What Is a Cooling Mattress?

Origin

• The cooling mattress originated from an old Japanese strategy for staying cool during periods of prolonged heat, which involved lying on a bed constructed from bamboo tiles and adjustable pads to help disperse the cooler temperature. A cooling mattress, also known as a Kuchofuku, should be placed on top of a standard mattress. It is similar in appearance to a mattress "protector," which is designed to prolong the life of a mattress.

Function

• The Kuchofuku circulates air at a much higher rate than a standard mattress, resulting in a cooler, more comfortable sleep. It does this via dual fans situated inside the mattress, which draw air in at the upper part of the mattress where a person's head would be located. The fans then move the air around the inside of the mattress to reduce the temperature of the sleeper. Cooling mattresses also have a soft membrane at their centers, which expands throughout the night to help spread the air and ensure the entire breadth of the mattress remains cool.

Gel Cooling Mattresses

• Some cooling mattresses use a gel-like substance inside the mattress rather than fans to reduce a bed's temperature. The cooling gel absorbs heat and pushes it away from body areas most affected by rising temperatures. Gel cooling mattresses don't require any electrical energy. The gel is also a highly stable substance that is unlikely to leak even during extreme temperatures.

Cooling Sleep Pads

• Cooling sleep pads are a variation on the Kuchofuku invention that are designed to both heat and cool sleepers. Cooling sleep pads use thermoelectric technology to reduce or increase the temperature of water situated inside the sleep pads, which are usually made from cotton. Cooling pads do not have wires attached to the pad itself, but use an external unit to control the heating and cooling. Cooling pads can also be much cheaper to run than air conditioning units, which tend to expend much more energy.