If You Don’t Know What Kind of Mattress You Want, Try a Medium-Firm Hybrid
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Shopping for a new mattress — presumably one of the most restful and relaxing products we’ll ever buy — can actually feel quite fraught. There’s a dizzying array of options, and a lot of the best ones aren’t cheap. But buying a bed doesn’t have to be so hard. I’ve spent the last five years testing dozens of mattresses, and I can promise you that there are many great ones available, at a variety of price points, to suit all sorts of sleepers; there’s no need to torture yourself over finding the elusive one. However, if you’re not sure where to start, here’s the advice I’d give to a friend in the market for a mattress, to help them shop without stress.
If you don’t know what kind of mattress you want, you probably want a medium-firm hybrid (or innerspring)
Firmness may seem kind of complicated — there’s soft, medium-soft, firm, extra-firm — but if you’re not especially picky, you probably want a medium-firm mattress. It’s called the “universal firmness” in the mattress industry because it works for most people. Medium-firm mattresses are supportive but not overly rigid or hard. Most mattresses fall into this category, unless they’re specified as being softer or firmer.
You’ll also need to decide what type of mattress you want, which is where the “hybrid” piece comes in. All mattresses fall into one of three categories: All foam, innerspring, and hybrid.
All-foam mattresses are made entirely of foam — usually a type of polyurethane foam, like memory foam, but there are also mattresses made entirely of latex foam.
Innerspring mattresses are primarily made of coils, with minimal foam or padding. Though they aren’t as common as they used to be, our long-running favorite mattress, the Saatva Classic, is an innerspring. It has a Euro top to add some plushness over the coils, and Saatva sells a crowd-pleasing medium-firm model that it calls “luxury firm.”
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Hybrid mattresses are a mix — they typically have a comfort layer of foam over a support layer of coils, and many people consider them the best of both worlds. Hybrid mattresses work well for most people because they provide the comfort and pressure-relieving qualities of foam with the sturdy support and durability of coils. Because of their versatility, they’ve become one of the most popular styles of mattresses. And while they can range significantly in price, there are many affordable options.
With a combo of coils and foam, plus a firmness that works for most people, the medium-firm hybrid is plenty comfortable and easy to find. That why I recommend them to most people, especially anyone who could use some guidance as they begin their mattress search.
Medium-firm hybrid mattresses we like
Back sleepers, stomach sleepers, plus-size people, and people with back pain may want a firmer mattress
A firmer sleep surface can help keep your spine in alignment. But with a softer mattress, the heavier parts of your body might sink in more, which can cause discomfort. Stomach sleepers should be especially mindful of this, as their hips can sink into the mattress, causing their lower back to bend.
Firmer mattresses can also benefit people who suffer from back pain and heavier people, because they tend to provide extra spinal support and usually aren’t very “sinky.” However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need the firmest mattress you can find. We’ve got a guide to the whole spectrum of firm mattresses — which come in all-foam, innerspring, and hybrid variations — so you can find a mix of comfort and support that meets your needs.
Firm mattresses we like
Side sleepers may want a slightly softer mattress
When you lie on your side, your body weight puts pressure on your shoulder and hip; a softer mattress will help relieve pressure on those joints. While memory foam is known for its conforming, pressure-relieving qualities, keep in mind that not all memory foam is the same; some is luxuriously contouring, some is lightweight and unsupportive.
You don’t necessarily need to splurge on the most expensive memory-foam mattress to get a good one, but in my experience, there is a correlation between price and quality. Mattresses made with high-density memory foams will be more durable in the long run — and, I’ve found, often provide a more cradled, suspended feel — than cheaper options made with low-density foam. (This price/quality correlation generally applies to any all-foam mattress that’s relying solely on foam to support your body.)
Many softer mattresses are made with lots of memory foam, either entirely or as a layer in a hybrid. But if you want a softer mattress that doesn’t contain any polyurethane foam, look for one with latex, especially Talalay latex, which can feel fairly soft. Even some innerspring mattresses can have a slightly softer feel, depending on the gauge of the coils and the plushness of the cover.
Softer mattresses we like
Once you’ve decided on firmness and type, you can move on to extras like cooling and motion isolation
Lots of mattresses are marketed as having some kind of cooling technology. In my experience, how effective they are can vary. If cooling is a top priority for you because you live in a hot climate or run very warm, there are some good cooling mattresses out there made with breathable materials, cool-to-the-touch covers, or gel infusions to help prevent you from overheating while you sleep. But for the average person, the result is not always worth the extra cost associated with these mattresses. Using a fan, turning down the AC, or even splurging on a cooling bed system may get you further.
If you share your bed with a partner, don’t fret too much about feeling each other’s movements. Most modern mattresses have excellent motion isolation, meaning they stop movement at the source so that a tossing-and-turning partner won’t cause too much disruption. But if you’re very sensitive to movement, memory-foam mattresses are often the best at isolating movement. If you’re buying a hybrid, look for one with pocketed coils (the most common type of coil in modern mattresses) so that each spring can depress independently under pressure.
Cooling mattresses we like
Let your budget narrow your options
For a queen-size mattress, I generally consider between $1,000 and $2,000 to be the “sweet spot” for pricing. Most mattresses in this range are great, without being prohibitively expensive. Mattresses over $2,000 are often great, too, but you don’t need to cross that threshold to get a great mattress. Mattresses under $1,000 can also be fantastic, they’re just less common.
Materials will be the No. 1 factor in how much your mattress costs. Latex and latex hybrids tend to be the most expensive, so if you have a tight budget, this might be a category to avoid.
Memory foam can be expensive, too, depending on the manufacturer — a brand like Tempur-Pedic, which has its own secret formulations and is known for the quality of its foam, often has higher price tags.
But beyond the basics, finishing details like a cooling cover, certified-organic textiles, or side handles can also increase the cost of a mattress. If you want to save money but still get a great bed, look for mattresses that forgo some of these “extra” details without sacrificing comfort.
Under-$1,000 mattresses we like
If you haven’t bought a mattress in a long time, go lie on some in real life
While lying on a mattress for a few minutes in public won’t guarantee that you’ll love sleeping on it night after night, you should absolutely make an effort to learn what different types of mattresses feel like. Through testing dozens of mattresses as part of my job, I’ve come away with a strong sense of what I like and don’t like. Trying a few showroom mattresses is the best way to figure out what medium-firm versus firm feels like, or whether you have a preference for the feel of memory foam over latex. Even if you end up going home to purchase your mattress online, it’s a worthwhile exercise.
Mattresses we like that you can try in stores
More From Sleep Better Week
- Welcome to Sleep Better Week
- What’s the Least You Can Spend on a Good Bed? (Frame and Mattress Included.)
- Unisom Was the Only Thing That Helped My Pregnancy Insomnia
- How the Strategist Staff Sleeps
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