As always, it’s recommended to check your mattress warranty agreement to know which base is best. Gel memory foam mattresses incorporate gel beads or swirls into the foam to distribute heat and create a cooler sleeping environment. With proper care, these last about the same time as normal memory foam. A quality mattress is money well spent according to the comfort principle, which suggests you spend your money where you spend the most time (remember – 1/3 of your life is in bed!).
Slide your hand under the small of your back while lying down on a mattress (the curve of your lower back). The mattress may be overly firm if your hand readily glides under your lower back curve. The mattress is probably too soft if your hand doesn’t slide through at all. Fortunately, SleePare carries some of the most well-known online mattress brands, which you can test in our SleePare showrooms.
If you’re looking for a natural mattress, latex is one of the few mattress materials that can actually be organic. Keep an eye out for mattresses with Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and Global Organic Latex Standard (GOLS) certifications. But if you’re concerned about movement disturbing your sleeping partner, look for one with pocketed coils.
Read more about memory foam mattress here. Instead, its firmness is affected by the foam’s ILD rating and how the different layers are constructed. This variety of ILD ratings and versatility in layer composition means a wide range of firmness possibilities. A softer memory foam mattress will allow for more sink-in and contouring. A firmer memory foam mattress will still mold to body shapes, but will also provide more support. The foam allows your body to descend on different levels, resulting in even spine support.
Additional Costs for a New Mattress
Spring mattresses use coils to distribute your weight, providing optimal support for the body and eliminating excessive stress. They’re also cooler and drier to the touch than foam mattresses.
Putting pressure on the mattress can also shorten its break-in time. This means sitting or lying down on the mattress even when you’re not sleeping.
How to Wash Pillows
For some affordable options, check out our guides to the best Saatva mattress sales for hotel luxury for less, or the latest Nectar mattress sales for a top-rated budget memory foam bed-in-a-box. Most manufacturers recommend what type of bed bases suit their mattresses but, as a general guideline, a box spring, platform, or bed frame with evenly spaced slats should provide decent support. Sink-in body cradling that’s gone from the sublime to the ridiculous is also a red flag. Sink-in cushioning can feel luxurious at first (see our Nectar Memory Foam review to learn more), but with constant use, you can sink so far you feel stuck. Even a firmer build, like the one we noted in our Cocoon by Sealy Chill review, will eventually succumb to sinking. Read more about California king mattress here. Finally, watch out for the memory foam discoloring (turning yellow) too, as this is a sign of mattress old age. Literally and figuratively, spend every night on the mattress and allow it to get used to your body.
JD is an online mattress reviewer and has tested hundreds of beds over the last six years. He is a Certified Sleep Science Coach from the Spencer institute, and mainly conducts mattress reviews.
Read more about dream cloud mattress here. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Our bedding experts share their insider tips to finding your best-ever bed.
A mattress may also need replacing if it poses health risks with allergens such as dust mites, which can cause allergic rhinitis. Motion Isolation is a feature of the mattress where there is low motion transfer. We are living in a world where information is readily available at the click of a button.
