I’ve always been a hot sleeper at the best of times, but it’s got much worse since I hit the menopause. Plus, a couple of days of 30-degree heat is all it takes to turn my bedroom into an oven.
I’ve tried various cooling methods over the years. In summer, I swap my duvet for a sheet, have a cool shower before bed, tie my hair up in silk scrunchie and use a silk pillowcase. A couple of years ago, I also invested in a cooling pillow to use all year round. I found it comfortable, supportive and slightly cooler than my old pillow, but I was still waking up with night sweats. I feel the heat the most around my head, face and neck and, while the breathability of the pillow helped a little, it didn’t completely solve my problem. Plus, if I woke up from being too hot, I then immediately needed to get up to use the bathroom, so my sleep was disturbed even further.
There are lots of innovative new cooling gel pillows on the market now, so with the first heatwave of 2026 on its way, I decided to try an alternative to see if it could make any difference to my overheating and help me get more sleep. The Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow was named ‘best cooling pillow’ in the GHI tests with an impressive score of 96/100, so I had high hopes. Here’s my honest review.
The Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow at a glance
Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Memory Foam Pillow
Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Memory Foam Pillow
Pros
- Effective cooling gel side, as well as an all-season side
- Made from the brand’s CloudTec comfort and support memory foam
- Anti-allergy and anti-bacterial cover that’s washable
- High quality and supportive
Cons
- May be too firm for some
The Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow is an ingenious two-in-one design; it has a blue gel cooling pad on one side, then you can flip it over to the warmer, all-season side. It’s made from dense memory foam, which is designed to mold to your head and neck for tailored support. The naturally breathable bamboo cover is anti-allergy, anti-bacterial and washable on a 40-degree delicate cycle. When it arrived, I removed the pillow from its carry case, slipped my silk pillowcase over it, put it cooling-pad-side up on the bed and it was ready to go.
Why this cooling pillow is a heatwave miracle worker
Heatwaves and hot sleepers make for a very bad combination – especially as most pillows seem to soak up heat and radiate it back to you throughout the night. This pillow’s in-built cooling gel pad makes it stand out from the rest. It feels cool, both to the touch and as soon as you put your head down – and it stays that way all night long. Initially, the pillow felt super firm. On the first night, while I immediately appreciated the coolness of the gel pad, I wasn’t sure about the general firmness and was worried it was going to be too hard to sleep on. The next thing I knew, it was morning!
I was surprised to find that this pillow also gave my head and neck great support straightaway and the cooling pad really did regulate my temperature through the night. The memory foam begins to mold to your head and neck immediately – it feels strange at first but quickly becomes comfortable. I’m mostly a side sleeper but do turn on my back, too, and it supports both positions. An extra pleasant surprise was that the pillow helped me to breathe more easily, too. My sinuses are usually irritated by hayfever and this pillow helped to keep them clearer – either via better neck alignment or the anti-allergy cover, or maybe a combination of the two.
In terms of the feel, the quality design is evident from the start and it didn’t have any chemical smell. It’s heavy and solid, with dense memory foam and a soft bamboo cover. The built-in cooling pad is ready to use and feels cool straightaway, but Luff says you can make it extra chilled by putting an ice pack on the pad and removing it before you sleep. I haven’t tried this yet – but it’s definitely one to put in my heatwave-busting arsenal.
My final verdict
Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Memory Foam Pillow
Luff Mayfair Cooling Gel Memory Foam Pillow
I’ve only been using the pillow for a week but so far, but it’s kept its shape and lived up to its cooling claims far better than my previous pillows, and that’s on nights when it’s not dropping below 18 degrees. The firmness takes a little getting used to, but I adjusted quickly and my neck and shoulders are benefiting from the extra support.
The best part for me is the cooling gel pad, which has helped me sleep through the night and avoid the dreaded night sweats. I am very happy to have finally found a cooling pillow that actually does what is says on the tin and gives great support, too. I won’t be sleeping through a heatwave without it.
