Brrrr...autumn arrived in unexpected fashion here in California with cold northern gusts knocking down power lines, snapped cables on the Golden Gate Bay Bridge and dropped temps 20 degrees overnight. We also had to pull out the extra blanket last night, and we're sure a lot of us may need some extra warmth now that autumn has truly arrived...
Sunbeam "Rest and Relieve Therapeutic" Heated Extra Deep Mattress Pad: A 200 thread count, 7oz fill pad with 3 warming zones on each side for custom comfort on each side, 10 warming settings per zone and an LCD control center. Reviews are almost all positive.
The Best Heated Mattress Pad: Hammacher Schlemmer Institute awarded this heating pad their highest marks supposedly to the "consistent warmth and had the softest padding". 200 thread count cover and thick padding inside hide heating wires well and placed highest score for heating consistency, deviating only 0.13º F, with dual LCD controls that allow two sleepers to set their own temperature preferences.
Bellacor California King with Dual Controls: for those of you fortunate to have a Cali King size bed (we want a Texan King please), this $161 mattress heating pad comes with controls for 10 settings with 10 hour auto shut off, automatic heat regulation, and a two region control system.
The Chilipad: this is the perfect heating pad for us, because not only does it offer individual heating options for two sleepers, but in summer can be used to cool the bed also. Heats up to 118 degrees and cools down to 46 degrees, putting any difference in temperature preferences to rest.
William Sonoma Warming Mattress Pad: of note, all sized pads are on sale right now, offering a microplush velour top with polyester filling, remote control/computerized system with lighted control for personalized temperature settings shuts off automatically (two controls included, twin has one). $149.99 - $219.99.
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Gregory - It was the Bay Bridge that has an ouchy.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/officials-dont-know-when-bay-bridge-will-reopen-amid-frantic-repairs.html
spinsLP: thanks for the correction...my days away from the Bay have dulled my memory!
we tried a heated mattress pd last year, and it made me not sleep as well. Even though it used the ultra small and thin wires, i could feel them. I also like a somewhat soft mattress, not super soft, but enough, and it firmed it up to the point where I wasn't as comfortable.
The heat underneath was nice but I am tempted to try a heated blanket now so that is doesn't disrupt my sleep.
I am ready to get a hot water bottle and snuggle up under my cozy duvet. No need for those electric pads
I use the "not too hot not too cold" mattress pad and blanket, its the Outlast technology that helps you stay just right. They actually keep you cooler when it is hot and warm when its cold. And there is no wires..
they sell it at www.Drinights.com or just google "outlast cooling mattress"
I second the cozy hot water bottle. Something so comforting about the heft of it against the body.
An electric heating pad plus flannel sheets is my new winter comfort trick. Push the heating pad to the end of the bed a little before bed time, moving it around every few minutes, just like a hot water bottle. If it's still too cold, you can curl up with it for a bit, but you usually don't need it all night. Super cost-effective, and super easy!
Yes! Mattress heating pads are the BEST. I've had one for years. It's much better than a heating blanket, though I don't know why, unless it's because heat rises, and thus the heat from below is more efficient at warming the occupant of the bed? Who cares...I'm such a devotee of my heated mattress pad that I'm thinking of getting one for my freezing-cold home office, if I can find a small enough one, so I can drape it over my office chair.