While summer afternoons in South Carolina are reason enough to move to Iceland, there is nothing quite as bad as getting into bed hot and sleeping in a too warm environment. It's taken Lee and I about 3 years to find a sleeping solution that works for us in the summer.
We absolutely prefer sleeping in a chilly environment. Every hotel we stay at we turn the A/C on to 63/64 for sleeping and then layer on a few extra blankets. Unfortunately, in our own house we always struggle in the heat of the summer keeping our upstairs (and our bedroom) as cold as we prefer. It has gotten better over the past year with some HVAC improvements, but we have tried every sort of bedding combination under the sun to find what works for a warm summer night in South Carolina.
So, if you're looking for bedding options that are cooling and luxurious and long lasting, I've broken down the items below that work for us and keep us cool all night long.
It Starts with the Mattress
Before we got married the first purchase Lee and I made together was a Tuft and Needle mattress. It was quite the purchase for us and obviously a good one because we're still sleeping on it with no complaints 5 years later.
Because we're upgrading our bed later this year (just waiting for our bed frame to ship), I've been doing some serious research into mattresses. The construction and features have changed quite a bit since we bought our first mattress and now there are mattresses designed to channel heat away from your body and keep you cool.
We like to stay loyal to the brands we like so we were thrilled to find out about the new Tuft and Needle Mint Mattress. (I know this sounds like an ad but I promise it is not!) It's designed to keep you cool no matter the outside temperature. We'll likely pull the trigger on this king mattress once our bed comes in, but until then we really do love our standard Tuft and Needle and feel it does a good job of not just absorbing the heat of our bodies.
The Ooler Mattress Pad
2 years ago I photographed a very fun product for a growing brand and I thought this was the best time to talk about it!
Chilisleep was one of the first brands in the bed cooling/heating space. They make a well designed, sleek and simple set of products that works as a cooling mattress pad for your bed. We've been using it every night for the past 2 years and I'm not quite sure what we'll do when we get a king bed in the fall!
Chilisleep's Ooler pad is a water based cooling mattress pad that can be temperature controlled down to 55 degrees and up to 95 degrees. I was a bit skeptical of the whole system myself, but just one of sleeping with it convinced me of its value. It's quiet (but does have a white noise sound when running), actually cools the bed down and has a great app that you can control the temperature, set different temp schedules, etc.
I never thought I would need a bed air conditioner, but here we are and it's truly a lovely thing to own.
Best Sheets for Hot Sleepers
We've gone through our fair share of sheets - some college leftovers, some hand-me-downs, others were gifts from the wedding. One thing we have noticed is how easy it is for bedding - sheets in particular - to break down.
Even higher thread count sheets take a bit of a beating with weekly washings, sometimes restless sleeping habits, etc. So, a while back we gave our older sheets a new purpose in life (rags, drop cloths, photography backgrounds) and started fresh with two new sets that were a step up from Target.
Brooklinen is probably no stranger to you with their impressive internet presence over the past few years, they've set themselves up as a major player in the bed sheet game. Their sheets are cool, soft, and only get better with wear.
Get $25 off your order from Brooklinen
Luxor Linen is a hotel-quality bed and bath brand with the softest and coziest bamboo sheets. If you're not familiar with bamboo as a type of fabric, it's like linen and gets softer over time and has a very cooling feel no matter the external temperature.
Best Comforter for Hot Sleepers
Much like sheets, Lee and I have tried lots of combinations and types of covers for the summer. Last fall we bought a beautiful Parachute duvet which was wonderful through the fall and winter, but mid-spring we found it was just consistently too warm for us to comfortably sleep with.
So, in anticipation of upgrading soon to a king bed ( we currently have a queen) we pulled the trigger and bought a beautiful lightweight quilt from Pendleton. It has been an instant change for us and is probably the biggest difference maker on our bed.
It's both cozy and lightweight and doesn't keep the heat trapped in for summer. Consider us now quilt converts!
