Everyone tries to steal the pillow from me - it's comfy, cooling, and completely underrated

The Dreams TheraPur Memory Foam Ice Pillow offers all the sink-in softness and contouring of an orthopaedic pillow without the heat of foam. It's the perfect balance of support, comfort and cooling technology.

Any pillow that has the word 'ice' in the name sends shivers down my spine -- in a good way. When you're hot at night and feel like you're losing your mind, having ice for a pillow is what you'll dream of. Whilst the Therapur Memory Foam Ice Pillow isn't quite like having a cold shower, it is still one of the best cooling pillows on the market.

There's not one simple secret that lies behind this pillow, but rather lots of careful designs. Therapur has designed a layer of cooling ActiGel foam for pressure relief and temperature regulation, an ActiCool cover, and a responsive memory foam core. It's every ice queen's dream, especially mine.

First impressions

Most memory foam pillows have a smell when you first open them, but this didn't. I don't know if I was lucky, or whether Dreams have been careful, but I'm not complaining. The TheraPur® Memory Foam Ice Pillow comes in its own storage bag, which you can use for your old pillow, for storing your sheets, or for anything else. It would be a waste of energy and resources just to bin the bag.

Composition

I don't think that people look inside their pillows enough. There's a whole host of clever things going on behind that zip and it's important to know about them. The most important aspect of the TheraPur Memory Foam Ice Pillow is the memory foam core. Memory foam is the blanket name for all chemical foams that respond to your body's heat. It's hypoallergenic, cushioning, and great if you suffer from joint pain. However, it can make you feel quite hot when you're sleeping, which is why TheraPur have thought carefully about the other aspects of the Memory Foam Ice Pillow's composition.

The pillowcase is crafted from an ActiCool material. According to Dreams, this cover is designed to disperse heat using "an open cell structure to optimise breathability and touchable coolness as well as providing pressure sensitive support through the responsive layer of memory foam."

To enhance the cooling technology even further, there's also a cooling layer of ActiGel foam. I've tried to deep dive into what exactly this is and I can't say that I've had much success. All I know is that it feels cool to sleep on, which works for me.

Who would it suit?

There are a few factors that will easily help you to work out whether this is for you. First of all, the memory foam core. This spongy texture is designed for people suffering very specifically with back, neck, shoulder, and hip pain. Memoery foam responds to the heat of your body, softening around heavy points, cushioning and shaping to keep you in proper alignment. It's a favourite amongst those with joint pain (big win if that's you), but the cushioning does mean that these are naturally a lot hotter than your average pillow. Even with the cooling technology, I wouldn't recommend this unless you need memory foam.

In the context of memory foam pillows, this is pretty firm. It's not lofty with the firmness, don't worry about hurting your neck, but that does make it a better option for side sleepers over any other position. That goes hand in hand with the memory foam, but I always make sure to point it out just in case.

There are some other neat features to the TheraPur: it's hypoallergenic (great for sensitive sleepers), guaranteed for one year, and crafted with a cooling case. As far as memory foam pillows go, this is an icy luxury. You won't get any memory foam pillows as cooling as this (save for the Levitex), so if you're struggling with night sweats and joint pain, this isn't a bad place to start.

What is it like to sleep on?

I'll go into the cooling details in the next section, but would still like to give the ActiCool cover a special shout out. It feels cool to touch and kept my head feeling fresh and well-ventilated as I was reading in bed and then drifting off to sleep. Given that I'm judging this as a cooling pillow, that's a great start.

For a memory foam pillow, this is surprisingly firm. Generally, I felt it was supporting my head and shoulders really well. Other memory foam pillows can overdo it and end up tilting your head and shoulders too much: this struck the perfect balance.

I tested out different sleep positions each night on the pillow (I can chop and change between them) and found that the comfiest, by far, was sleeping on my side. This is an absolute no for front sleepers, I was not well aligned or ventilated with the TheraPur, but on my side, I felt I had found perfection. The support, firmness, and cooling powers worked together to give me a good night's sleep. In fact, it was such a hit that my TheraPur Memory Foam Ice Pillow has now been stolen by my partner. We're both hot sleepers, him more so than me, and he claims that he now can't sleep without this. When he's away, I steal it back for some ice bliss. And he wonders why I keep booking him on solo weekend trips away.

Is it cooling?

The 'ice' in TheraPur's Memory Foam Ice Pillow name sets it up for cooling success. Sometimes, I second guess whether I'm getting a placebo cooling effect, but this really is amazing. I could do a blind test touching all the pillows in my house (thanks to product testing I have enough to re-build my house out of pillows) and instantly tell you which is the TheraPur. You know when you climb onto fresh sheets and they have that cool feeling? That's exactly how this feels.

I alternated sleeping on the TheraPur Memory Foam Ice Pillow and my other normal memory foam pillow and found that there was a notable difference in how I slept. I was definitely cooler on the TheraPur and my skin felt fresher too. It was breathable and airy, which is remarkable for a memory foam pillow.

I'd say that the best part of the cooling properties will be felt at the beginning of the night. I still warmed up as I slept, but I didn't get too hot or sweaty, just a little warm. With that in mind, this isn't a bad choice for hot sleepers.

Is it good for the environment?

There's no escaping that memory foam isn't the best material to invest in when you're thinking about the environment. The main issue lies in how you dispose of memory foam: it doesn't break down well. However, you can help to mitigate the footprint by looking after your pillow and using it for as long as is healthy.

Dreams offers a one year guarantee on the pillow, but you could keep yours for much longer. Keep cleaning the case and make sure you maintain good sleep hygiene.

How does it compare?

As far as memory foam pillows go, this is one of the best for cooling. My other favourite sink-in pillow alongside the TheraPur® Memory Foam Ice Pillow is the Levitex Sleep Posture Pillow. This is technically memory foam too, although it's a special type that only Levitex makes. It's thinner and comes in a range of sizes, so you can customise the size based on your sleep position and weight. It's a similar price, so if you want something that'll help to support your sleep, go for the Levitex. If you need to prioritise cooling power, go for the Therapur.

If memory foam isn't your idea of fun, there is a natural alternative. The Woolroom Latex pillow is crafted from tree sap. It's slightly more elastic and springy than memory foam, but still offers the memory foam softness and support. I found it was just as breathable and cooling, if not more than the Therapur. It doesn't quite have the same level of pressure relief, but I still liked it.

Should you buy it?

If you need the contouring and comfort of a memory foam pillow, but you're concerned about how hot these tend to be, the TheraPur® Memory Foam Ice Pillow is the answer to all your sleepless nights. It's one of the coolest memory foam pillows you can buy.

How we test

Some people call testing pillows sleeping on the job and others say you're taking work to bed with you. I say, it's a dream come true. As a self-confessed sleep geek, I love nothing more than testing out the latest and greatest pieces in sleep innovation and Levitex ticks a lot of boxes.

As you can see, to get a review up and running, our pillows go through a series of rigorous tests. I do a lot of research before coming to a conclusion on who a pillow suits, whether you should get it, and why. If you want to find out more, you can visit our dedicated page for how we test pillows.