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How to choose a mattress (updated 2021)
Here’s my simple guide to the confusing question of how to choose a mattress.
I reckon you can come to a conclusion in four steps:
That's it.
So here goes - strap yourself in, this is going to be an exciting ride (Ed: calm down, you’re overselling this).
I reckon you can come to a conclusion in four steps:
- Figure out whether you need a soft, medium or firm mattress (or something in between such as medium-firm)
- Decide whether you want springs or foam (more on that fascinating debate later, please control your excitement)
- Read some reviews
- Buy online or try some out in a shop
That's it.
So here goes - strap yourself in, this is going to be an exciting ride (Ed: calm down, you’re overselling this).
How to choose a mattress part 1: choose a soft, medium or firm mattress
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Whatever your mattress is made from, you’ll need to pick one which is the right firmness for you.
Don’t believe the old myth that a rock hard mattress from a prison cell is perfect for a bad back. Experts like the Sleep Council say that what you need is a ‘supportive’ mattress which matches your weight, build and sleeping position. Some rough guidelines which I've summarised after reading dozens of sleep-inducing articles online:
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Soft, medium or firm? Pick a supportive mattress for your weight
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The idea is to combine these two factors to decide how firm a mattress you need. For example, a very light person who sleeps on their side will probably want a soft mattress whilst a very heavy person who sleeps on their back will want a firm mattress.
You will be slightly irritated when I tell you that there’s no industry-wide standard for measuring firmness. So, one company’s firm mattress could be the same as another company’s medium tension mattress.
Posh brands John Lewis & Partners and Vispring both provide clearer guidance than most about choosing firmness, but it's worth noting that there's some inconsistency in what firmness they recommend.
John Lewis & Partners say that from their range of mattresses:
Meanwhile, I've found some guidance which says that Vispring's soft mattresses are suitable for anyone up to 11 stone, with medium mattresses for 11-16 stone, firm for 16-20 stone and very firm for 20 stone plus.
So, whilst the guidance is roughly the same, Vispring recommends that a 10 stone person should buy a soft mattress whilst John Lewis & Partners recommends a 10 stone person should buy a medium firmness mattress.
Academic research on the topic of firmness levels has produced varied results. A Chinese study (Wang, Zhou et al, 2009) compared soft, medium and firm mattresses and found that the medium tension mattress 'could help the sleeper enjoy a better sleep'. However, the study also compared different mattress materials so it's hard to pinpoint exactly what led to the best results. The softer mattress was a foam mattress, whilst the medium mattress was made from springs. It was the medium tension sprung mattress which got the best results on a subjective and analytical basis.
An older study from Bader and Engdal ('The influence of bed firmness on sleep quality', 2000) tested out soft and 'more firm' mattresses with a group of nine men. In that case, more men 'slept significantly better' on the softer mattress than the firmer mattress.
And then there's the issue of a couple sharing a bed who are completely different weights. There are a few mattress brands which offer 'split tension' or 'dual tension' mattresses or you can buy a 'zip link' mattress which is two mattresses stuck together, but both options bump up the price.
Anyway, don't let this confusion get you down. Keep reading and it will become a little clearer, hopefully.
You will be slightly irritated when I tell you that there’s no industry-wide standard for measuring firmness. So, one company’s firm mattress could be the same as another company’s medium tension mattress.
Posh brands John Lewis & Partners and Vispring both provide clearer guidance than most about choosing firmness, but it's worth noting that there's some inconsistency in what firmness they recommend.
John Lewis & Partners say that from their range of mattresses:
- a soft mattress is 'suitable for bodyweights up to 8 stone'
- a medium mattress is 'suitable for bodyweights of 8-16 stone'
- a firm mattress is 'optimum comfort for bodyweights over 16 stone'.
Meanwhile, I've found some guidance which says that Vispring's soft mattresses are suitable for anyone up to 11 stone, with medium mattresses for 11-16 stone, firm for 16-20 stone and very firm for 20 stone plus.
So, whilst the guidance is roughly the same, Vispring recommends that a 10 stone person should buy a soft mattress whilst John Lewis & Partners recommends a 10 stone person should buy a medium firmness mattress.
