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Portable air con units are sold out everywhere – here are 6 other buys to help you sleep in a heatwave, from £30
Our top buys for keeping cool in the heat
Tested by Blossom Boothroyd and Kim Hawley
While hot weather is a blessing when you can fire up the barbecue and spend time sunning yourself in the garden, it can be a nightmare when you’re trying to get some much-needed sleep.
When you’re hot and can’t cool down, you often toss and turn more in bed, making it even harder to fall asleep. The most obvious solution is to rely on a portable air conditioner, but every single AC unit we’ve tested at the Good Housekeeping Institute has sold out over the past few weeks of relentless hot weather, leaving many of us struggling and running on limited zzzs.
Don’t panic, though! As the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior homes and lifestyle writer, it’s my job to find a solution and I’ve sourced six excellent buys that will keep you cool overnight – and, most importantly, they’re still in stock.
Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Memory Foam Pillow
Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Memory Foam Pillow
Pros
- Dual-sided design with cooling gel pad
- Supportive memory foam
- Breathable bamboo cover
Cons
- Too firm for some
Score: 96/100
Dubbed a ‘miracle worker’ by one member of our testing panel, this pillow has an ingenious design that features a cooling gel pad on one side to help stop you overheating in bed.
The pillow itself is made from dense memory foam, so it feels much firmer than a traditional pillow at first, but it’s designed to mould to your head and neck and delivers great support for both side and back sleepers.
Testers said they felt refreshingly cool at night, but if you’re still too hot, try popping an ice pack on the pad and removing it just before you go to bed for an extra-chilled boost.
Read our Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow review for more details.
Pros
- Has a sleep mode and option to turn off the display and any beeps
- Quiet
- Lightweight and easy to carry
Cons
- Not the best for full body cooling due to its short stature
- Takes 7.5 hours to recharge
Score: 94/100
This mini tower fan is ideal for popping on your nightstand, providing powerful, targeted cooling all night long. It works cordlessly, too, with a battery life of over nine hours, so you don’t need to worry about finding an empty plug socket within reach.
There are five speeds to cycle through, with the maximum reaching up to 3 metres per second (m/s), which is more than powerful enough to keep you cool on muggy nights. Plus, its noise levels registered at less than 49.8dB (similar the sound of moderate rainfall), so it shouldn’t disturb your sleep.
If you find it’s too loud, swap to the lowest setting, as its noise level was closer to that of a soft whisper. There’s a nightlight in the base, plus a night mode that turns off the display and any beeps at night, helping you get some much-needed rest.
Pros
- Can be used as a throw for the sofa or as a duvet replacement
- Doesn’t lose softness after washing
- Lightweight, breathable, and cool to the touch
Cons
- Medium size was too small for some
Score: 90/100
If you can’t bear sleeping under a duvet, this lightweight blanket is the perfect solution. It has a cool-to-touch side, which helped keep our testers comfortable overnight and even reduced night sweats. Silentnight’s Qmas testing (which measures how cool a fabric is to touch) also found that it feels 115% cooler than a standard blanket.
Some panellists said the medium size was too small, so if you’re planning to use this as a duvet and like to be fully covered, we recommend opting for one of the larger options.
Check out our in-depth review of the Silentnight Restore Cooling Blanket for more detail.
Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad
Silentnight Restore Cooling Gel Mattress Pad
Pros
- Easy to fold up for travelling
- Can turn your regular pillow into a cooling one
- Affordable
Cons
- Subtle cooling effect
- Pad slipped off the pillow at times
Score: 86/100
Don’t fancy investing in a specialist pillow? Simply slip this gel pad into your pillowcase and enjoy the instant cooling effects.
Panellists experienced more consistent sleep when using the pad, waking up less during the night and experiencing fewer hot flushes. On super-sweaty nights, you can even put it in the fridge to make it extra cold before bed.
The cooling effect is more subtle than other products in this list as it draws excess heat away from the body, rather than cooling the skin down, but it’s ideal for short-term relief and can be used in your pillow or underneath your sheet.
Read our full verdict on this cooling sleep mat for more information.
WUKA Pyjama Jersey Set - Top & Shorts
Pros
- Stretchy material
- Great cooling effect
Cons
- No long trouser option
Score: 86/100
This set, containing a loose top and shorts, is made with moisture-wicking Lyocell and Freshtech tech, which the brand claims can reduce body heat by 2.5-degrees.
While we can’t confirm that exactly, our panellists did say they were impressed with its cooling abilities. Some said they had fewer night sweats, so they didn’t wake up drenched with sweat throughout the night. They’re easy to wash and quick-drying, too.
Pros
- Integrated carry handle
- Natural breeze mode
- Good quality
Cons
- Interface is less intuitive than other fans we've tried
- Limited to 60-degrees oscillation
Score: 85/100
This tall fan can cool the whole body at once with its undeniable cooling power. There are only three speeds, ranging from 3.5m/s to 4.4m/s, which might feel a little limiting, but on hot, sticky nights, you'll be grateful for those strong blasts of air.
It's fairly quiet will operating too, not making any more noise than you'd hear in a quiet conversation at home, so it shouldn't disturb your sleep. The extra aromatherapy feature will help you relax and wind down before bed anyway – just add a few drops of your favourite essential oils before popping the fan on sleep mode and you're sure to enjoy a less disturbed night's sleep!
Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s senior homes and lifestyle writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market and has written hundreds of product reviews on everything from the best vacuum cleaners and coffee machines to the best ice cream makers and robot window cleaners.
When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her running every distance from 5km to 100km or relaxing at home with her cat – there really is no in between.
Megan has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously written for Stylist, Glamour, Women's Health, TimeOut, SquareMeal, and YOU magazine. You can find Megan on Instagram @meganlouisegeall.
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
Kim Hawley is the Senior Health & Fitness Tester at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she leads the independent testing of health, fitness, wellness and sleep products using evidence-led protocols and her extensive industry expertise.
With more than 30 years' experience in the health and fitness industry, Kim has worked as a lead personal trainer, fitness instructor and health writer, teaching at some of London's leading health clubs, including The Harbour Club, David Lloyd and The Chelsea Club. Kim has a particular interest in women's health, especially pre-, peri- and post-menopause, and combines hands-on industry experience with rigorous product evaluation. From fitness trackers and smartwatches to home gym equipment, recovery devices, wellness tech, supplements and sleep solutions, she oversees comprehensive testing to help consumers make confident, informed purchasing decisions they can trust.
