Sleep, perchance to sleep cooly, like Sam Cucumber Marlow

July 24, 2008 6:06 AM

Will an Ikea Sultan Erfjord latex mattress bake me as I sleep?

I'm thinking about buying an Ikea Sulant Erfjord latex mattress.

Doing some quick research on the web it seems some people have problems with latex mattresses being too hot during the night. Are latex mattress (a lot) hotter than traditional spring mattresses?

The Ikea website mentions the choice of materials circulates the air, and from what I remember of the in store display there are numerous holes in the latex body of the mattress for (one assumes) air circulation.

By way of context, I tend to be a warm sleeper (I rarely need more than a sheet and a light blanket or two. I recently bought a new doona/duvet and find it's often too warm for me) and when I get hot it takes awhile for me to cool down.

Two additional bed temperature questions; will my choice of mattress pad/mattress protector effect the overall temperature? One I was looking at (the Sultan Timan) has a foam/wool filling; would this make the bed hotter or cooler? Similaraly would a mattress protector (cotton, or a cotton/* blend) make the overall temperature hotter or cooler?

More generally, does anyone have any experience with this bed, latex beds, ikea latex mattresses, or ikea mattresses? As a poor student it's a fairly sizable chunk of change, and having a goodnights sleep is important for me, so I want to make sure this is the right decision.

posted by oxford blue to shopping (8 comments total)

Are latex mattress (a lot) hotter than traditional spring mattresses?

They're definitely hotter. How much, I can't qualify. We have a mattress that's a combination of latex and memory foam, and it's a good bit hotter than our previous inner-spring mattress under any covers hotter than a sheet and cotton blanket. But it's about the same with light covers. So you learn to adjust your bedding.

ore generally, does anyone have any experience with ... latex beds

Everything else about our foam mattress is VERY positive. My wife and I can shift in bed without worrying about waking the other person-- no noise and no movement of the mattress. And it's just more comfortable in general than our inner-spring ever was. I sleep better and wake up feeling much more refreshed. We've had it for five months, so at this point it just feels normal, but I remember the difference distinctly when we first got the bed.

Also, you may not sleep as well as you did on your inner-spring for the first few nights. It's a totally different feeling and it takes a bit to get acclimated. But once you so, there's no comparison. I can sleep on my side all night now (as I prefer) because the bed dissipates my weight perfectly and my hip and shoulder never get tired.

You'll want a mattress protector for it-- we bought a Gore-Tex mattress pad online. According to what I've read, foam mattresses are absorbent and sweat will degrade the foam, so good protection is a must. I don't think the composition of the pad makes much difference as far as heat goes-- even a wool pad won't be as good an insulator as the foam directly underneath it. And if you get something too thick, it may start distributing your weight instead of the foam.
posted by Mayor Curley at 7:00 AM on July 24

I have one of those and I'm fine. I don't recall ever noticing a difference when I first got it to replace a spring box matress... One caveat: I get cold when I sleep, unlike you (and most other people I've slept with).
posted by neblina_matinal at 9:15 AM on July 24

I think most people either love or hate latex and/or memory foam mattresses. I'm a hot sleeper and think they're dreadful. Suffocatingly warm with the added bonus of making me feel like I'm being sucked down because of the way they shape to your body. That said, I know piles of people who adore them, but nearly everybody who doesn't says it's because it makes them hot. Since that's already an issue for you, I might stay away.
posted by mostlymartha at 9:22 AM on July 24

I have a latex foam mattress, and my wife uses the word furnace to describe my heat output.

I've not found the mattress to be uncomfortably hot; even in the summer when we've not put in the AC yet. Also, I travel and regularly stay in hotels and I don't notice a difference in the amount of heat I feel switching between conventional mattresses and my latex foam one.
posted by roofone at 9:40 AM on July 24

i had a foam mattress (a cheap one, not a tempur-pedic)...it was great at first but then it started to suck after about 2 years. it stayed way too soft and warm for my tastes, and it only felt firm and cool when we came back from a vacation.
posted by gnutron at 11:47 AM on July 24

I'm confused. I thought foam mattresses slept hot, but the latex ones slept cooler. Are you folks saying that even the latex ones sleep hotter than a traditional mattress? Are people confusing Memory foam and Latex?

It was my understanding that...
foam = hot
latex = not.
posted by 2oh1 at 3:14 PM on July 24

We have an Ikea mattress, though it's memory foam, not latex. I'm a very hot sleeper and I'm fine with it, mostly due to the cotton cover and the layer of wool/cotton/silk between the foam and me. Now anything with a polyester cover seems incredibly hot and sweaty, even with cotton sheets. I think the mattress pad will have more of an effect on your temperature, since that's what you're actually lying on. Wool is usually a good choice for this, though I don't think you'll necessarily find it cool, it doesn't overheat in the same way synthetics do. You may find in the summer you prefer sleeping right on the mattress, though. I have also heard that latex is cooler than memory foam.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:53 PM on July 24

We have that mattress. My husband is a "furnace" sleeper and never overheats or complains. We protect it with a breathable polyurethane pad that is terry on one side that we also got from Ikea. "Memory foam" mattresses are less kind to the overheated, but "latex foam" mattresses are said to dissipate body heat better. By the way, I consider it to be one of our best investments. The quality of my sleep has increased significantly. I don't hesitate to recommend it.
posted by natness at 8:57 AM on July 25