Best Cooling Pillows For Cool Sleep And Comfort

By now, most of us are aware of the importance of quality sleep. We spend a third of our lives sleeping. We’re not going into the science of it all right now. The point is, sleep is important and we all need all the help we can get to make sure that we get quality sleep.

So, one of the best ways to do that is to prevent your body from “overheating.” Because feeling hot and bothered (and not in a nice way) while you’re sleeping isn’t conducive for a happy and productive you. Which brings us to this – chillows. Chillows, or cooling pillows, are pillows that are specifically designed to, you guessed it, stay cool at all times.

Now, chillows come in a variety of materials, shapes, and designs which means choosing one isn’t going to be an easy task. That’s why we took it upon ourselves to sleep our way through some of the most popular cooling pillows in the market today. And we’ve found 10 best cooling pillows that we feel are simply the best in the business.

Top 10 Cooling Pillows Of 2020 Reviewed

1. Coop Home Goods Shredded Certipur Memory Foam Pillow

Cooling Pillow For Night Sweats

This chillow from Coop Home Goods is a much beloved pillow on Amazon and for good reason. It has an outer cover made up of 60% polyester and 40% bamboo specifically designed to keep your head cool while you sleep. There’s an inner case that holds the shredded visco elastic memory foam (Certipur-US Certified Foam) which ensures greater airflow compared to a solid piece. And the fact that it’s shredded allows you to customize how “high” your pillow is. What makes this cooling pillow even better in our opinion is that it’s hypoallergenic and dust-mite resistant.

2. Classic Brands Cool Gel and Memory Foam Pillow

Cooling Gel Pillow

It might look weird and seem an uncomfortable choice but Classic Brands’ chillow definitely does wonder for a lot of people’s sleep. It is made up of two main parts: self-ventilating open cell memory foam and the cool gel layer that disperses your body heat and provides a cooler sleeping surface. The entire pillow has a medium-plush feel and comes with a hypoalllergenic mesh knit cover (100% polyester) that’s removable and machine-washable. What makes it stand out is the fact that the pillow is reversible – you can use the side with the gel layer on warm nights and the memory foam layer on cool nights. Either side, you still get the comfort and support you need for a good night’s sleep.

3. Sleep Innovations Reversible Gel Memory Foam Pillow

This reversible pillow from Sleep Innovations is slightly similar to the one offered by Classic Brands (in our #6 spot). It has Sure Temp memory foam on one side and a gel infused memory foam on the other side. While the entire pillow provides support and comfort, one side is designed specifically to provide a cooling effect while the user sleeps. The other side was designed to provide “cozy comfort.” Based on testing and user reviews, Sleep Innovation’s pillow does provide comfort and support (for the most part) but the cooling effect leaves a lot to be desired. On a positive note, it does not heat up like regular pillows.

4. Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury Memory Foam Pillow

Cooling Pillow For Side Sleeper

Like Coop Home Goods’ pillow, Snuggle-Pedic’s chillow is also filled with shredded memory foam with a cover that contains polyester (56.4%), bamboo (43%), and a bit of lycra (0.6%). The pillow is also hypoallergenic and dust-mite resistant. Despite its similarities, there are differences as well.

The foam is a mixture of eco-Friendly Biogreen® & Certipur-US Certified Foam. The warranty for this pillow is longer (20 years!) and the sleep trial is for 90 days. The company emails you instructions on how to fluff up your pillow before your it even gets to you. And they offer to customize your pillow for free should the current size/fluffiness be too much or too little for you.

5. Iso-Cool Memory Foam Pillow

Best Dual Cooling Pillow

Designed to provide the ultimate cooling experience at night, the Tempur-Pedic pillow features an exclusive gel layer that absorbs body temperature giving you the comfort you need. It works perfectly well no matter the side you choose to sleep on. Importantly, the material is able to adapt to the neck, head, and shoulders for more personalized comfort. Thus, you will experience less pain and fatigue using this cooling pillow.

It is the best dual cooling pillow, given that it is capable of giving you a restful night whether you are a stomach, side, and back sleeper. That makes it ideal for everyone. It comes with a soft, breathable, quilted cover, which is easy to remove and wash. You may either wash it using your hands or a machine, whichever is convenient. To cap it all, the pillow is durable on the overall and offers superior support for years of continued use.

6. Sleep Innovations Cool Contour Memory Foam Pillow

Side and back sleepers will definitely love this chillow from Sleep Innovations. The gentle contour of the open cell memory foam layer provides enhanced support to your neck, shoulders, and head while maintaining proper spinal alignment. The pillow features a high loft edge and a low loft edge to ensure that the sleeper feels comfortable lying on their back or on their side (provided you choose the right height).

The cover is made out of 75% cotton and 25% polyester, and is machine-washable. While this pillow doesn’t use any gel cooling technology or Outlast® technology, it does the job of keeping your head cool due to the open cell filling. The firmness level of this pillow would be around medium-firm.

7. Xtreme Comforts Slim Hypoallergenic Memory Foam Pillow

Cooling Pillow For Stomach Sleeper

Xtreme Comforts definitely live up to its name. It is filled with shredded CertiPUR-US Certified Foam with a micro-vented kool-flow technology bamboo cover. The shredded memory foam allows you to shape your pillow according to your preference and sleeping style. And the cover has enhanced breathability ensuring that your pillow stays cool all throughout the night. This chillow is hypoallergenic, dust-mite resistant, and completely machine-washable.

