The 7 College Sleep Essentials

Our Expert’s Take

Getting a good night’s rest in college can be so difficult when it’s hard to tell the difference between your dorm mattress and a piece of plywood. When most colleges don’t let you bring your own bed to school, the Lucid 2” Topper is a great way to soften up your bed without breaking the bank.

This topper comes in a 2”, 3”, and 4” version. We tested the 2” variant, designed for lightweight sleepers, but the thicker options are better suited for average weight and heavyweight sleepers. All three versions are going to be made of memory foam, which will offer the feeling of sinking into bed. This also means that this topper is going to be a great choice for back sleepers, side sleepers, and those looking for some pressure relief.

What We Love About the Lucid 2″ Topper

• A gel infusion in the memory foam will help you stay cool.
• Lucid offers mattress toppers infused with charcoal, for additional cooling benefits, and lavender, for a sweet aroma that will help lull you to sleep.
• The Lucid’s open-celled design helps prevent sagging and offers additional cooling capabilities.

What To Keep In Mind About the Lucid 2″ Topper

• This topper does not come with a cover or straps, so keeping this topper secure to your bed may be difficult.
• This topper should power through your college years, but if you’re searching for a topper with more long-term potential, you may want to look elsewhere.
• If you change positions while you sleep, you might feel as through you’re getting stuck in this bed.

Read our full review of the Lucid 2″ Topper!

Our Expert’s Take

There’s nothing about a college dorm that’s exactly reliable—including the air conditioning. In order to help stay cool, avoid the stuffy sheets and instead try the Luxome Luxury Sheet Set. Made of 100% bamboo viscose and with a thread count of 400, the Luxome sheets can be found at the intersection between soft and silky while being cool and cozy.

Bamboo is a naturally breathable material with moisture wicking properties, so hot sleepers will stay cool and dry while they sleep. While the sheets are branded as a luxury set with a price to match, this high-quality set should last all four years of college, whether you stay in a dorm room or not.

What We Love About the Luxome Luxury Sheet Set

• Luxome currently offers 11 color variants for these sets, giving you the opportunity to match your sheets to the aesthetic of your room.
• The bamboo used in these sheets is OEKO-TEX certified, meaning it was processed and produced without the use of harsh chemicals or heavy metals.
• There are tags attached to the fitted sheet to help orient them on your bed, so you won’t have to risk accidentally securing them upside down.

What To Keep In Mind About the Luxome Luxury Sheet Set

• These sheets are not for those shopping on a budget, with a twin and twin XL set costing around $145.
• If you like the feeling of crisp cotton sheets, these will not be a great option for you. Instead, check out our list of the best cotton sheets.

Read our full review of the Luxome Luxury Sheet Set!

Our Expert’s Take

I know just how valuable those post-class naps are, and to help you destress and relax after a long day, you should consider getting cozy with the Layla Comforter. With a cover made of 100% high-quality cotton, the Layla feels softer than other cotton comforters, but is still somewhat crisp. Inside, you’ll find a material called “Cluster-Loft” down alternative, which gives the mattress its fluffy feeling.

While some people only use comforters in the colder months, cotton tends to be a breathable material, so you don’t have to worry about it getting extremely hot in the summer or when your dorm air conditioning unit randomly decides to stop working, as they tend to do.

What We Love About The Layla Comforter

• Layla’s signature hexagon pattern ensures that the filling doesn’t bunch or clump around inside the comforter, keeping an even temperature throughout the comforter.
• The Layla Comforter is hypoallergenic and OEKO-Tex certified—it’s chemical and toxin free. 
• The Layla is machine-wash safe and can easily be cleaned in a college dorm.

What To Keep In Mind About The Layla Comforter

• This comforter is not the best option for shoppers on a budget, however it is extremely durable and will likely last all 4 years of college.
• While this should be a good all-year pick, exceptionally hot sleepers might find this comforter to be too warm to use during hot months.

Read our full review of the Layla Comforter!

Our Expert’s Take

No comfortable sleeping setup is complete without the pillow, and I believe the Marlow Pillow is the perfect way to help you “adjust” to your new college schedule. With two zippers along the side,you can change the firmness of the pillow—unzipped for plush and zipped for firm.

The Marlow Pillow has a high-quality cotton cover with a shredded memory foam core. Despite its memory foam construction, it’s fairly responsive, making it a good choice for back and side sleepers.

What We Love About The Marlow Pillow

• The Marlow’s cotton shell is rather breathable. Combined with mesh lining inside the pillow when it’s unzipped, the Marlow shouldn’t trap heat.
• Brooklinen sells the Marlow pillow in value packs of two and four, helping you get your money’s worth, but you can also get a single pillow.
• Due to its adjustability, the Marlow pillow will work for many different body types.

What To Keep In Mind About The Marlow Pillow

• This pillow might be too tall for stomach sleepers, who will want to opt for something thinner.
• If you prefer the feeling of down, this pillow will definitely not meet that same criteria.

Our Expert’s Take

If you’re someone who is easily affected by dry air, or just prefer to not wake up with a sore, dry throat, humidifiers are a good option. Breath happily with the Levoit Smart Humidifier. This humidifier has four mist options—low, medium, high, and “auto mode”—the latter of which will turn on the humidifier when the room dips below an optimal humidity and turn it off again when it rises back to an ideal level. 

This humidifier can also be controlled through an app on your phone, making the set up and control of the humidifier fairly easy. The water tank has a large capacity, and can run for up to 60 hours, and easily cover the area of your dorm room.

What We Love About The Levoit Humidifier

• You can connect to this humidifier via bluetooth and control it right from your phone.
• The Levoit is a cool mist humidifier, which can help you combat your hot, stuffy dorm room.
• The Levoit doesn’t make too much noise, so it shouldn’t wake you up if you run it at night.

What To Keep In Mind About The Levoit Humidifier

• There is an LED light screen that some may find distracting. However, the humidifier’s “sleep mode” will turn off this screen.

Our Expert’s Take

Many college dorms don’t let you bring your own mattress to school, but if you’ve lucked out and are able to, I recommend the Nectar Mattress. This is an all-foam bed with a 3” comfort layer of gel foam. This is going to give the slow-moving feel of traditional memory foam, offering some nice contouring.

All of this is going to sit on top of a thick support layer of high-density base foam. This helps keep the mattress durable and offers good lumbar support, making the Nectar a great choice for those with hip and joint pain.

What We Love

• Despite being an all-foam mattress, the Nectar has a decent ability to stay cool. This is thanks to the gel-infusion in the comfort layer and a cooling outer cover.
• This bed is ideal for lightweight and average weight back and side sleepers. 
• This is a great pick for budget minded shoppers. A twin mattress is often discounted to around $500 for a twin.

What To Keep In Mind

• Stomach sleepers will want to opt for a firmer bed, as the Nectar is quite soft.
• If you’re a fan of bouncier mattresses and don’t want to get “stuck” in your bed, you may want to consider other options.

Read our full review of the Nectar mattress!