How To Keep A Pillow Cool and Get Better Sleep

How do you keep a pillow cool? You can keep a cool head with a pillow that always stays cool. Innovations have come a long way, and options are abundant. Are you the crafty type? Well, you can make a cooling pillow. You can even find a chilling pillowcase. Doesn't this sound lovely during a hot summer? Stay with me, and we will talk about these methods and more.

Why Keep Your Pillow Cold?

Many of us enjoy a cold room a night. We sleep with the air conditioner turned down, and our windows open. But why do we do this? It goes beyond our intuition of sleeping in colder temperatures. Your body temperature goes up, and it often feels warmer at night when we try and sleep (despite the lower evening temperatures outside). So it's not surprising that our bodies need a colder environment to get a good night's sleep.

Research shows that our heads often sweat during sleep. Our time spent awake relates to increased sweat. Meaning, the more your head sweats, the more time you spend awake when trying to sleep. As you can see, science suggests we cool our heads to get better rest.

10 Ways to Keep Your Pillow Cooler all Night

1. Reusable Gel Cooling Pack

A timeless classic-- the reusable gel pack is as simple as putting a package into a freezer. You might remember carrying one in school lunchboxes. These cooling packs have multiple benefits and purposes. It can be placed anywhere near your head at night-- whether that's under your head, under the pillow, or even inside your cushion. Sounds simple, right? You can find a reusable gel cooling pack here by Rester's Choice.

2. Breathable Pillow Covers

Pillow covers are increasing in popularity as innovations surge in sleep health. Sleep helps us to succeed and also supports our immune system. Companies see this too. Some have gone as far as using NASA grade technology to help us cool. Nacreous Pillow Cover is created with breathable technology (Outlast technology) to filter incoming heat. Heat doesn't soak into the pillow. Rather, beads absorb heat as it hits your head. This eliminates a buildup of uncomfortable warmth as our body temperature goes up.

3. Use a Breathable and Cooling Pillow

Another method is similar to pillow covers. But this is an actual pillow with gel-beads inside. These beads trap heat on the inside of the pillow. Typically our pillows are warm on the outside after a few hours--or even minutes--of sleep. Here you can find a cushion with both cooling gel technology and memory foam for hot sleepers. That sounds like a good night's rest to me.

4. Use a Pillow with Gel Inside

Gel-Infused pillows are similar to breathable pillows. It uses gel to absorb heat, so you're head doesn't have to. But you will find both sides of the pillow to have gel instead of just one. Both sides work to reduce trapped head on the outside and absorb on the inside (and away from your head). Try this Tempurpedic pillow to keep cool and comfortable. Or, if you like down pillows as I do… try ultra-cool pillow by Helix. You can expect to stay chilly while floating on a feather.

5. Blast A Cool Mist While You Sleep

Sometimes we need something more tangible to cool us down. Cool mist does just that by lightly spraying our bodies with cold water. This also comes in the form of a humidifier. Dry air often impacts our breathing and comfort. Humidifiers add moisture to the air to help us breathe and to keep our skin hydrated. Health professionals recommend a healthy humidity level between 30-50%. We can breathe more efficiently to sleep better with a balanced air.

6. Use A Fan for Air Flow

Many of us already have fans in our homes. They circulate air and cool us down. Fans have rightfully been a staple during sleep. You can place a fan near a window to create a flow of fresh air. You can also optimize your air conditioner by putting the fan in front. Or, we can keep it classic. Simply direct the fan toward your face at night to stay cool. Consider oscillating the fan for less direct air.

Do you need an extra boost of cold air? You may want to go a step further and freeze a tray of ice. Why? A fan plus ice equals an icy blast of air. You will set the ice in front of the fan. It will then pull air over ice and toward your face. I find this to be a relief during the summer months.

7. Use an Always Cool Pillow

Technology is rapidly expanding into the sleep industry. Machine learning is now as common as a pillow itself. And yes, there's a pillow that implements machine learning. It's called Moona, and it's an always cool pillow. The pillow implements an algorithm to learn your sleep patterns. It detects when you sweat, have hot flashes, and even migraines. Moona releases cold air (or warm air) depending on your experience.

So you can now rest without interruption. This always cool pillow senses when you're hot. Gone are the nights of waking up from overheating. Here are the nights of proactive pillows. Moona will help you to regulate your head temperature without waking up and flipping your pillow over. Check out this innovative technology here.

8. Use a Conventional Spray Bottle of Water

Do you wake up in the middle of the night? If so, you may be overheated. Try keeping a spray bottle of water on your nightstand. You can quickly spray yourself to cool down in the middle of the night. I'm sure we can all relate to this interruption. So next time, be prepared and try this handy relief.

9. Try to Freeze A Pillowcase

Yes, you read that right. Just like placing an ice pack into the freezer, you can put your (hopefully clean) pillowcase inside too. This is an excellent option if you don't have an air conditioner. Go a step further and place your pillow in the freezer. I guarantee you'll meet your match for cool.

10. Or Simply Flip Over Your Pillow

The oldest trick in the book is just flipping over your pillow. The research I mentioned earlier reminded us how sweaty our heads could get. This is especially true during sleep. Our warm heads often generate heat onto our pillows. Luckily, the opposite side of the pillow is free from our sweat. You can switch the pillow over multiple times throughout your sleep. The longer a break from your head, the more time your pillow has to cool. However, I hope you aren't waking up often in the middle of the night.

As you can see, sleep is crucial for living a healthy life. Various factors impact our rest, and a pillow shouldn't be one of them. Follow these tips to get the most out of your sleep. And if it's not in the budget for a new pillow, try one of the everyday methods listed above.