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Temperature plays an important role in sleep. As we prepare for bed, our core body temperature naturally begins to fall, helping to signal that it is time to rest. When a bedroom remains uncomfortably warm overnight, this cooling process can be disrupted.
This may make it more difficult to fall asleep, cause more frequent waking and leave you feeling less refreshed the following morning. With warm nights becoming more common across the UK, it is increasingly useful to understand how your bedroom, bedding and mattress can influence overnight comfort.
The first step is to look at what is happening to UK night-time temperatures and why this matters for sleep.
The evidence suggests that warmer nights are becoming an increasingly common feature of the UK's climate.
According to the Met Office’s latest State of the UK Climate report, published on 15 July 2026, 2025 was the UK’s warmest year on record in the series dating back to 1884. The most recent decade, from 2016 to 2025, was 0.51°C warmer than the 1991–2020 average and 1.33°C warmer than the 1961–1990 period. The report also shows that temperature extremes are becoming more frequent and intense, reinforcing the long-term trend towards warmer UK summers and more periods of disruptive hot weather.
Importantly for sleep, it is not only daytime temperatures that are increasing. In Greater London, the number of nights remaining above 18°C has more than quadrupled compared with 1961–1990, illustrating how periods of uncomfortable overnight heat are becoming increasingly common.
Many UK homes were designed to retain warmth during colder months rather than dissipate heat during summer. As a result, bedrooms can remain uncomfortably warm long after the sun has gone down, making it more difficult to achieve a comfortable night's sleep.
While individual summers will always vary, the overall trend is clear. Warmer nights are becoming more frequent, making it increasingly important to consider how your sleep environment supports comfort during hot weather.
Greater London nights reaching or exceeding 18°C from 1931–2025.
Source: Met Office, State of the UK Climate 2025. HadUK-Grid data. © Crown copyright.
Research has consistently shown that higher overnight temperatures can reduce sleep quality, increase the time it takes to fall asleep and lead to more frequent waking throughout the night. People often spend less time in restorative deep sleep and may wake feeling less refreshed the following morning.
The effects can be particularly noticeable for older adults, young children and those living in urban areas where buildings retain heat well into the evening.
Temperature is only one of many factors that influence sleep. Stress, light, noise, health conditions and lifestyle habits all play their part. However, during periods of warm weather, creating a comfortable sleep environment becomes one of the few factors we can actively control.
Although no mattress or bedding can lower the temperature outside, choosing breathable materials that encourage airflow and manage moisture can help create conditions that support more comfortable sleep.
Improving your sleep environment doesn't necessarily require expensive changes. Often, a combination of simple adjustments can help reduce heat build-up and improve comfort overnight.
Small adjustments like keeping curtains or blinds closed during the hottest part of the day can help prevent bedrooms from overheating.
Opening windows when outdoor temperatures fall in the evening encourages cooler air to circulate, while using a fan may improve airflow and help moisture evaporate more effectively from the skin.
Lightweight nightwear made from natural fibres such as cotton can also help improve comfort by allowing heat and moisture to escape more easily.
Staying hydrated throughout the day is equally important, while avoiding heavy meals and alcohol immediately before bed may help reduce feelings of overheating during the night.
Once you've optimised your bedroom environment, your choice of bedding, mattress and pillow can make a further difference to overall sleeping comfort.
Your bedding plays an important role in how comfortable you feel overnight. Even with a breathable mattress, heavy or poorly ventilated bedding can trap heat and moisture, making it harder for your body to maintain a comfortable sleeping temperature.
Natural materials are generally more breathable than many synthetic alternatives because they allow air to circulate more freely and help move moisture away from the body.
Cotton remains one of the most popular choices for bed linen thanks to its breathability, softness and durability. High-quality cotton sheets encourage airflow and can feel cooler against the skin, particularly during warmer weather.
Learn more about our Egyptian Cotton bedding ranges by calling us on 01935 423596 or viewing the collection of 600 and 1000 thread count sateen cotton bedding online here.
Wool is another excellent natural material for bedding. Although often associated with winter warmth, wool is naturally temperature regulating. Its natural properties and lanolin oils attached to each fiber helps wick away moisture, allowing you to stay comfortable across a wide range of temperatures.
Rather than making you feel hot, wool helps create a balanced sleeping environment throughout the year and is supremely breathable.
Feather and down duvets are lightweight, naturally breathable and provide excellent insulation. When combined with the right tog rating, they can help create a comfortable sleeping environment throughout the year.
Goose Down is the preferred choice with our customers as they are lighter due to lack of quills from the feathers inside each sewn pocket.
Learn more about our best selling Goose down duvet here.
Choosing the right weight duvet or TOG rating is equally important. A lower tog rating is generally better suited to summer, while many people prefer a higher tog during colder months. Some opt for all-season duvets or interchangeable combinations that provide greater flexibility as temperatures change throughout the year. Consider Feather and down duvets for greater air flow and ventilation or a breathable light weight bonded wool duvet for increased moisture control.
