The Cube Sleep System, however, is designed to distribute its temperature settings more evenly via a machine-washable mattress pad that encases silicone tubing filled with water, and a separate control unit that circulates the water and regulates its temperature. Wirecutter has been skeptical of these brands’ cooling claims in the past, and for our test we excluded BedJet, in part because it works by shooting cool or warm air under the covers like a small HVAC system, which is precisely what it looks like, too. How it worksĮlectric blankets and heated mattress pads have been around for decades, but cooling contraptions like the Cube Sleep System and BedJet are newer innovations. So a few years ago, when Wirecutter’s sleep team put out the call for someone to test a bed-cooling system-then called the ChiliPad, now the Cube Sleep System-I volunteered Carter. He would wake up periodically through the night, cranky and uncomfortable, and I had to wash our sheets every morning. Though his doctor couldn’t find anything wrong with him, he would quickly become drenched every time he fell asleep. That was, until Carter’s night sweats shifted into overdrive.

This wasn’t ideal for snuggling, but it worked well enough. Finally, we began sleeping on breathable linen sheets, with Carter sometimes aiming a small fan directly at his head while I entombed myself under several layers, including a 20-pound weighted blanket. And even though innerspring mattresses typically sleep cooler than foam ones, we didn’t notice a difference after switching between the two. We tried solutions like a cheap cooling mattress pad, but it ended up having the exact opposite effect. Making me warmer was easier than getting him cooler, so we mostly focused on him. But seven years ago, I married my opposite-someone who runs excessively hot.Ĭouples’ sleep-temperature incompatibility is a tale as old as time, and my husband, Carter, and I spent years trying to find a compromise. As I got older, I made sure to have a throw blanket within easy reach in every room in my house.

So much so that when I was a teenager, my stepfather installed a lockbox over our thermostat to stop me from taking us to the brink of financial ruin every time the heating bill arrived. I’m one of those people who are always cold.

Queen size sleeping pad