We all want a good night’s sleep; that’s only natural. But when it comes to purchasing the mattress to provide that sound sleep, with the vast majority of people now looking to buy a mattress online, it’s fair to say that most of us could benefit from a few tips on buying a good-quality mattress! So, whether you’re unsure about mattress size, price, or even the best firmness for your mattress, we’ve got the answers for you within this article!
Identify what Type of Mattress you Want
The first of our five tips on buying a good quality mattress is to identify the type you need – whether it is for your bed, you must know what you want because they differ in size and even materials. There are seven main mattress types: open spring, pocket spring, bed-in-a-box, memory foam, latex, hybrid and continuous and coil.
If you’re looking for the most practical mattress solution, then the bed-in-a-box variety (which offers exactly what it says on the tin) might be the one for you – it’s conveniently boxed up making for easier delivery, they tend to come in at the cheaper end of the mattress price spectrum, and they’ve now reached a point where bed-in-a-box manufacturers offer enough options for everyone, no matter their preference.
If you’re looking for something a little more luxurious, on the other hand, you should focus your search on hybrid mattresses. These mattresses combine various support and comfort mechanisms, including memory foam, springs, and coils, to provide the best possible sleep. Be warned, though, that these high-end mattresses almost always also come with a high-end price tag to boot!
As you can see, then, it’s essential to identify just which mattress type you’re after exactly, as this will narrow down your options and save you countless hours of wasted time, saving you from searching for mattresses which aren’t ever going to be right for you.
What Firmness Should I Get?
Another top tip on buying a good-quality mattress is to know your own body. If you’re naturally susceptible to backaches and pains, for instance, then a medium-to-firm mattress is what you should be looking for—something that supports your back without being so rigid that it causes aches and pains of its own.
Softer mattresses, by contrast, are ideal for older people, whose joints and tendons will appreciate an easier-going mattress, as well as those lighter. Sleeping position – as we will shortly see – is also important in determining what kind of mattress you should buy.
Work Out What Position You Sleep In Most Often
Are you a side, back or front sleeper? It may seem like a trivial question, but in reality, the answer to that question can greatly impact the mattress you choose to purchase. Let’s take front-lying sleepers as an example. If you sleep predominantly on your front, then you have different pressure/contact points than you do if you sleep on your back, say.
Well, so what do we hear you say? Sleeping on your stomach puts pressure on your rib cage, elbow, knees, toes, and thighs. These naturally don’t require the same sort of protection and cushioning as your spine does. This means that mattress cushioning is less than a priority for front-lying sleepers, whereas spine alignment is.
Spine alignment generally comes down to mattress firmness. So, front sleepers must look for a medium-firmness mattress that won’t let their spine sag too much from an overly soft mattress. At the same time, a medium-firmness mattress won’t prevent a sleeper’s spine from reaching its natural curvature, which often happens when a mattress is too firm.
Choose a Mattress With a Trial Period or Satisfaction Guarantee
As a rule of thumb, only ever purchase a mattress with a satisfaction guarantee/trial period. You’ll have seen the things in the adverts before – if you’re not happy with the sleep you’re getting on your new mattress during the first 90 days, then return it and get your money back.
Whether they’re luxury or the most budget-version you can find, Mattresses present consumers with a significant financial outlay. Whether your mattress costs you in the thousands or the low hundreds, you want some form of security to go along with it should it not exceed your expectations.
Moreover, look for the satisfaction guarantee periods with the most extended number of days or months. After all, you can’t truly get a feel for whether a mattress is right for you in one day or week. You realistically need at least a month to give your body time to get used to it and see if it’s helping your sleep and/or any body pains.
Read Reviews
The fifth and final of our five tips on buying a good-quality mattress is to read the reviews! Of course, everybody is an individual, and one man’s perfect night’s sleep might be another’s gateway to chronic back pain. That said, you can get a good overall feel for an individual mattress (and, indeed, the manufacturer) by doing a quick Google search of its ratings and reviews.
You don’t have to look for a clean sweep of 5 stars or 100%—just look to see if the reviews are positive overall. You can typically rely on the quality of the mattress you’d be getting, even if it is not for you. If the reviews are overwhelmingly poor—or even fair to middling—then it’s a good idea to steer clear.
