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If you regularly find yourself waking up with new aches or pains or struggle to get a restful night’s sleep, it may be time to get a new mattress. But before you spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars, on a brand new bed, it is essential to consider a few key factors to make the best choice for you.
While we have become accustomed to the convenience of shopping online, it is best to visit in person to test the beds yourself to make the most informed decision. Furthermore, investing in a new mattress can be a costly process, with many people opting to wait for major retail sales, like Black Friday, to buy a high-quality option, like SleepMaker beds, at an affordable price.
Although there are many different types of mattresses available online, the majority of them fall into three main categories: foam, innerspring, and hybrid.
A foam mattress is a mattress made with layers of foam, such as polyfoam, latex foam, memory foam, or a combination, each designed to have different densities that offer varying levels of cushioning, support, and durability.
All-foam mattresses tend to mold to your body over time, helping keep your spine correctly aligned and making them a fantastic choice for anyone who suffers from regular back pain. Furthermore, foam mattresses offer excellent motion isolation, making them ideal for lighter sleepers who are prone to being woken by partners moving in the night.
As the name suggests, innerspring mattresses use a system of connected metal springs or coils to support body weight. A top layer of soft, fabric-encased padding provides the necessary cushioning and contouring without the traditional sinking sensation commonly associated with memory foam.
High-quality innerspring mattresses offer good edge support, are available in a wide range of firmness levels to meet a variety of preferences, and are more breathable and cooler than all-foam alternatives.
Hybrid mattresses are made with varying proportions of both foam and coils, creating a variety of very different firmness and comfort levels, depending on the brand and model. Generally speaking, the pocketed metal coils found in hybrids provide a fantastic balance between support and bounce, while the various layers of foam ensure ultimate comfort and cushioning without feeling like you are sinking into the mattress itself.
Hybrid mattresses are typically viewed as a great compromise when deciding which mattress to get, as they help to combat some of the drawbacks commonly associated with all-foam or innerspring beds.
If your mattress fails to offer your body the necessary support while sleeping, you are at risk of developing debilitating, unusual, and unwanted aches and pains. When selecting the best mattress, you need to consider the type of sleeper you are to ensure you achieve proper spinal support and pressure-point relief for a restful sleep.
If you tend to sleep on your side, you will need a cushy—yet not too cushy—mattress that provides proper pressure relief for your hips and shoulder joints. Most side-sleepers tend to find the best relief on medium-soft to medium mattresses, depending on how much of a ‘hugging’ sensation you are after.
To ensure proper spine alignment when sleeping, you should be able to draw a relatively straight line from the midpoint of your ears to your shoulders and down to your hips. If you feel like your midsection is dipping too low, you will need to opt for something slightly firmer. For better control of cushioning customization, consider a medium-firm option with a mattress topper.
If you prefer to sleep on your stomach, selecting a mattress on the firmer side of medium firmness will likely offer the best support and cushion for your belly, hips, chest, and knees while keeping your spine correctly aligned.
The traditional ‘sink’ of an all-foam mattress may put too much strain on your lower back and hips, but you find it uncomfortable to have your ribs, sternum, and knees pressing too hard against a firm mattress. When shopping for the perfect mattress, you should be able to draw a straight line from your neck to your lower back to your knees when lying down.
Back sleepers will likely find the best relief sleeping on a medium-firm to firm mattress, which should offer the right amount of support for spinal alignment while still relieving their hips, shoulders, and lower back. Your neck, lower spine, and knees should all be aligned in a straight line when lying down.
Vincent Verhaert, owner of Belgian mattress company Equilli and a doctorate in mechanical engineering and biomechanics, offers valuable advice when testing the firmness of any mattress for back sleepers: try sliding your hand under your lower back. A snug fit usually means that the mattress is meeting your support needs. A space that is too tight suggests that the mattress is too soft, while too much open space often indicates the mattress is too firm.
While it is possible to buy a mattress with a 20-year or 30-year warranty, the reality is that your body can change significantly over these decades, and your mattress needs will change with it. What works for your body at 30 years old is unlikely to be the same once you hit your 50s, and making the necessary changes to your sleeping setup will become unavoidable.
With this in mind, it is best to re-evaluate and potentially change your mattress every 10 years, especially if you have experienced significant physical changes, such as a long-term injury or dramatic weight loss or gain. Additionally, pay attention to any physical changes you notice with your mattress, box spring, or frame. If they are looking worn or broken, the integrity of the structure will continue to deteriorate rapidly, negatively impacting your sleep.
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