If you share your bed with your partner, you are going to get a lot warmer at night than if you slept alone. This is usually a good thing, particularly during the colder months. But if one or both of you are sensitive to heat, the excess heat could be a problem. 

Sleeping hot can cause insomnia, keep you from getting deep restorative sleep and lead to chronic sleep deprivation. 

In this post, we discuss the best ways couples can sleep cooler. 

1. Get Cooler Bedding 

If you currently have synthetic bedding made from polyester, nylon, satin or microfiber, it is contributing to your overheating. 

Synthetic fabrics are not very breathable, so they trap more heat. They also make you sweat more. And what’s worse is that they trap the sweat on your skin, leaving you hot and clammy. 

Before you make more radical and expensive changes, try a simple change of bedding. We recommend starting with bed sheets. Here’s an article where we recommend the best cooling bed sheets. Our top picks are all natural or semi-natural fabrics: silk, cotton, linen and rayon (bamboo, Tencel and modal). 

Our Jax Sheets are designed to keep you cool and sweat-free throughout the night. They are also anti-bacterial and anti-odor. 

Also consider changing your comforter, duvet cover, pillow and pillowcase. As with sheets, natural materials are the best for sleeping cool. Consider getting a wool comforter, a latex pillow or a cotton duvet cover. 

2. Change Your Mattress or Get a Cooling Pad/Topper

If you have a memory foam mattress, it’s contributing to your hot nights. Memory foam mattresses, even those containing cooling gel, trap a lot of heat. So the mattress gradually gets warmer and warmer, making you increasingly uncomfortable as the night wears on. It doesn't help that you are two in the bed. 

You have two ways to deal with a hot mattress. 

One, get a cooler mattress. We recommend a latex or a pocket hybrid mattress. If you don't have the budget for a new mattress, get a cooling mattress topper or pad instead. It will reduce how much heat your mattress traps. 

Latex mattress toppers are the coolest. If you want a thinner mattress pad, get one made from wool. Bamboo, cotton, silk and other natural materials. 

3. Get a Bed Cooling System 

If you get really hot and sweaty at night, a bed cooling system is the best solution. It’s like an AC for your bed. 

Some cooling systems like the BedJet blow chilled air under the sheets, instantly cooling you and drying away sweat. Others like the Sleepme ChiliPad circulate cold water through a mattress pad, which cools the bed.

A bed cooling system can be especially helpful if you or your partner has hot flashes, you live in a hot climate or during summer when night temperatures soar. 

4. Cool the Room

You can also try cooling the bedroom. Turning on the AC to cool down just your bedroom is inefficient. It’s better to find a way to cool only your bedroom. 

A cheap way to do this is turning on a fan. Moving the air around prevents heat from building up around the bed and also dries away sweat, which keeps you cool. 

For stronger cooling, get a small AC system. The three best options are a mini split, a window unit or a portable AC unit. If you live in a hot and dry climate, you can also use a swamp cooler. It cools and humidifies the room using very little power. 

5. Change Your Sleeping Arrangement 

Finally, there is the nuclear option. Sleep separately. The not-so-good-sounding name for it is a sleep divorce. When you sleep alone, you won’t get as hot. 

You don't have to sleep in separate bedrooms. You can first try sleeping further away from each other if your bed is big enough. If you still get hot, try separate beds in the same room. 

But in most cases, it doesn't have to come to this. One of the above solutions should work to keep both of you cool. 

A sleep divorce is necessary only when the two partners have different sleeping needs. For instance, if one sleeps hot and the other sleeps cold. In that case, getting cooler bedding or mattress may not work.