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Choosing a mattress could be a breeze or a nightmare. You may be a deep sleeper who doesn’t even notice the mattress quality and still gets a good night’s sleep, or you could be struggling with sleep issues or pain. On top of that, the mattress market is huge and it keeps growing. Since your sensitivity, preferences, body type, and medical requirements are unique to you, you’ll have to go through a thorough process of elimination on your way to the perfect mattress – and this guide is here to help.
Ask Yourself the Right Questions When Choosing a Mattress
In order for you to narrow your choice down, you should decide on several factors or at least be aware of them. The most important features you’ll be looking at when you choose a mattress are size, firmness and support, and type (build).
You don’t want to get any of those wrong, so before you start searching for a new mattress, ask yourself these questions:
- Who is the mattress for? (Yourself, a child, an elder person, guests…)
- How many people will sleep on it? (Think about mattress size and motion transfer.)
- What type of sleeper are you? (Stomach and back sleepers like firmer beds than side and combination sleepers. People who keep switching positions need a mattress that’ll absorb the motion.)
- How heavy are you? (Heavier people prefer thicker mattresses with more support.)
- Are you allergic to any materials? (Some mattresses are made of artificial materials and some are made of natural organic materials)
- Is the mattress for a hot or a cold sleeper? (Most sleepers find that heat-retaining mattresses are bad. Do you want one that’ll let the air circulate or not?)
- Do you suffer from any pain? (Lower back pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia, etc.)
- Are you looking for a mattress to solve your sleep issues? (Mattresses could help out here depending on the issue, but sleep problems are typically just one piece of a puzzle that may cause your sleep issues. For example, you’re not waking up sore and in pain, you’re just under constant stress and have unresolved issues – this is not really a case for a new mattress.)
- What’s your budget?
Once you go through this list and get a general idea of your preferred mattress type, you’ll be more confident when you look at the options we recommend.
If it already seems too complicated, you can always check out our best mattresses list and simply pick the best mattress for you.
How to Choose the Mattress Size
The size of your mattress depends on your own size and on how many people sleep on it. Kids’ mattresses are around 75″ long (cribs are shorter) and mattresses for adults are typically 80″ to 84″ long. Mattresses come in a variety of widths depending on what you need.
Mattress Sizes for Children
Industry-standard crib mattress size is 50 5/8 inches in length and 28 5/8 inches in width.
Once your child outgrows the crib, you get to decide on your next step. You can buy a bed that’s going to be good for the next several years, like Twin (74″x39″) or Short Twin (75″x34″).
Your female kid’s probably not going to outgrow any of those sizes unless you guys are a really tall family. As for males, a twin bed may become too small sometime during their teenage years.
You can just get one Twin XL (80″x39″) that’ll hopefully serve your child until they reach university.
There’s one more bed size for kids and teens – it’s probably the best choice when you have small twins – Full (74″x54″) is like a double Twin bed.
Mattress Sizes for Single Adults
Single adults shouldn’t need more than Twin XL (80″x39″) or the wider version Full XL (80″x54″). Larger individuals will probably appreciate a Full XL more as it gives them more space – this size is actually meant for two people so it should be more than enough for a single person regardless of their size.
Mattress Sizes for Slim Couples
Slim couples will find these two sizes just right – Full XL (80″x54″) and Standard Queen (80″x60″). Full XL should be perfect if both are slim and the Queen is either for those who want more space or are not so slim.
If you are tall, you should check out the California Queen bed which is 84″x60″.
We recommend that you select a Full XL or a Queen mattress for your guest room because it’ll cover you for single guests and the majority of couples and they are not the most expensive option.
Slim couples shorter than 6ft may find a Full-size bed just right for their needs.
Mattress Sizes for Large Couples or Couples with Kids and/or Pets
Large couples and couples who sleep with small kids and/or many pets should focus on one of the wide options.
The Olympic Queen mattress has a standard length of 80″ but is 66″ wide. This size is a bit less common, so it may be challenging to find the right size of sheets.
If 66″ is not wide enough, you should look at the even wider King Size.
King gives you two options: Standard King is 80″x76″ while California King is 84″x72″“. So, with Standard King, you’ll get a wider mattress and with Cali King a longer and slightly narrower mattress.
Mattress Sizes for Tall People
California-sized mattresses are made specifically for tall people. They have the longest standard sizes you can find – 84″.
You can choose between a California Queen (84″x60″) and California King (84″x72″).
How to Choose Mattress Firmness and Support Type
Your ideal mattress should have just the right firmness. Just how firm a mattress you need depends on your body weight, sleeping position, and whether or not you suffer from any pain.
What is the Mattress Firmness Scale?
Before we jump into firmness levels, you should know that there isn’t a firmness scale that everyone agrees on but in an effort to be descriptive enough for readers, most websites dedicated to mattresses and beds use a 1-10 firmness scale. On this scale, 1 is the absolute softest mattress you can imagine, whereas 10 is the firmest possible mattress. That being said, most mattresses you’ll find online or in stores are between 3 (medium soft) and 8 (firm).
Firmness Levels
- A soft mattress (1-2) is made for lightweight sleepers and those who sleep on the side. Side sleepers need a mattress that’ll allow their shoulders and hips to sink enough that there are no pressure points and therefore no pain. However, only a few people will actually enjoy sleeping on a mattress this soft, especially because they don’t offer much spinal support.
