Things to Look for When Buying a New Mattress

Enjoying a good night sleep is a recipe for staying healthy and happy. However, buying a mattress without thorough research can lead to uncomfortable sleepless nights. A good and supportive mattress promotes a good night’s sleep and helps you to function better during the day and stay free from various sleep-related ailments. With the wide array of options available, finding a good mattress can be daunting, especially for those with special conditions. Check out the following mattress-buying guide for a worthy purchase.

 1. Type of Mattress

Many mattress options are available on the market, which makes it difficult to find the best type. Your mattress type of choice if hugely dependent on personal preference. Below are some available types of mattresses.

• Memory foam mattresses – as the name suggests, they consist of memory foam. They provide great pressure relief, support, and exceptional body contouring. Unlike traditional models with temperature regulation issues, modern memory foam mattresses are designed with superior cooling functionality. They are an excellent choice for those who need body shaping, pressure relief and support in their sleeping mattress. 
• Latex mattresses – they are built from latex foam, which makes them best for their comfort and cooling properties. Latex provides a great bounce, comfort, cooling, and responsiveness. They suit sleepers who want foam mattresses but with minimal hug and contouring, which comes with memory foam mattresses. 
• Innerspring mattresses – also called coil mattresses, are made from one or multiple layers of spring coils that provide unmatched support and comfort. With progressively advancing technology, the number, layers, and types of coils change to provide better support and comfort. They suit sleepers looking for mattresses with a spring feel and strong edge support. 
• Pillow-top mattresses – these mattresses fall in various categories, including coil, memory, hybrid, and memory mattresses. A layer of soft material sewn into the mattress cover to provide additional cushioning and comfort characterizes them. They are best for those who need mattresses with a soft feel and extra cushion comfort. 
• Hybrid mattresses – hybrids are made from a combination of memory, latex, coils, polyurethane foams, and other materials. Due to their customizable nature, they are targeted to meet specific benefits. For instance, a combination of memory foam and latex delivers great cooling, bouncing, and responsiveness. 
• Adjustable mattresses – judging from the name, these mattresses enables users to adjust their sleeping positions. They suit sleepers with specific needs, such as snorers, those with lower back pains, old sleepers, or those recovering from certain medical conditions.

 

2. Sleeping Position

People have different sleeping positions, each sleeping in their unique way. Fortunately, there are different mattresses that suit different sleeping positions. Include your sleeping position in your mattress-buying guide to find a suitable and comfortable mattress.

• Side sleepers – those who sleep on their sides often change positions at night. They alternate legs from both being straight, one straight, one bent, or both bent. With such inconsistencies, the best mattresses for side sleepers should have a soft to medium firmness. Such mattresses relieve pressure points at the back and neck. 
• Back sleepers – back sleepers bank on the firmness and support of a mattress. An extra soft mattress creates pressure points, as it won’t provide enough push back required for comfortable night sleep. Also, if the bed doesn’t support such sleepers, they might develop spinal alignment issues, causing back problems. Ideal mattresses for back sleepers should have mid-range firmness to eliminate possible pressure points while offering support. 
• Stomach sleepers – support is the number one priority for stomach sleepers looking for a good mattress. Due to their sleeping position, they need a mattress that provides equal support to the whole body. If the mattress sinks in the middle section, they will probably experience back pains and spine issues.

 

3. Mattress Firmness

This describes how soft or hard the mattress feels. As such, defining if a mattress is firm or soft is highly subjective, as it depends on the user. Your body size, weight, and other factors also come into play. Nevertheless, the firmness of a mattress ranges from soft, medium soft, medium-firm to firm. Choose either level of firmness depending on your sleeping styles, position, or medical conditions.

As mentioned, soft and medium-soft mattresses are best for side sleepers who switch positions. Medium-firm mattresses, on the other hand, suit those who sleep on their backs as they provide extra back support while firm mattresses are ideal for front sleepers and those suffering from back pain.

Bottom Line

Without a doubt, picking a new mattress is a daunting task. Apart from the basic factors such as mattress size in relation to the bed, cost of the mattress, and mattress brand, consider the type of mattress, your sleeping position, and general mattress firmness. These factors come in handy, especially if you have specific medical conditions.