Academic research on the topic of firmness levels has produced varied results. A Chinese study (Wang, Zhou et al, 2009) compared soft, medium and firm mattresses and found that the medium tension mattress 'could help the sleeper enjoy a better sleep'. However, the study also compared different mattress materials so it's hard to pinpoint exactly what led to the best results. The softer mattress was a foam mattress, whilst the medium mattress was made from springs. It was the medium tension sprung mattress which got the best results on a subjective and analytical basis.
An older study from Bader and Engdal ('The influence of bed firmness on sleep quality', 2000) tested out soft and 'more firm' mattresses with a group of nine men. In that case, more men 'slept significantly better' on the softer mattress than the firmer mattress.
And then there's the issue of a couple sharing a bed who are completely different weights. There are a few mattress brands which offer 'split tension' or 'dual tension' mattresses or you can buy a 'zip link' mattress which is two mattresses stuck together, but both options bump up the price.
Anyway, don't let this confusion get you down. Keep reading and it will become a little clearer, hopefully.
How to choose a mattress part 2: springs or foam?
If you’re a normal person, you probably don’t know whether you prefer a sprung mattress or a foam based mattress. You probably last bought a mattress 10 years ago and were bored to tears at the time by the salesperson’s technical discussions of the inner workings of 27 different white rectangles.
There are lots of different types of mattresses, but most people in the UK pick from one of these two.
a) A pocket sprung mattress – this is what most of us are used to. The springs give a bouncy feel and the good ones use breathable natural materials like wool for a bit of comfort. The cheaper alternative is ‘open coil’ springs but these are not great. The main advantage of the old-fashioned open coil springs is that they can be recycled much easier, as they are made of one large string of metal rather than a couple of thousand tiny springs which have to be extricated from their fabric cases. Mattress recycling rates in the UK are only at about 1 in 5 (2019 figures from the National Bed Federation), and sustainability reports have highlighted the popularity of pocket sprung mattresses as being a 'challenge' for the recycling industry.
b) A foam mattress – these can provide very good consistent support and don’t gather dust like a pocket sprung mattress.
There are lots of different types of mattresses, but most people in the UK pick from one of these two.
a) A pocket sprung mattress – this is what most of us are used to. The springs give a bouncy feel and the good ones use breathable natural materials like wool for a bit of comfort. The cheaper alternative is ‘open coil’ springs but these are not great. The main advantage of the old-fashioned open coil springs is that they can be recycled much easier, as they are made of one large string of metal rather than a couple of thousand tiny springs which have to be extricated from their fabric cases. Mattress recycling rates in the UK are only at about 1 in 5 (2019 figures from the National Bed Federation), and sustainability reports have highlighted the popularity of pocket sprung mattresses as being a 'challenge' for the recycling industry.
b) A foam mattress – these can provide very good consistent support and don’t gather dust like a pocket sprung mattress.
If you’re a traditionalist who would write a letter to Radio 4 if The Archers theme tune changed tempo then you will probably want to stick with a pocket sprung mattress. Highly-rated pocket spring brands include:
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Luxury brand Hypnos is a supplier to the Queen's household which gives them a Royal Warrant. That is pretty rare amongst mattress brands and is a sign of prestige and a long established reputation. Popular mattresses from Hypnos include The Hypnos Premier Luxury which costs £1060 and is one of their softer mattresses. If you prefer a medium tension mattress then The Hypnos Swinton is £799, which is a good compromise of budget and specification. The Hypnos Superb is £899 in double size and is considered a firm mattress. It's a similar specification to the Hypnos Swinton but is more suited to people who are heavier or who sleep on their back.
For more details and comparisons of Hypnos mattresses, see our top 5. |
Hypnos supply mattresses to royalty
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Luxury brand Vispring holds a prestigious place as the inventor of the pocket spring mattress more than 100 years ago. Some of their top priced double mattresses will cost you more than £5000 but they have some more affordable models including the Vispring Plymouth Supreme which is a popular medium tension model sold at John Lewis & Partners for £899. If you prefer a firmer Vispring mattress, then the Vispring Realm will cost you about £1449.
