Getting a good night's sleep when it's hot and sticky can be a challenge, especially if you don't have air conditioning. And your mattress matters. In Consumer Reports mattress tests, we found that some mattresses are more breathable than others and can potentially reduce your propensity to perspire. As the temperature and humidity rises, you can also try some simple time-tested tricks to help get a little shut-eye.
Sleep downstairs. Warm air rises, which means your second-floor bedroom may be one of the hottest rooms in the house. Consider sleeping in your ground-level family room during intense heat or better yet in your finished basement, recommends the National Sleep Foundation.
Keep water on hand. Keep a bottle of ice water on your nightstand so you don't have to get up in the middle of the night. And put some cold water in a spray bottle. The cold mist will cool you quickly.
Ice it down. Put a bucket or bowl of ice cubes in front of a fan to blow cooler air around the room.
Go easy on the caffeine. Typically you wouldn't drink a cup of hot coffee before going to bed but remember that some soft drinks also contain caffeine, which makes sleep lighter and shorter.
Take a cold shower. Cool down by taking a cold shower before turning in. Avoid taking a steaming hot shower as it only increases the humidity in the house, says the sleep group.
Stay out of the sun. A sunburn will only add to your anguish when trying to sleep on a hot night.
Consider buying a new mattress. Our mattress tests show that some mattresses are more breathable than others, which reduces perspiration while sleeping.
In our mattress tests, four innerspring and three memory foam mattresses proved to be more breathable than some of the others we tested. Heat retention has been a knock against some memory foam mattresses. Of our recommended memory foam mattresses, the Tempur-Pedic Tempur Simplicity and Novaform Memory Foam Collection Serafina sold at Costco were not as breathable as the Sealy Embody Insightful.
Two of our recommended innerspring mattresses, the Simmons Beautyrest Glover Park Firm Pillowtop and the Stearns & Foster Lois Luxury Firm, both sold at Sears, were more breathable than some other innerspring mattresses we tested.
To see how the mattresses scored for comfort, check the full results of our mattress tests. And to learn more about getting the right mattress at the right price, read our mattress buying guide.