8. Sleep Restoration Gel Pillow

Sleep Restoration Gel Pillow

Featuring a 100 percent cotton cover, the Sleep Restoration Gel Pillow is highly breathable. Regardless of your sleeping position, this pillow will provide you with maximum comfort, given the unique super-splash gel fiber inside. In this particular aspect, it is incomparable with any other pillows on the market. If you are looking for a stylish, luxurious, and comfortable pillow, this is the product you need. As soon as your head hits the pillow, you will fall asleep and stay that way throughout the night.

Designed to resist mold and mildew, the pillows are completely chemical and allergen-free. With this pillow, you don’t have to worry about inhaling dust mites while sleeping. It is recommended for anyone with an allergy, asthma, and other respiratory issues. In addition to being easy to wash, these pillows are capable of resisting stains. Neither do they fade after washing for a while? The good thing is that the pillows can be washed in machines to maintain a fresh, new look.

9. Restwel Bamboo Pillow Memory Foam

Much like many of our top picks, Restwel’s pillow contains shredded memory foam which provides sleepers with the benefits of using memory foam while also enabling them to customize the thickness/fluffiness of the pillow. The cover, as the name implies, is made of bamboo polyester fabric which increases the airflow of the pillow. It is also hypoallergenic and dust-mite resistant. What makes it stand out is the comfort and support it gives to the sleepers who buy them.

10. Classic Brands Cool Sleep Memory Foam Pillow

Classic Brand’s Cool Sleep pillow is in a class of its own. It’s made up of ventilated gel-infused memory foam that not only contours itself around your head and neck to provide perfect support, it also responds to temperature – dispersing your body heat to create a cooler sleeping surface. The open-cell construction of the foam has enhanced airflow compared to conventional memory foam. As an added bonus, the pillow comes with a Cool-pass performance knit cover that regulates temperature and wicks away moisture, ensuring you have a good night’s sleep.

How To Choose The Best Cooling Pillow: The Ultimate Buying Guide

We’ve all heard about the importance of quality sleep, and this is determined by your mattress, the topper, and, of course, the pillow you use. 

Now, there is no one-pillow-fits-all (unfortunately). Much like the Cinderella’s prince, we have to keep trying out various pillows (in his case, feet) until we find the perfect fit – our One True Pillow. The search is even more difficult if we include “cooling effect” as one of the requisite features. But never fear, we’re all on the same quest. The tips/steps in our guide should help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

What is Your Preferred Firmness Level?

Much like when you choose your bed or mattress, the firmness rating of your pillow is a subjective thing. What’s too firm for one person could be completely plush for another. That aside, you should still look into how well the pillow will provide support to your head, neck, and shoulders. Stomach sleepers, for example, need thin, soft pillows to keep their spine in proper alignment such as the Xtreme Comforts Slim Hypoallergenic Shredded Memory Foam Queen Bamboo Pillow. The same kind of pillow would give a side sleeper neck and shoulder pain.

To get adequate support for the neck and shoulder, a side sleeper would benefit more with an extra firm pillow such as the Snuggle-Pedic Ultra-Luxury Bamboo Shredded Memory Foam Pillow. A back sleeper, on the other hand, may fare better with something along the lines of medium-firm. Of course, if you like to switch between sleeping positions, you may want to get a pillow that is moldable/customizable depending on your preferred sleeping position. One good option for you would be the Coop Home Goods Shredded Hypoallergenic Certipur Memory Foam Pillow.

What Material are You Looking For?

If you looked over our top 10 picks, then you should be aware by now that the preferred material in cooling pillows is memory foam – you know just like the one is used on memory foam mattresses. However, manufacturers may differ in how the memory foam is designed or utilized. For example, our #1 pick Coop Home Goods Shredded Hypoallergenic Certipur Memory Foam Pillow makes use of shredded visco elastic memory foam to imitate a down pillow. The shredded pieces also enhances the airflow of the pillow and makes it more moldable than one solid piece.

Another good example is open-cell memory foam such as the one used in Sleep Innovations Cool Contour Memory Foam Pillow with Soft Microfiber Cover. This design makes the pillow breathable while providing the comfort and support you get from traditional memory foam.

Another type of memory foam utilized by manufacturers is gel-infused memory foam like the one used in Classic Brands Cool Sleep Ventilated Gel Memory Foam Gusseted Pillow. The cooling gel within the memory foam responds to the temperature of your body, dispersing it so you end up feeling cooler. In some cases, the cooling gel is placed on one side while the other side of the pillow is made up of traditional memory foam. One example is Sleep Innovations Reversible Gel Memory Foam and Memory Foam Pillow. This way, you have a choice between cozy and cool, depending on the time of year.

What Kind of Breathable Fabric do You Prefer?

Most, if not all, cooling pillows also employ breathable fabric to increase airflow even more. One really good material is bamboo. Not only is it eco-friendly, bamboo does not retain heat and is able to wick away moisture which helps you keep cool throughout the night. Some pillows such as the Iso-Cool Memory Foam Pillow use 100% cotton in its cover with the addition of Outlast® technology which enables the fabric to “absorb, store, and release excess heat.”

Do You Want Your Pillow to be Machine-Washable or Hand Washed?

Not washing your pillow is NOT an option. So, do you prefer to toss the entire pillow in the washing machine or just the cover? Some pillows such as the Coop Home Goods Shredded Hypoallergenic Certipur Memory Foam Pillow is completely machine-washable. Others like the Classic Brands Reversible Cool Gel and Memory Foam Pillow need to be hand washed.

Keep in mind that no matter what anyone says, the choice is ultimately up to you. Your sleeping position, comfort preferences, and other pillow requirements are unique. What’s the best cooling pillow for one person may be the worst ever for you. So, do your research, keep trying, and eventually, you’ll find the perfect pillow.