Memory Foam or Hybrid: Which Is Cooler?

The Short Answer on Heat

If heat is your main concern in a Murphy bed mattress, a hybrid mattress with a coil core generally allows more airflow than an all-foam memory foam mattress. Coils leave open spaces inside the mattress for air to move, while dense memory foam has fewer air channels. That general difference is why makers add cooling features to memory foam, such as gel infusions or cool-touch covers.

The listing is where the answer lies for your specific bed. A Murphy bed mattress must fold or stand inside the cabinet, and both memory foam and hybrid mattresses come in tri-fold versions for that purpose. Read what the maker states about the mattress rather than assuming either type is cooler in every case.

Memory Foam and Hybrid Explained

Memory foam is a soft polyurethane foam that responds to body heat and pressure, molding to the sleeper's shape. It is dense, which helps with contouring but also slows air movement through the foam. A hybrid mattress combines a support core of metal coils with foam layers on top, so listings may call it an innerspring mattress with foam comfort layers.

For a Murphy bed, the mattress has to work in the storage position. Cabinet bed pages often state that the included mattress is a tri-fold, folding into three sections to fit inside the cabinet. Wall beds may take a full mattress that stands on end, and the maker's mattress page usually says which construction is intended.

How Each Type Handles Heat

Heat inside a mattress comes mostly from the sleeper's body, and a mattress removes heat by letting air move through it. A coil core creates open channels that air can pass through, which is why hybrid mattresses are generally described as more breathable than all-foam designs. All-foam mattresses, including memory foam, are denser and can hold heat unless the foam is made to handle it.

Makers address heat in foam with gel infusions, which change how heat spreads through the foam, and with cool-touch covers that feel cooler at the surface. These are features you can read in a listing. Room temperature, bedding, and room ventilation also affect how warm a bed feels, so the mattress is only part of the picture.

What the Makers Describe

The catalog pages show both types available for Murphy beds. Wilding Wallbeds describes its cabinet beds as including a memory foam tri-fold mattress, and its mattress page lists foam-core mattresses with gel memory foam and cool-touch tops alongside innerspring mattresses with coil cores and gel foam layers. Night and Day Furniture lists both a gel memory foam tri-fold mattress and a gel pocket coil tri-fold mattress for its cabinet collection.

That range matters for your decision. A listing that states 'gel memory foam' or 'cool-touch cover' tells you the maker has designed the foam to deal with heat. A listing that states 'pocket coil' or 'innerspring' tells you the mattress has a coil core, which in general terms allows more airflow.

Reading a Listing for Cooling Terms

When you compare beds, look for the mattress words in the product details. 'Gel memory foam' means the foam includes a gel infusion. 'Cool-touch cover' or 'cooling cover' describes the surface fabric. 'Pocket coil' and 'continuous coil' describe coil cores. 'Tri-fold' tells you the mattress folds for cabinet storage.

Some listings do not state the mattress type at all. That missing detail is useful in itself: it tells you to ask the maker what mattress the bed takes and how it stores. If the maker publishes its own mattress page, read that page for the stated construction. For more on fit and airflow, see mattress compatibility, breathability, and ventilation.

Choosing by Room and Use

For a guest room used occasionally, either type works as long as the listing states the mattress fits the bed. If the room is also your home office, a Murphy bed with a desk may be the better fit, and the mattress choice follows what the maker states for that bed.

For a studio or small apartment where the bed closes every day, check how the maker describes the mattress for standing on end. For nightly use, both foam with cooling features and a coil core are reasonable, but read the maker's stated construction rather than assuming one is cooler.

Where the mattress comes from also matters. A cabinet bed often includes a tri-fold mattress, while a wall bed or wall bed frame may require you to choose a mattress separately. That changes how much control you have over cooling features. For queen-size guest rooms, see queen Murphy beds; for a freestanding option, see Night and Day cabinet beds. Also check mattress thickness and cabinet depth so the mattress fits the closed bed.

What to pick for your situation

Questions

Is a hybrid mattress cooler than memory foam in a Murphy bed?

In general terms, a hybrid mattress with a coil core allows more airflow than an all-foam memory foam mattress, because the coils leave open channels for air. Memory foam is denser and can hold heat unless the maker adds gel infusions or a cool-touch cover. Both types are sold as Murphy bed mattresses, so read the listing for the maker's stated construction.

Do Murphy bed mattresses come in memory foam?

Yes. Wilding Wallbeds describes its cabinet beds as including a memory foam tri-fold mattress, and Night and Day Furniture lists a gel memory foam tri-fold mattress for its cabinet collection.

Do hybrid mattresses fold for a Murphy bed?

Yes. Night and Day Furniture lists a tri-fold gel pocket coil mattress, and Wilding's mattress page includes innerspring options with coil cores. The listing states whether the mattress is a tri-fold that fits a cabinet bed.

What does 'gel memory foam' mean on a listing?

It means the foam includes a gel infusion, a common cooling feature makers use to deal with heat in dense foam.

What does 'cool-touch cover' mean?

It describes the surface fabric of the mattress, designed to feel cooler to the touch than standard fabric. Wilding lists cool-touch tops on several of its foam mattresses.

Do I need a special mattress for a Murphy bed?

Yes. The mattress has to work in the folded or upright position, so the maker states which mattress fits. Cabinet beds often take a tri-fold mattress, and wall beds may take a standard mattress that stands on end. See mattress compatibility.