How do I choose a mattress?

Mattress marketing is dense with proprietary terms and made-up measurements. The things that genuinely matter are few: support appropriate to your weight and sleeping position, temperature behaviour, motion transfer if you share the bed, and a trial period long enough to actually judge it.

Step by step

1. Work out your dominant sleeping position.Side sleepers need more give at shoulder and hip; front sleepers need firmer support to keep the spine aligned; back sleepers sit between.
2. Treat firmness as relative to your weight.A mattress that feels medium to a light person feels soft to a heavier one. Firmness ratings are not absolute, which is why they're an unreliable guide.
3. Understand the main construction types.Pocket sprung: responsive, good airflow, low motion transfer. Memory foam: contours closely, can sleep warm. Latex: responsive and cool but expensive. Hybrid: springs plus a foam layer.
4. Consider temperature if you sleep warm.Dense foam retains heat; sprung and latex mattresses allow more airflow. This is a common regret with all-foam mattresses.
5. Consider motion transfer if you share the bed.Pocket springs and foam both isolate movement well. Open-coil sprung mattresses transfer it noticeably.
6. Buy from somewhere with a genuine trial period of at least 100 nights.You cannot judge a mattress lying on it for five minutes in a shop. The trial period is the most important purchase criterion.
7. Check the returns process before buying.Some 'trials' require you to arrange and pay for collection of a very large item. Read the actual terms.
8. Check whether it needs a particular base.Some mattresses require a solid or slatted base with a maximum slat gap. Using the wrong base can void the warranty and shorten its life.
9. Allow a few weeks to adjust before judging.Most people need two to four weeks to adapt to a new mattress. Early discomfort isn't necessarily a bad sign.

Tips

• Mattresses generally last around seven to ten years. Sagging, visible dips or waking with new aches are the practical signals rather than the age alone.
• Rotate the mattress regularly — every few months — and flip it if it's designed to be flipped. Many modern ones are single-sided.
• A mattress protector adds years of life and is far easier to wash than dealing with a stained mattress.
• If you and a partner want different firmnesses, zip-together mattresses or a topper on one side are legitimate solutions.

Common mistakes

• Judging a mattress in a showroom — A few minutes lying down tells you almost nothing. A trial period at home is the only real test.
• Assuming firmer means better support — Support means keeping the spine aligned. For a side sleeper, too firm creates pressure points and misalignment.
• Ignoring the base requirements — The wrong base can void the warranty and cause premature sagging.
• Judging it in the first week — Most people need two to four weeks to adjust. Trial periods are long for this reason.

Questions people ask