As Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, and a self-certified very-hot-sleeper at the best of times, I’ve tested a *lot* of cooling bedding over the past five years.
And, as many parts of the UK prepare to navigate a sweltering heatwave for the third time this year, there’s one product I recommend time and time again to anyone looking for a cooler sleep.
The Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad costs £30, and (as long as you have space for it in the fridge), it offers almost glacial cooling compared to pretty much every other bedtime cooling hack I’ve tried.
Sleepy People
Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad
You can pop this cooling pad in the fridge for an icy blast at bedtime.
When temperatures are this high, even the best mattresses need some extra help to stay cool, so it’s little wonder the smaller version of this cooling pad, Silentnight’s Cooling Gel Pillow Pad, sold out pretty much everywhere during the June heatwave.
The larger mattress pad is exactly the same design, just longer, measuring 60 x 90cm. It’s only a few millimetres thick and constructed of three compartments, each of which holds cooling gel within a thick PVC cover.
Now, it’s worth pointing out that, depending on which retailer you look at, this cooling pad has mixed reviews.
The Cooling Gel Body Pad is marketed as being cooling straight out of the box. And it is; I was really surprised by how cool to the touch I found this product upon first handling.
However, I also agree with many reviewers who say that that coolness soon wears off after you’ve been lying on the pad for a while. Body heat causes the gel to slowly warm, and in a heatwave, that happens pretty quickly.
But where I think the cooling pad really comes into its own is if you pop it in the fridge before bed.
Admittedly, you will need enough space in your fridge to fold the pad up and chill it for an hour or so before bed. But, if you can, the pad then becomes *really* cold.
After doing this, I actually find it *too* cold to use next to my skin, so I pop it under a fitted sheet to lie on, or simply slide it into bed to cool down the sheets and then remove it before I get in.
If you choose to keep it in bed with you, then it will still warm up gradually over time, but that cool blast as you get into bed can really help you to drop off to sleep during a heatwave, as our temperature dropping a few degrees is what triggers the sleep cycle to begin.
‘I needed this so that I could get to sleep in this heat,’ says one reviewer of the Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad at M&S. ‘It helped enormously, even though it was warm to the touch by morning.’
Pair the cooling mattress pad with the cool-against-the-skin M&S Stay Cool Lyocell Rich Fitted Sheet I just tested, and a lightweight dohar over you for the ultimate breathability in bed, or some of the best linen bedding for hot weather, and you’ll have a sleep setup that’s as hot-weather ready as it will ever be.
Although be warned: as the mercury continues to climb, I think this Cooling Pad might go the way of Silentnight’s smaller version, and start selling out fast. So, I’ve popped three stockists below to ensure you have more chance of snapping up stock.
M&S
Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad
Sleepy People
Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad
Amazon
Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad
And, of course, if all else fails, you could also use the classic (and free) cooling hack of popping your fitted sheet into the fridge before bed.
In my experience, the cooling effect doesn’t last as long as when using a cool pack or cooling pad, but in these temperatures, every degree cooler counts!
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