If you've got the budget for a Vispring mattress, see our top 5 Vispring mattresses. |
Vispring is the original pocket sprung mattress brand
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Mid-priced Sleepeezee is a good option if you want a traditional mattress brand with a strong reputation and a lower price than Hypnos or Vispring. They're a supplier to Prince Charles' household so they have a Royal Warrant. One of their more popular mattresses is the Wool Supreme 2400 (£539, medium tension) which - as the name suggests - uses wool which is naturally good at regulating your temperature thanks to its mix of being hydrophobic and hydroscopic. Another option is the Mayfair 3200 (£859, medium) which won a big award from the National Bed Federation and has a more complicated design.
See our full guide to Sleepeezee mattresses. |
Sleepeezee is a mid-priced pocket sprung mattress brand
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Mid-priced Silentnight is Britain's biggest mattress brand. They have a large range, including very cheap mattresses as well as some better quality ones around the £400-£500 mark for a double size. If you can afford it, get one of their Mirapocket models rather than the Miracoil models which are made in a different way which isn't so good at supporting your body consistently. Popular mattresses which use the Mirapocket design include the Sofia 1200 (£399, medium/firm) which has won a big award and is a huge seller with thousands of positive reviews. The London Stratus (£479, medium) is slightly more expensive and has more springs, which means it will offer more support to heavier people. See our top 5 Silentnight mattresses, which includes a mix of their foam and sprung mattresses.
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Silentnight is a big name mattress maker with award winning products
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Budget brand Happy Beds isn't a household name like Silentnight or Hypnos but some of their cheap mattresses have good specifications for the price tag. They're a good option if you're on a tight budget or if you want a mattress for the spare bedroom. If you can, get a pocket spring model rather than an open coil mattress which just isn't as supportive. Popular mattresses include the Majestic 1000 (£195, medium) which has a modest number of springs but an adequate number for most people. The Signature 2000 (£319, medium/firm) is an upgrade which has a higher spring count and more support.
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However, if you’re open to fancy new stuff then take a look at mattresses which use foam. Many of them get much better reviews and have won more awards than traditionally made pocket sprung mattresses.
Some foam mattresses have a top layer of memory foam, which is a material which tends to give a 'hugging' support – popular brands include:
Some foam mattresses have a top layer of memory foam, which is a material which tends to give a 'hugging' support – popular brands include:
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Luxury brand Tempur are the inventors of memory foam mattresses, although they make a point of explaining that their product isn't just standard memory foam. You can pick from three depths, with the deepest model being the most expensive. You can also choose from different firmness levels including soft, medium and firm and there's a 100 day trial period. The downside is the price, which is typically about £2000+ for a double mattress, which is double or triple the cost of most memory foam mattresses.
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Tempur is probably the most famous memory foam mattress brand in the world
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Mid-priced Nectar Sleep (£699, medium/firm) is a relatively recent arrival to the UK market but they offer an appealing 'forever' guarantee which is only matched by one other brand (DreamCloud). Alongside that you get a 365 day trial period which is the joint longest in the UK. The advantage of this is that foam has been shown to behave differently during different temperatures so you might get a different response to it during winter and summer (see Properties of Flexible Urethane Foams, Saunders et al, 1958). A year long trial period allows to you try it out in all seasons before making your mind up. It also gets strong customer reviews, although its TrustPilot score is a little lower than rival Ergoflex.
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Nectar Sleep's mattress offers a whole year to try it out at home
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Mid-priced Ergoflex (£739, medium/firm) is another memory foam brand with outstanding customer reviews. You get a 30 day trial period which is much shorter than many competitors but still gives you a chance to try it out in a real life environment rather than a showroom. The specification is strong, with a 9cm top layer of memory foam which compares well to many rivals.
