If buying a mattress is on your to-do list, here’s a guide to help you organize and prioritize the details.
Factors to consider
- Support: You want a mattress that holds you in proper alignment from head to toe so you don’t wake up with a backache.
- Comfort: You want a mattress that creates minimal pressure on your body so you don’t spend the night tossing and turning, leaving you tired in the morning.
- Motion & Separation: You want to minimize motion transfer if you share a bed. If your partner gets in or out of bed or changes positions, you risk being wakened. Try the mattress in the store with your partner and have your partner switch positions while your back is turned to see how much motion you feel.
- Temperature: You want to lessen heat retention in the mattress. Most good mattresses have features to help alleviate this (advanced foams, phase change materials, ventilation, etc.). The biggest risk is buying a cheap memory foam mattress that doesn’t deliver.
- Edge Support: You want strong edge support on your mattress, particularly if you sleep near the edge or sit on the edge of the bed often. Most innerspring mattresses use an upgraded foam encasement (the better choice) around the edge, but some cheaper mattresses use a flimsy steel rod. Memory foam mattresses don’t typically have separate edge support due to the nature of the foam (it’s designed to take the shape of your body, even when you’re just sitting on it).
Types of mattresses
There are four basic categories of mattresses:
- Specialty Foam: A foam mattress is exactly that: a mattress made with layers of foam (memory foam, polyfoam, latex foam, or a combination), each of which can have different densities with varying levels of support, cushioning, and durability. Because these types of mattresses are made to mold to your body, they will help keep your spine in proper alignment as you sleep, making them a great choice if back pain is an issue for you. A memory foam mattress also offers good motion isolation, which gives a light sleeper a greater chance of sleeping through the night with a bed partner who moves around a lot than if they were sleeping on an innerspring mattress.
- Innerspring: These are the traditional mattresses with springs or coils that can be all tied together or individually wrapped to support the weight of your body. A top layer of soft, fabric-encased padding, known as the comfort layer, provides cushioning and contouring without the sinking sensation that memory foam may evoke. In general, a quality innerspring mattress offers good edge support, is breathable and cooler than the all-foam mattress options. Plus, you can get these in a wide range of firmness levels to accommodate a variety of preferences.
- Hybrid: Recently, brands have introduced “hybrid” options for people interested in aspects of both foam and innerspring. Made with varying proportions of both, hybrid mattresses provide very different sensations, depending on the brand and model. Mostly though, a hybrid’s pocketed metal coils will strike a good balance between bounce and pressure-relieving support, while the foam layers offer sleepers comfort and cushioning without that sinking feeling. Since hybrid mattresses will help improve some of the disadvantages of conventional all-foam and innerspring beds, they’re a good compromise for anyone who is having trouble choosing between the two.
- Air-Filled Mattress: The main advantage of an air-filled mattress is the adjustability it offers since it allows you to control how full, therefore how firm, the mattress is. As well, it gives bed partners the choice to adjust each side of the bed to each person’s preferred level of firmness, giving both people definitive customizability. An air-filled mattress can outlast conventional models because its parts are replaceable, which can help extend the life of the mattress. While many brands offer a warranty of 10 to 30 years, you will pay a higher price for them. And although air-filled mattresses are currently a popular choice, one of the disadvantages of this mattress is that it can slowly deflate, causing uneven air distribution.
Where to shop
- Shop in the store if you want to experience variety and lie down before buying, and never pay full price in a mattress store. Shop sales, and don’t be afraid to negotiate. Most stores will set up your new mattress and remove your old one. Store shopping can be overwhelming, plus it can be more difficult to know if you’re getting a good deal. Don’t ever rush. A big mistake is quickly lying down on several mattresses to find the one that feels best. Take at least 10 minutes to test your top three. Get a true feel and determine if you feel any pressure or pain.
- Shop online if you find decision-making difficult because there are fewer options. Online mattresses will be delivered in a box at your doorstep. Shipping and a money-back guarantee are included—even if you simply don’t like the purchase—so the risk is minimal. You’ll forego negotiation, but the price won’t include markups for being sold at a physical store. Be aware that setting up the new mattress and getting rid of the old one will be your responsibility.
Know the return policy
A partial refund may be available if you buy in a store, but an online purchase will give you back 100 percent of your money and will often arrange for the return mattress to be picked up by a local charity. Also, make sure you can test out a new mattress for a month risk-free to get used to it before making the decision to return.
