Although I love the affordable support of my memory foam mattress, I know this type of bed has been lumbered with a reputation for trapping body heat, being too soft or firm, and having a stuffy "quicksand" feel that's hard to move around on.
Investing in one of the best mattress toppers is a quick, cost-effective way to adjust the feel of your memory foam mattress. But with so many mattress toppers being made of memory foam, is it wise to put a memory foam bed topper on a memory foam mattress?
Most memory foam mattress toppers nowadays are equipped with cooling tech and are the perfect thickness for adjusting the feel of older, unsupportive beds. Memory foam can also be found in almost all the entries in our best mattress guide.
However, I've tested down, memory foam, and latex bed toppers on my memory foam mattress, and memory foam definitely isn't the clear winner. Here's what happened, and what mattress toppers I recommend buying in this year's Labor Day mattress sales instead...
Using a mattress topper on a memory foam bed: What I discovered
Browse through the Labor Day mattress topper sales and you'll find a mixture of materials. Many are made from memory foam, others from down or latex, and some even feature innovative microcoils. But which is best for fixing common memory foam issues?
I'm currently sleeping on the memory foam mattress I tested for the EGOHOME Black 12" Memory Foam Mattress review. It's incredibly supportive and comfortable, but there's no denying that it's neither the easiest to move on nor the coolest to sleep on during warmer nights.
After finishing up the review, I decided to test three mattress toppers of different materials on the memory foam bed to see which compensated the most for its shortcomings.
Here are my thoughts for each type of topper:
1. Memory foam mattress topper
Last month, I tested the Helix Premium Memory Foam Mattress Topper. On paper, the 3" topper sounds great for any warm beds as it has a cooling GlacioTex cover. And with a whole three inches of memory foam, it's an ideal choice for adjusting the feel of beds.
However in this case the 3" thickness was unnecessary. Any foam mattress topper between three and 4" is ideal for adding support to older, sagging spring mattresses, for softening up hard beds, and for adding height or protection to dorm mattresses.
I, on the other hand, just needed to add some bounce and cooling to the EGOHOME's stuffy memory foam.
Fitting a thick memory foam mattress topper may have added some cooling thanks to the heat-dissipating cover, but it also added unnecessary height to my 12" memory foam bed and only replicated the memory foam feel.
It also wasn't supportive enough to stop my hips and lumbar from sinking when back sleeping.
2. Down mattress topper
Let me keep this simple for you: down mattress toppers are a waste of money, even if they are cheap. You may have seen them all over Amazon, advertised as soft and breathable toppers that will give your mattress some luxury hotel plushness.
In reality? Little more than thin mattress pads that won't make an iota of difference to your bed. In fact, I bought a microfiber bed topper and instantly regretted it. But did I learn from my mistake? No. As I initially bought the bed topper to soften up a firm innerspring mattress, I thought it may work this time as I was instead using it to add some breathability and responsiveness.
Suffice to say, it didn't work. Hard pass.
3. Latex mattress topper
And then we have latex mattress toppers.
Like memory foam bed toppers, latex toppers are made from foam, but a very different kind.
Latex is eco-friendly and natural, sleeps cool thanks to an airflow-boosting porous texture, and has a springy feel that never feels stuffy. Basically, latex toppers offer the support and comfort of memory foam, minus the heat buildup and quicksand feel.
And that's exactly what I discovered when putting an organic latex topper on my memory foam bed during our Birch Plush Organic Mattress Topper review.
The 2" Birch Plush Organic Mattress Topper supported me in all sleep positions and the latex foam was comfortable and responsive. It was hands down the best mattress topper for my memory foam bed, taking away all its stuffiness and replacing it with a naturally cool and springy surface that was much easier to move around on.
Luckily, the Birch is one of the three latex mattress topper deals below, with a Labor Day discount helping you save 27% on the Birch Plush Organic Mattress Topper with code TOMS27 at Helix.