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Mid-priced/budget brand Silentnight is a big name with an even bigger range. They are perhaps better known for their sprung mattresses but they do also have memory foam mattresses which have won awards. One option is their budget memory foam mattress which receives good although not outstanding reviews (£199, soft/medium)
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Budget brand Inofia is probably not a company that you've heard of but they do get positive customer reviews and offer specifications you'd expect on much more expensive mattresses. For example, the Inofia Memory Foam Sprung mattress is £260 and has a medium tension but is notably deeper than other mattresses around the same price.
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(Prices are for double mattresses and are correct at the time of typing)
Other highly-rated foam mattresses such as Emma or Casper don’t have such a sinking feeling because the top layer is a type of foam which bounces back more (the memory foam is buried deeper so you still get the support).
You’ll also see some foam mattresses called ‘hybrid’ mattresses because they use both springs and foam (e.g. OTTY, Simba).
Lots of foam mattresses arrive squashed up in a box, so are called a ‘bed in a box’. The advantage is that they can be delivered easily and it reduces storage costs.
There are a few pieces of relevant academic research which might help steer your decision when deciding between springs and foam mattresses.
Back in 1997, the American Sleep Disorders Association and Sleep Research Society published a paper which compared an 'experimental foam surface' with a 'high quality innerspring hospital mattress'. The study was called 'Comparative Effects of Sleep on a Standard Mattress to an Experimental Foam Surface on Sleep Architecture and CAP Rates'.
The 10 people taking part in the experiment were healthy and didn't have problems sleeping (they were 'free of sleep apnoea, periodic leg movements in sleep, and difficulty falling and staying asleep'.)
Each spent three nights on one of the mattresses and then swapped for a further three nights.
The research concluded firstly that there was 'no differences in sleep stages, number of wakes, or total sleep time' between the two mattresses. However, it did note that 'CAP rates were significantly reduced on the foam surface'. That particular acronym relates to the 'cyclic alternating pattern' that occurs during sleep. According to the research paper, 'elevated CAP rates' are linked to poor quality sleep so the fact that the foam mattress led to lower rates of CAP should be seen as a positive.
Another factor which people often consider when picking between foam and spring mattresses is the issue of heat. You'll often see claims that memory foam makes you feel warmer than a sprung mattress would, although a lot of memory foam mattresses now include designs aimed to overcome that.
Researchers in Japan looked specifically at two types of mattress topper to explore the heat issue. It was written by Chiba, Yabi et al was published in 2018.
The products in the study included a 'low rebound mattress topper' made by Tempur and a 'polyethylene fiber-resin-based mattress topper' made by a company called Airweave (memory foam is considered low rebound because it takes a longer time to bounce back to being flat than other mattress materials).
During the study, researchers checked body temperatures of the subjects throughout the night. The low rebound material (i.e. the memory foam type material) consistently led to a higher body temperature and it was a more significant difference amongst younger participants than older participants. The differences in body temperature ranged from about 0.1°C to 0.3°C during the night.
You’ll also see some foam mattresses called ‘hybrid’ mattresses because they use both springs and foam (e.g. OTTY, Simba).
Lots of foam mattresses arrive squashed up in a box, so are called a ‘bed in a box’. The advantage is that they can be delivered easily and it reduces storage costs.
There are a few pieces of relevant academic research which might help steer your decision when deciding between springs and foam mattresses.
Back in 1997, the American Sleep Disorders Association and Sleep Research Society published a paper which compared an 'experimental foam surface' with a 'high quality innerspring hospital mattress'. The study was called 'Comparative Effects of Sleep on a Standard Mattress to an Experimental Foam Surface on Sleep Architecture and CAP Rates'.
The 10 people taking part in the experiment were healthy and didn't have problems sleeping (they were 'free of sleep apnoea, periodic leg movements in sleep, and difficulty falling and staying asleep'.)
Each spent three nights on one of the mattresses and then swapped for a further three nights.
The research concluded firstly that there was 'no differences in sleep stages, number of wakes, or total sleep time' between the two mattresses. However, it did note that 'CAP rates were significantly reduced on the foam surface'. That particular acronym relates to the 'cyclic alternating pattern' that occurs during sleep. According to the research paper, 'elevated CAP rates' are linked to poor quality sleep so the fact that the foam mattress led to lower rates of CAP should be seen as a positive.
