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Illustrations by Wenzdai FigueroaHow does your mattress feel these days?
Maybe the springs creak when you turn over, or, worse yet, they poke into you and completely prevent you from finding a comfortable sleeping position.
Perhaps it feels too bouncy, too soft, or too hard and keeps you lying awake. Maybe it even sags when you get into bed — a sure sign a mattress is on its last legs (or springs, as it were).
You might wake in the morning feeling tired and stiff. You could also start to notice back, neck, and joint pain, along with irritability, fatigue, and other effects of poor sleep.
Without a good-quality mattress, your sleep eventually suffers. If you’re experiencing any of the above, it’s probably time for a new mattress. Still, the prospect of mattress shopping might seem daunting enough to make you delay your search.
Picking up a secondhand mattress on Craigslist or accepting a hand-me-down from a friend or family member might seem like a quick solution, but you’ll sleep much better on a mattress that’s right for you.
Yes, you’ll need to spend some time considering different factors, but our guide can simplify the process. Keep reading for more details on what to consider when shopping for a new mattress.
Decided how much you want to spend on your new mattress? Understand your essential characteristics, such as body type and sleeping position?
Once you check those off, you can start thinking about specific mattress features — and there are, in fact, plenty to consider.
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Deciding on a mattress type can help you start narrowing down your search. You have several options to consider:
Who it’s best for: Solo sleepers who are looking for an affordable option.
Chances are, you may have grown up sleeping on an innerspring mattress. Once a popular and inexpensive option, the innerspring mattress is harder to find these days. Here’s what you need to know about an innerspring mattress:
Who it’s best for: Depending on the type of foam mattress you choose, it can be a great option if you’re looking for contouring, weight distribution, and pressure relief along the spine.
You’ve likely heard of memory foam, but foam mattresses come in other varieties, too:
Who it’s best for: People searching for a more durable, organic mattress option. It’s also a good pick for people who are hot sleepers.
If you have a latex allergy, you’ll want to avoid latex mattresses. Other sleepers, however, may find them cooler and more responsive than memory foam. You may benefit from a latex foam mattress:
Who it’s best for: People who don’t mind paying a little more for a comfortable sleeping temperature, firm support, and durability.
Hybrid mattresses feature a coil spring base under layers of latex or foam. This creates a blend of firm support and comfort that many people find ideal. You may want to consider a hybrid mattress if you’re looking for:
Who it’s best for: While sleeping on an airbed each night isn’t for everyone, it may be a good option for people looking to customize firmness or those who need a temporary mattress option that’s easy to deflate and store away.
Of course, you can take an inflatable bed with you when you go camping, but you can also purchase a slightly superior version for regular use. Here are a couple of things to look for:
Who it’s best for: People who like a softer, bouncier feel to their mattress and don’t mind the occasional maintenance.
In a waterbed, your water-filled “mattress” rests inside a sturdy foam or wooden frame. These beds can allow you to heat or cool the water to your desired temperature. They feel softer and bouncier than a typical mattress. However, they don’t offer as much support.
That said, a waterbed might be a fit for some:
Mattress firmness describes how a mattress feels under your body. Firmness typically ranges on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the firmest bed you can find.
In general, medium-firm mattresses (which are often between 5 and 7 on the firmness scale) provide a good blend of support and comfort for most sleepers. A small 2010 study with 27 people suggests sleeping on a medium-firm mattress may help relieve pain and improve sleep quality.
Of course, firmness is a subjective measurement. A mattress that feels hard to one person may feel too soft to someone else.
Firmness can also vary depending on mattress construction and brand. One brand’s 6 may feel like another brand’s 5, and a medium-firm hybrid might feel harder than a medium-firm foam mattress. That’s why it’s always important to try out your new mattress and make sure it provides the right support.
Longo recommends choosing the firmest possible mattress that still allows you to get quality sleep. If you’re lying awake or tossing and turning to get comfortable, your mattress isn’t at the right firmness level.
Note, however, that your body may need some time to get used to a new mattress, particularly if it’s firmer than your old one. This breaking-in period can take 3 to 4 weeks, so give it time.
People with lower body weights can generally get good support from a foam mattress. But people with higher body weights may prefer the added sturdiness of coils underneath foam.
Support also refers to whether you sink into the bed. Some people want to feel cushioned by the bed, while others want to rest firmly on top. Mattresses with coil systems generally provide sturdier support, keeping you on the mattress, not in it.
You may not think much about the edges of your bed if you sleep alone. But good edge support can make all the difference if you share your bed with a partner or pet, move around a lot, or sit on the edge of your bed to get dressed.
If your bed has weak edges, you might feel like the bed gives way easily when you sit on it. This can spell bad news at night if your partner rolls you to the edge, and you feel like you’re going to tumble to the floor.
If you want good edge support, look for mattresses with reinforced edges. Customer reviews often give a clearer picture of how much edge support a mattress has.
Generally speaking, foam mattresses provide the best pressure relief and body contouring.
If you want pain relief at key pressure points, look for a mattress that gently conforms to your body when you lie down. This allows for your hips and shoulders to sink in slightly.
A memory foam mattress offers the most pressure relief. Hybrids with foam layers may also work well.
While some budget mattresses may measure 9 inches (or less), 10 inches is a fairly standard mattress height. Mattresses under 10 inches won’t offer as much support or durability.
You’ll find some midrange and luxury mattresses measuring 13 or 14 inches in height, but taller isn’t always better. If you have less body weight, you may not need the extra support, so the mattress may feel too firm.
Taller mattresses can also make it harder to get in and out of bed. This is something to consider if you have a limited range of movement or a bed frame that’s already tall.
You may also need new sheets for a tall mattress. Most standard sheets only fit beds up to about 14 inches.
