How to Choose a Mattress: The Ultimate Buying Guide

It can be stressful to look for a mattress. The fact that mattresses are expensive purchases despite having a largely uniform appearance. You’re forced to rely on the seller’s word because you don’t know what’s in these enormous, enigmatic rectangles.

Innerspring, foam, and adjustable air mattresses are the three most popular mattress types. According to Chris Regan, CR’s senior test project leader in charge of mattress testing, deciding which one is ideal for you depends on a variety of criteria, including the type of mattress you’ve previously enjoyed sleeping on, the amount of bounce you prefer in your bed, and how much you’d like to sink into it.

To assist you in choosing the best mattress for you, we’ll look more closely at some individual mattress kinds below. Continue reading for more advice on buying mattresses, including information on how to evaluate mattresses in-store and how our testing and ratings can be useful.

Foam: No coils are used in the construction of these mattresses. They work well for side sleepers and couples as they typically offer above-average body contouring, pressure reduction, and motion isolation. Memory foam is the most well-known of the foams utilised in these mattresses.

Innerspring: An innerspring mattress features a support structure made of coils and not many additional layers. While the coils do provide some support, innersprings frequently struggle to release pressure. Their mattress has less motion isolation and is more bouncy. Budget buyers prefer these because of their cheaper price point.

Latex: A mattress is referred to as being built entirely of latex rubber if it has all of its layers. We’ll just refer to a latex mattress here for simplicity’s sake. With mild contouring, these provide excellent bounce and durability. They are a favourite choice among consumers who care about the environment when created using natural and organic latex.

Hybrid: A significant foam comfort system and an innerspring support core make up the two main components of hybrids. Foam, latex, and occasionally even a thinner layer of coils (known as micro-coils) can be found in the comfort layers. Depending on how they are constructed, these mattresses offer a combination of bounce and contouring with less heat retention and can be an excellent match for sleepers in any posture.