New York – October 16, 2026 -- Hot sleepers who wake up sweaty at 3 a.m. have a new mattress to consider: Expert Consumers has named the Sleep Number ClimateCool a top choice in its review of the best cooling mattresses, citing up to 15 degrees of active cooling on each side of the bed.
Airflow removes heat instead of just feeling cool
The 12-inch ClimateCool moves air through the bed to carry warmth away from the body. Cooling gel layers and breathable materials support that airflow. Many cooling mattresses rely on breathable covers or cooling foams alone, which can make the bed feel cooler but do not keep removing heat as the night goes on, according to the review.
SmartTemp programs shift cooling through the night
Sleepers set cooling through the Sleep Number app. "All Night Cooling" runs for the whole sleep period, while "Deep Sleep Cooling" concentrates on the middle of the night. Custom settings adjust timing and cooling level to an individual schedule, and cooling can also be changed manually.
Couples can set different cooling levels on each side of the mattress. Sleep Number recommends a bedroom temperature of about 68 degrees Fahrenheit or cooler for the Climate Series to work at its best. The mattress cools the area around the sleeper and does not replace room air conditioning.
Firmness adjusts separately from temperature
On queen sizes and larger, each person can make their side firmer or softer. Cooling and firmness are controlled independently, so a sleeper can make the bed cooler without changing its firmness. Responsive Air technology also makes small firmness adjustments as sleeping positions change during the night.
A 100-night trial lets buyers test settings at home
The review points to ClimateCool for hot sleepers, couples with different temperature or firmness preferences, and shoppers who want cooling that changes automatically on a schedule. A 100-night mattress trial gives buyers time to try different cooling and firmness combinations in normal sleeping conditions.