Another factor which people often consider when picking between foam and spring mattresses is the issue of heat. You'll often see claims that memory foam makes you feel warmer than a sprung mattress would, although a lot of memory foam mattresses now include designs aimed to overcome that.
Researchers in Japan looked specifically at two types of mattress topper to explore the heat issue. It was written by Chiba, Yabi et al was published in 2018.
The products in the study included a 'low rebound mattress topper' made by Tempur and a 'polyethylene fiber-resin-based mattress topper' made by a company called Airweave (memory foam is considered low rebound because it takes a longer time to bounce back to being flat than other mattress materials).
During the study, researchers checked body temperatures of the subjects throughout the night. The low rebound material (i.e. the memory foam type material) consistently led to a higher body temperature and it was a more significant difference amongst younger participants than older participants. The differences in body temperature ranged from about 0.1°C to 0.3°C during the night.
How to choose a mattress part 3: read some reviews
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Personally, I spend a lot of time looking at customer review scores. I’m less interested in individual whinges about something arriving a day late, but I do like to look at overall scores for brands and mattresses based on thousands of reviews.
There are a few different review websites, but I personally like TrustPilot as they tend to have a good number of reviews for most brands. I spent a happy hour looking up all the scores I could find for mattress brands on TrustPilot. Some brands weren’t on there, but here’s the list as of January 2021. I’ve split them into pocket sprung and foam brands, or where a brand sells both in a good number then I have included them in both lists. |
Brook + Wilde gets very good reviews on TrustPilot
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Pocket sprung mattress brands:
Foam mattress brands:
A few other things worth mentioning... I couldn’t find several well known brands such as pocket spring brands Vispring, Rest Assured and Slumberland. Also, Dunlopillo scores very highly but they make luxurious latex mattresses. Latex is a natural material which is good for mattresses, but they are £1000+ so outside of most people’s budget (see our Dunlopillo guide). Also, some companies like IKEA sell mattresses but that's only a fraction of what they offer, so the review score would be a bit misleading and so it hasn't been included.
Please note that things like guarantee length mentioned above are only correct at the time of writing. Also, the firmness rating for some mattresses varies depending on which guide you read. I've taken the general consensus from several reviews or taken the official rating from the manufacturer but please do your own research before making a purchase.
- Happy Beds - 4.4/5 (budget brand with a good size range)
- Sleepeezee - 4.2/5 (a mid-priced brand which has a Royal Warrant, 60 night trial so you can swap it if you don’t like it)
- DreamCloud - 4.2/5 (luxury hybrid brand, combines foam and springs, 365 night trial, 'forever' warranty)
- Silentnight - 4.2/5 (mid-priced brand with lots of choice)
- Sealy - 3.2/5 (mid-priced brand which is owned by Silentnight. The Sofia model has won awards)
- Harrison Spinks (luxury UK brand which makes mattresses for the John Lewis & Partners Natural Collection as well as under its own name) - 3/5
- Hypnos Beds - 2.9/5 (mostly higher priced mattresses with a Royal Warrant. Premier Inn use this brand in all their hotels)
Foam mattress brands:
- Ergoflex - 4.7/5 (mid-priced, medium/firm, long established memory foam mattress brand, 30 day trial, 10 year guarantee)
- Brook + Wilde - 4.6/5 (mid-priced UK brand offering soft, medium , firm and extra firm mattresses, 100 night trial)
- Dormeo - 4.6/5 (mid and luxury priced, makes some clever mattresses using spring shaped foam)
- Emma Mattress - 4.6/5 (mid-priced, home trial and 10 year guarantee)
- REM-Fit - 4.6/5 (mid to luxury priced, 100 night trial, 15 year guarantee)
- OTTY - 4.5/5 (mid-priced, 100 night trial, 10 year guarantee)
- Eve Sleep - 4.5/5 (mid-priced, 100 night trial, 10 year guarantee)
- Simba Sleep - 4.5/5 (mid-priced, 200 night trial, 10 year guarantee)
- Happy Beds - 4.4/5 (budget memory foam, 5 year guarantee)
- Nectar Sleep - 4.3/5 (mid-priced, medium/firm, 365 night trial and ‘forever’ guarantee, both of which are joint longest in the industry that we know of)
- Casper - 4.3/5 (mid-priced, 60 night trial so you can swap it for another mattress, 10 year guarantee)
- Silentnight - 4.2/5 (massive brand which sells some cheap memory foam as well as a mid priced bed in a box mattress called Studio)
- Tempur - 3.7/5 (luxury, most famous mattress foam brand with historic links to NASA, various firmness levels)
- Mammoth - 3.2/5 (mid to luxury priced, 'medical grade foam', 10 year guarantee)
A few other things worth mentioning... I couldn’t find several well known brands such as pocket spring brands Vispring, Rest Assured and Slumberland. Also, Dunlopillo scores very highly but they make luxurious latex mattresses. Latex is a natural material which is good for mattresses, but they are £1000+ so outside of most people’s budget (see our Dunlopillo guide). Also, some companies like IKEA sell mattresses but that's only a fraction of what they offer, so the review score would be a bit misleading and so it hasn't been included.