- A medium-soft mattress (3-4) is also a good choice for lightweight sleepers and is better for couples. Medium-soft mattresses are more commonly a choice of side and combination sleepers, but still not as popular as medium-firm mattresses. They are more likely to offer better support but still may be too soft for a lot of sleepers.
- A medium-firm mattress (5-7) is preferred by the majority of sleepers of all bodyweight categories, combination and side sleepers, couples, back sleepers, and stomach sleepers. This mattress is better than soft ones for those who suffer from back pain, especially lower back pain.
- A firm mattress (8-10) is normally a choice of heavy individuals, back sleepers, stomach sleepers, and people with back pain. Firm mattresses may discourage you from sleeping on the side because you may feel discomfort in your shoulder and/or hips.
Still Don’t Know Which Mattress is Right For You? Try Two-Sided Ones
Double-sided or dual-sided mattresses are flippable mattresses that may offer different firmness levels depending on how you flip them.
Idle Sleep is one of the companies that offer such mattresses. Idle has three double-sided models that are Medium-firm on one side and “Luxury Firm” on the other.
Here’s how they achieve that – there’s a coiled system in the middle and then latex foam layers on top. The softer side has a thicker foam layer over the coils and the firmer side has a somewhat thinner foam layer.
On top of that, your mattress will last much longer when you rotate and flip it every once in a while.
Can You Fix a Mattress that’s too Firm or too Soft?
If you have a relatively new mattress that’s causing you problems or even pain, you can improve the feel by getting a mattress topper.
There are fluffy mattress toppers made of memory foam, down, feathers, or wool. Your firm mattress will still give you support and the topper will just serve as an additional comfort layer that’ll provide some pressure relief and you’ll get the feeling of sleeping on a softer mattress.
Firm toppers can be made of polyfoam, latex, or firm memory foam. You can make your bed feel firmer and you won’t be sinking in anymore with a firm topper.
For example, the Amerisleep memory foam topper comes in two firmness options and you can order it for almost all bed sizes.
When it comes to old mattresses, the problem is more complex. You can’t really fix the sag or unevenness with a topper so it’s better to invest in a new one.
Older People and Mattress Softness
Older people should make sure to buy a mattress that’s easy to get out of. They should avoid thick memory foam mattresses and mattresses that don’t have edge support because they can get “hugged” by the mattress so much that they may not be able to leave it.
For the same reason, anyone with hip and back problems needs a mattress with excellent edge support.
How to Choose a Mattress Type
When you already know what size and firmness of the mattress you want, you can focus on the type. Here you get to decide if you want an innerspring, hybrid, memory foam, latex, or some other mattress.
Each mattress type has a different feel to it, level of motion transfer, firmness range, and lifespan.
Innerspring Mattresses
Innerspring mattresses have coils in them. A typical high-quality modern mattress has a pocketed coil system, which means that it has individually wrapped coils. This helps the innerspring mattress to last longer.
On top, it has some comfort layers but it’s just enough to make the mattress comfortable. Innerspring mattresses are great for hot sleepers because the air in the coil section dissipates the body heat. This is a great advantage over the memory foam mattresses which accumulate the heat inside of the foam.
Innerspring mattresses are cheaper than other types but they also have the shortest lifespan – only about 8 years.
Another drawback is that innerspring models aren’t the best for couples because when one person turns or gets up, the bouncy motion gets transferred across the bed quickly. This way, the other person gets unwanted disturbances and sometimes poorer sleep quality.
Hybrid Mattresses
Hybrid mattresses contain layers made of various materials. The most common ones are hybrids made of coils and memory foam or latex. Some may contain gel or special technologies developed by the company.
Typically, they have a base layer of some firm foam on top of which are coils, and then over the coils, there are several layers of foam. The coil system is supposed to give you support and the comfort layers provide a nice comfy feeling and motion isolation.
So what can you expect from a hybrid mattress? They are more motion-isolating than innersprings and have better airflow than memory foam mattresses.
Hybrids are more expensive and last longer than innerspring mattresses, around 10 years.
Latex Mattresses
A latex mattress can be made of natural or artificial latex foam. Of course, natural ones are very expensive and they last longer than manmade latex ones- about 15 years of continuous use.
Latex mattresses are quite popular because they feel like you’re sleeping on a cloud. They don’t let you sink in and they offer great support.
Memory Foam Mattresses
If you have no issues with sleeping hot, consider getting a memory foam mattress. These mattresses are either just one big slab of foam or, if they’re of better quality, they may have several layers of foam.
When you lay into a memory foam mattress, you’ll feel like you sank in and the mattress will be wrapped around you. They have superior motion isolation and are commonly recommended to people who suffer from joint pain.
Memory foam mattresses last up to 15 years and are close to latex mattresses in terms of durability. The main downside is that you may become too hot due to how the mattress shapes around you and the density of the material.
Research the Brands
You should do research on reputable brands and make price comparisons. It’s not a good idea to just go ahead and buy a random mattress online, especially not if it’s the cheapest one you can find.
To help you out a bit, here are some popular brands we trust and recommend:
Bottom Line
Your first step is to ask yourself the questions that’ll point you in the right direction when you begin mattress shopping.
Then decide which size of mattress you need and what firmness you’re looking for. Finally, look at the different mattress types and figure out which one of them offers what you need.
After that, do research and find out which brands have the best models. The last step is to compare prices between different trustworthy brands and you’re on your way to dreamland!
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