This is an essential feature for partners sleeping together. Motion isolation refers to the mattress’s ability to keep you from feeling your partner’s movements at night.
Good motion isolation means you can turn over, stretch, and even get out of bed without waking the person next to you.
Foam mattresses tend to isolate motion better than other types of mattresses. If you don’t want an all-foam bed, look for a hybrid with individually wrapped coils.
The temperature of your bed can make a huge difference in the quality of your sleep. If you’re too warm, you might wake up sweating or have trouble staying asleep.
Cooling mattresses have special features designed to help keep you cool as you sleep, including:
Customer reviews can help provide a more accurate picture of whether the cooling features mentioned in the mattress description really work.
The mattress-in-a-box industry has taken off in recent years. Many mattresses bought online arrive compressed and rolled into a box. When you open the package, your mattress quickly inflates. You might notice it gives off a strange smell.
This odor comes from the various chemicals used to make your mattress flame-retardant. It may be somewhat unpleasant, but it’s not necessarily harmful.
Mattresses carrying the CertiPUR-US certification often still have an odor, even though this certification means they contain no toxic chemicals or heavy metals. Even some natural or organic mattresses have a strange smell when you first unwrap them.
Customer reviews often mention off-gassing. If you’re particularly sensitive to smells, you may want to check what other people have to say.
Usually, this smell clears up after a few days, especially if you leave the mattress near an open window.
Many brands prioritize sustainability and natural, renewable materials in their mattresses. They tend to mention this clearly on their website or in product descriptions.
Reputable brands use clear language to describe which parts of their mattress have natural or organic certifications. If buying organic matters to you, note some brands may describe their mattresses as “eco-friendly” or “all-natural.”
An organic mattress, however, will have specific certifications for some or all of its materials, such as:
Other certifications to look for include:
A mattress is often a significant investment. Once you find the mattress of your dreams, you might hesitate before committing to the purchase. What if it doesn’t quite measure up to the description, feels uncomfortable, or doesn’t stay cool?
The good news is, most mattress brands understand your dilemma and offer some options to help give you peace of mind.
Whenever possible, consider the following before you click the “Complete Order” button:
When shopping online, you’ll want to verify whether a company offers:
At Healthline, we look at the following criteria to determine a company’s reputation and commitment to transparency:
Along with the company’s business reputation, we also consider whether they provide clear, easy-to-find information about the materials they use in their mattresses and where they’re made. You’ll typically find this information in the FAQ section of the company’s website, if not directly on the product page.
If you like the mattress and the price, you may want to go for it regardless of what you find about the mattress company’s reputation. But at the very least, it’s always best to check whether the mattress meets flammability requirements.
If you’ve spent any time reading product reviews, you might already know to take them with a grain of salt. Reviews can offer a lot of insight about a product, yes. But you’ll also find that some customers leave 1-star reviews for issues beyond a company’s control.
You’re generally safe to purchase a mattress that earns mostly positive reviews. Still, specific patterns in the reviews can give you a better idea of how the mattress holds up over time.
You may notice a lot of customers mention things like sagging, loss of support after a few years, cooling features that don’t actually cool, weak edges, or low motion transfer.
You can make a trip to a local retailer to purchase a new mattress, but you can also shop online.
Shopping for a mattress in person offers a completely different experience from browsing online. Here’s what to know to prepare.
While lying down on the mattress in-store can absolutely give you an idea of how firm or soft it feels, don’t be fooled. A mere 5 or 10 minutes can’t compare to a full night of sleep — not to mention it’s a floor model that plenty of other people have already tested. You’ll still want to look for a mattress that comes with a trial period.
Make sure to ask the salesperson plenty of questions about the mattress and its warranty:
Brick-and-mortar mattress stores often charge more than online retailers that sell the same mattress. Doing some research before you buy can help you make sure you’re getting the best price. You might find the same mattress at another store, or online, for much cheaper.
Just keep in mind that different stores often call the same mattress by different names. You may be able to talk the price down a bit, but not everyone feels comfortable negotiating for a better bargain.
If the mattress doesn’t feel right to you, keep looking! Your sleep is worth it.
Many people find online mattress shopping a much more appealing option. One benefit of online shopping? You won’t have to do much digging to get your questions answered. You’ll often find most of the answers on the product page.
Many websites also offer live chats with customer support staff, just in case you can’t find answers to more specific questions.
It’s always a good idea to read through customer reviews before making a decision. Reviews often provide honest, detailed information about products and policies. Things to look for include:
You’ll often save a lot just by shopping online, but many brands also offer sales and other discounts throughout the year.
If you know you’ll have trouble setting up the mattress yourself and you don’t have anyone to help, check to see if the company offers delivery, setup, and old mattress removal. Not every online company offers this service, and many brands charge an additional fee.
When choosing the best mattress for you, it’s best to focus on durability, support, price, and material. You’ll want to select a mattress that both fits within your price range and helps you get the best rest possible.
You’ll want to ask questions about firmness, durability, and sleeping temperature before making the purchase. Does the mattress have good ratings and reviews? Have there been any common complaints or lawsuits?
It’s also important to ask about the warranty, return policy, and care instructions for your new mattress.
Some of Healthline’s favorite mattress brands include:
Mattresses aren’t meant to last forever. You’ll want to start considering a new one once your sleep quality starts to decline or when your current mattress is more than 8 years old.
Choosing the right mattress requires some time and effort, but this effort is usually well worth it.
After all, as Longo notes, “We cannot maintain health without quality sleep.”
Crystal Raypole has previously worked as a writer and editor for GoodTherapy. Her fields of interest include Asian languages and literature, Japanese translation, cooking, natural sciences, sex positivity, and mental health. In particular, she’s committed to helping decrease stigma around mental health issues.
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