Please note that things like guarantee length mentioned above are only correct at the time of writing. Also, the firmness rating for some mattresses varies depending on which guide you read. I've taken the general consensus from several reviews or taken the official rating from the manufacturer but please do your own research before making a purchase.
How to choose a mattress part 4: visit a store or take out a home trial
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Once you’ve narrowed it to a couple of brands and figured out the firmness you need, your best option is to head to a shop or buy one with a home trial.
Of course, you can just buy one online and hope for the best but there is a lot to be said for being able to try a mattress before you are completely committed. As I said earlier, there is inconsistency in what it means when a company calls a mattress ‘firm’ or ‘medium’ so it’s a bit of a gamble if you can't try it out. My assumption is that it’s less of a problem if you are buying the same brand that you already own. |
Emma is a bed in a box with a home trial period
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If you decide to head for a shop, there are plenty to choose from including Dreams, Furniture Village, Bensons for Beds, IKEA or John Lewis & Partners or there are plenty of good independent bed shops which know what they are talking about (just Google 'bed shops' and click on the map).
The other option is a mattress with a free trial. You’ll find these are more commonly available with foam mattresses (‘bed in a box’ mattresses) rather than traditional pocket sprung mattresses.
Some offer a trial period of 30 days or nights (e.g. Ergoflex) whilst others offer 60 days (e.g. Sleepeezee), 100/200 days (e.g. Eve Sleep, Simba Sleep, Emma Mattress) or 365 nights (Nectar Sleep, DreamCloud). I reckon you get a good idea about a mattress after a couple of weeks, but that’s just my experience, that’s not based on any in-depth study I’ve carried out.
Have a proper read of the terms and conditions with free home trial mattresses, and some reviews too as customers will tell you how easy it was to return a mattress.
Crucially, some home trials will give you a full refund and pick the mattress up for you (e.g. Nectar Sleep, Simba). Other home trials such as Sleepeezee and Silentnight Studio will only let you swap the mattress for another by the same brand.
The other option is a mattress with a free trial. You’ll find these are more commonly available with foam mattresses (‘bed in a box’ mattresses) rather than traditional pocket sprung mattresses.
Some offer a trial period of 30 days or nights (e.g. Ergoflex) whilst others offer 60 days (e.g. Sleepeezee), 100/200 days (e.g. Eve Sleep, Simba Sleep, Emma Mattress) or 365 nights (Nectar Sleep, DreamCloud). I reckon you get a good idea about a mattress after a couple of weeks, but that’s just my experience, that’s not based on any in-depth study I’ve carried out.
Have a proper read of the terms and conditions with free home trial mattresses, and some reviews too as customers will tell you how easy it was to return a mattress.
Crucially, some home trials will give you a full refund and pick the mattress up for you (e.g. Nectar Sleep, Simba). Other home trials such as Sleepeezee and Silentnight Studio will only let you swap the mattress for another by the same brand.