Anyone who’s spent a while in Asia knows it can get hot, VERY HOT! And for those of us living in the Philippines, you know full well that the cost of electricity is astronomical – the highest in Asia, maybe? So air conditioning is not an economical option.
Similarly, air conditioning isn’t particularly good for your health. Especially if you sleep like a Eskimo with the air-con set to 16°c-18°c – Burrrgh!
Why mention all this? Well, memory foam mattresses are as popular in the Philippines/Asia as they are in the West. Unfortunately, even the memory foam mattresses that incorporate ‘cool zone/cool gel’ technology don’t work very well here. You will find that unless you sleep with the air conditioning on, an open window and fan simply won’t be good enough to stop you suffering from hot spots and a restless sleep.
People are drawn to foam beds because they are built with thick layers that provide deep pressure relief and plush comfort — but these layers can sleep hot since foam absorbs (and often traps) your body heat in order to offer this level of plush comfort.
Buy local? Nope!
The vast majority of “Manduae Foam” mattresses available in the Philippines sleep too hot. This applies to the foam mattresses and ‘toppers’. Surprisingly, even the high-end ‘Ideal Living’ Cool-Gel toppers sleep hotter than their similarly priced western counterparts.
Gel Memory Foam…
Gel memory foam has many of the same properties as regular memory foam, such as contouring to relieve pressure points. When manufacturing gel memory foam, producers infuse cooling gels or gel beads as these pull heat away from a sleeper for a cooler night’s rest. BUT…
After spending a lot of money on various Cool Gel memory foam mattresses and Toppers in the Philippines and speaking with fellow expats, the best results are either importing or buying a high quality imported Cool Gel memory foam mattress from an overseas supplier. An American expat even used Amazon Prime to get a quality bed and Cool Gel mattress delivered to him in Cebu and swears it was the best decision he’s made so far!
The best solution for me was buying a high quality imported sprung mattress (Home Store – SM Malls, Philippines) that has a Cool Gel topper built-in to the top of the mattress. My mattress was made in Sweden and cost cira ₱30,000 (reduced from a whopping ₱68,000). Look out for end of stock/end of year deals. Yeah I know, not cheap BUT well worth the investment if you plan on living in Asia for any extended length of time.