If you regularly find yourself overheating, it is worth considering your entire sleep environment rather than focusing on a single product. Better quality, high thread count cotton or linen sheets or covers, natural fibre duvets and well-ventilated natural fill pillows can work together to improve comfort and reduce heat build-up overnight.
Although your mattress cannot actively cool your body or lower the temperature in your bedroom, it can influence how effectively heat and moisture are managed while you sleep.
The materials inside a mattress play an important role in determining how breathable it feels. Mattresses that encourage good airflow are often more comfortable during warmer weather because they allow excess heat and moisture to dissipate more effectively.
Pocket sprung mattresses naturally create air channels between the individual springs and act like billows, allowing air to circulate throughout the mattress and out through air vents along the borders.
Be careful to choose mattresses which include springs covered in natural Calico cotton for the ultimate airflow and not mattresses which include synthetic polypropylene man-made spring covers which block air flow and are stuck together with glue.
This ventilation can help reduce heat build-up compared with mattresses that have a more solid internal construction. Bed manufacturers such as Vispring and our Relyon Heritage collection Braemar mattress contain pocket springs covered in Natural Calico.
Natural fillings also make a significant difference. Wool is widely recognised for its excellent moisture management, helping to absorb and wick away moisture while maintaining a comfortable sleeping environment around your body.
Cotton offers similar breathable qualities, allowing air to circulate freely around the body and in our experience here at The Bed Specialist, horsehair is the ultimate upholstery filling which will not only retain it’s shape and support but provide fantastic air flow and ventilation through the natural fibers within the mattress layers.
You can even purchase mattresses where horsehair is blended with lambswool; the ultimate mattress with this combination is the Vispring Kingsbridge mattress.
Ask us about this model and why we think it is one of the best mattresses on the market for temperature regulation and support.
Latex is another popular material, valued for its open-cell structure that encourages airflow while providing responsive support.
Natural Talalay Latex is the best choice for a hypo allergenic, untreated and sustainable material which will help regulate temperature compared to man-made Latex and cheaper alternatives which are less durable.
Learn more about the benefits of Natural Latex by viewing our blog post here or view our range of Latex mattresses by clicking here.
Premium mattresses may also include luxurious natural fibres such as Alpaca or Mohair, both of which have traditionally been used to enhance ventilation, improve moisture management and add durability.
The level of support your mattress provides also contributes to overall comfort. A mattress that properly supports your body can reduce unnecessary movement during the night, helping you remain more comfortable even when bedroom temperatures rise.
If your current mattress is still providing good support, replacing it may not be necessary. A breathable mattress topper made from natural materials such as wool, horsehair or Talalay latex can be an effective way to improve comfort, enhance temperature regulation and extend the life of an existing mattress without investing in a completely new bed. View our popular Hypnos topper which includes Lambswool and Latex here.
We’d suggest that rather than looking for products marketed as "cooling mattresses", it is often more helpful to focus on well-constructed mattresses that combine breathable natural materials with the right level of support for your individual sleep needs.
Please call us to discuss all options available, we’d love to chat about your requirements when you feel you need us.
Many people concentrate on their mattress and duvet but overlook the pillow, despite the fact that your head and neck can significantly influence how warm you feel during the night.
As with mattresses, the materials used inside your pillow affect both breathability and moisture management.
The right pillow should also support your preferred sleeping position. A pillow that keeps your head, neck and spine properly aligned can improve comfort and reduce unnecessary movement throughout the night.
If your pillow feels heavy, flat or retains heat, replacing it with one made from breathable natural materials may make a noticeable difference to your sleeping comfort. We have carefully selected a range of approved pillows throughout our showrooms and online for you to try, with a popular pillow station in store for you to pick and choose the perfect option and test on our display beds.
There is no single mattress or bedding product that guarantees a perfect night's sleep, particularly during periods of unusually warm weather. Everyone sleeps differently, and what feels comfortable for one person may not suit another.
The aim is to find the right combination of support, weight, airflow and moisture management for you.
Because comfort is highly personal, it is often worth trying different mattresses, pillows and bedding before making a decision. Visiting our Yeovil showroom allows you to experience the feel and support of different products first-hand, while speaking to knowledgeable advisers can help you understand which natural materials and constructions are best suited to your individual preferences.
You can also speak to us by phone before visiting or purchasing online if you would like guidance on the options most suited to your preferences.
With more than 60 years of helping customers find their ideal bed, we understand that choosing the right sleep products is about far more than simply following the latest trends. Expert guidance, combined with the opportunity to compare a wide range of premium mattresses and bedding, can help you make a confident, informed decision that supports better sleep for years to come.
Category: Useful Information
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