For standard foams, such as memory foam or latex foam, you won’t usually find samples out there. Your best bet is to test a mattress in-store if you aren’t familiar with the material.
When buying a mattress, there are literally thousands of choices. Having options is great, but when deciding on just one bed that will be comfortable and suit your needs, an endless selection can make it more difficult to narrow down your choices. The firmness scale runs from 1 to 10, with 1 being the softest mattress available and 10 being the most firm on the market. While this does give you some information when you shop, nothing will inform you more about the firmness and comfort of a mattress than trying it out for yourself. However, mattresses are a big investment, so you need to find the right bed for yourself before spending any money. We make matters easier with our step-by-step guide on how to choose a mattress that’s right for your needs. How long you’ve had your mattress can be one sign you need a new one.
Generally speaking, you may see a few decent price drops during holiday shopping events like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, but they likely won’t be the best deals of the year. We track deals on all of our mattress recommendations year-round. This is a particularly relevant question that pertains especially to mattresses sold through third-party retailers.
Read more about natural latex mattresses here. If you sleep hot, a hybrid mattress could be a good choice, as the coils allow for airflow. If you want an all-foam mattress, you should make sure your mattress has some cooling features to keep you from overheating while you sleep. Finally, it’s important to read the mattress store’s return policy before you buy. Many companies offer a sleep trial period or money-back guarantee if you don’t like your mattress after sleeping on it for a few weeks. This allows you to ensure your bed is perfect for you before committing. No, your mattress in a box does not need a box spring, but if you have one, that will be acceptable as long as it is in good shape and can support a foam mattress.
Best Time to Buy a Mattress
The Mattress Underground offers free consumer subscription & paid membership for select mattress manufacturers or retailers. Member dues/fees are our source of income as The Mattress Underground is expensive to operate and employs people. Mattress manufacturer and retailer memberships are available for companies that sell directly to consumers. The inner layer helps compress the bed; the outer layer holds the roll together. You should use a pair of scissors to cut through the outer layer of plastic first.
To remove tough stains, always use a CR-recommended laundry stain remover, and follow the care instructions on your sheets. All firmness ratings are displayed from the perspective of a weight between 150 and 230 pounds. Our editorial team also requests editorial sample products from brands. If we can’t get our hands on a product that we want to test, we’ll often purchase it.
What is a Mattress in a Box?
This gives us an accurate reading on which parts of the body are under different amounts of pressure. Motion isolation refers to how well a mattress absorbs movement and prevents it from transferring across the surface. Mattresses with thicker comfort layers tend to isolate more motion, which is great for those who are frequently disturbed by a sleep partner’s movement. We test motion isolation by performing a series of body movements and weight drops across the mattress, measuring movement across the bed using a seismograph. The mattress is constructed with a comfort layer on either side, consisting of low-density memory foam infused with copper meant to help keep the bed’s surface cool. Meanwhile the shared pocketed coil support core allows air to freely circulate, which further prevents heat buildup.
Our tester will ask their partner to “sleep aggressively,” tossing and turning for a while like they can’t sleep, to see how much motion the bed absorbs. Read more about Layla mattress here. Mattresses we recommend are tested at our in-house mattress facility. We have two bedroom setups, each furnished with a bed frame, two nightstands and decor, and we unbox the mattresses we’re sent as a customer would theirs. Owen is a Senior Video Producer for CNET and one of the Reno-based mattress experts. He is a Certified Sleep Science Coach from the Spencer institute and has been testing beds for over six years and has tested roughly 250 mattresses from dozens of different brands. Dillon Payne is a director of video production for CNET and also a mattress tester within the Reno-based sleep team.
If you’re waking up with aches and pains all over your body, especially in your back and your joints, it may be time to consider a new mattress. During tests, we found the Nectar’s conforming properties made it a good match for side sleepers of all sizes. Many back and stomach sleepers on our team, particularly those between 130 and 230 pounds, also felt comfortable on this mattress. The Nectar has a balanced, mid-level firmness and materials that offered testers comfortable plushness without sacrificing support. The mattress earned strong ratings across performance categories such as pressure relief, motion isolation, and temperature control, yet it costs much less than the average memory foam model. Read more about motion isolation mattress here. We found that the even blend of pressure relief and ease of movement appealed to side, back, and stomach sleepers on our test team.
Until recently, most mattress shoppers needed to visit a brick-and-mortar store to make their purchase. You can personally test out mattresses by lying down on them for several minutes and speak to experienced customer service personnel if you have questions. If you and your partner share an adjustable bed, then you may feel most comfortable on a split queen, king, or California king. These models are divided down the middle, allowing each side of the bed to move independently.
