While many pillows use materials like foam that are known to hold onto heat, The Purple Pillow is completely unique. It uses the brand's signature polymer grid for ultimate breathability with the ideal support for back sleepers. It has a unique shape and one tester reported, "I was surprised that I liked the pillow so much but I had to sleep on the pillow to be convinced. I would have never bought it otherwise." Testers gave especially high marks for its supportive feel and cooling capabilities, saying, "I like that it molds to my body and supports my neck," and, "I LOVED the cooling aspect." In our Lab testing, the pillow’s cover was easy to launder with no shrinkage or appearance changes, but analysts note that the pillow as a whole is on the heavier side and doesn't fit perfectly in a standard-size pillowcase.
Sleep Number’s True Temp pillow uses 37.5 technology for cooler sleep with excellent neck support from the contoured shape. The cover uses polyethylene and polyester with an added 37.5-infused polyester fiberfill for a plush and cool feel as 37.5 technology stores and releases heat to keep you at a stable body temperature. The ultimate style features a curved design with three removable inserts for your ideal height no matter your sleeping position. We found that the cover was easy to wash with no changes in appearance, but it's a bit difficult to get the cover back on the foam afterward.
Unlike any other latex pillow, this pillow from Purple features its popular "Purple Grid" polymer technology on the outside for neck and shoulder support. We washed the polymer grid cover in our Lab and it showed no signs of shrinkage or change in appearance. The latex fill quickly returned to its shape in our Lab testing, and testers agreed when they used it at home. Because of its higher height, this pillow is best suited for side sleepers. Testers loved how breathable this pillow felt, keeping them cool all night long. With a 100-night trial period, there’s no risk in trying out this unique material for yourself.
Casper recently launched its best-selling foam pillow with additional cooling technology called HeatDelete Bands, which helps draw heat away from the body to keep you cooler. Testers gave this pillow a perfect score for keeping them cool, thanks to the tiny channels throughout the foam for increased airflow and a more breathable pillow. The outer cover washed nicely with no change in appearance or shrinkage, but it's not dryer-safe and has to be laid flat to dry. Side, back and stomach sleeper testers gave it perfect scores for waking up without any soreness and maintaining its proper shape after use.
Designed specifically for side sleepers, the innovative Pillow Cube has 90-degree edges (instead of traditional tapered sides) for unparalleled neck support. Testers said that this pillow was "life-changing" and many appreciated the cover's cool-to-the-touch feel. The foam maintained its shape following pressure tests in our Lab, but the cover showed some signs of wear after laundering. Pros recommend using the brand's sizing guide to find the perfect height for you as there are three different options available.
READ OUR FULL REVIEW: Is a Rectangular Pillow the Answer for Side Sleepers?
All the pillows we receive are evaluated in the Good Housekeeping Institute's Textiles Lab using our standard battery of tests. We analyzed over 3,500 data points from both Lab testing and hundreds of consumer testers before making these picks. First, we check the care labels to see how easy they are to clean (PSA: some are not machine washable!), then we wash them five times to see whether they'll actually hold up to laundering. We also look at how well they fit into a pillowcase, and we perform support and recovery tests that mimic the pressure from your head laying on it all night: A weight is left on the pillow for an extended period then we measure how quickly it returns to its original shape.
In addition to Lab testing, we also have real consumer testers try them out for in-depth feedback on things like comfort, support, temperature regulation and more. Testers are assigned a pillow based on an initial survey to make sure they're getting a good match for their sleep style, then they're given weeks to sleep on it before they provide both scored and open-ended responses. Panelists who identify as hot sleepers test cooling pillows to give proper feedback on whether the pillow helped keep them cooler throughout the night.
✔️ Cooling technology: Look for fabrics with proven cooling technologies like Outlast or 37.5, which can absorb and release heat to keep your body at a more stable temperature while you sleep, preventing night sweats before they start. Some other fabrics offer a cool-to-the-touch feel, but it may not stay that way all night long.
✔️ Ability to clean: If you tend to sweat at night, it’s even more important that you are able to wash your pillow. Look for a pillow that's entirely machine washable or has a washable cover. Some of the top-tested pillows on our list only have machine-washable covers, so we recommend investing in a good pillow protector for those picks.
✔️ Sleeping position: Even if it has the coolest feel, an uncomfortable pillow will keep you up at night. Make sure to choose a pillow that's suitable for your sleeping position, whether you’re a side, back or stomach sleeper. That’s the best way to avoid neck pain in the morning.
✔️ Material: While using a cooling pillowcase will make a big difference, the fill material can still have an effect on the pillow's cooling capabilities. Memory foam tends to hold onto heat, so opt for styles with added cooling gel or perforations to reduce overheating.
Emma Seymour is the senior textiles analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute. She has rigorously tested more than 150 pillows in the Textiles Lab in the past three years, and she has coordinated pillow sleep testing with hundreds of at-home reviewers. Emma has a Bachelor of Science in Fiber Science from Cornell University and has been testing bedding for more than four years at Good Housekeeping.
Emma Seymour (she/her) is a senior product analyst at the Good Housekeeping Institute's Textiles, Paper and Apparel Lab, where she has led testing for luggage, pillows, towels, tampons and more since 2018. She graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor of science in fiber science and apparel design and a minor in gerontology, completing research in the Body Scanner Lab on optimizing activewear for athletic performance.
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