How to Choose the Perfect Mattress

Sleep: we all know it’s important; if you’re getting the recommended eight hours of sleep each night, you are spending 1/3 of your life in bed! And most of us get the majority of our sleep in our own beds. So, it stands to reason that choosing a mattress should be a pretty important decision. But, with so many different options to choose from, how can you make sure your next mattress purchase is the perfect mattress for you (you know, the one that will give you the perfect night’s sleep each and every night)?

Here are some things to consider, and tips to help you find that perfect mattress:

Firmness

Your mattress should support your body, so your spine’s curvature and body are aligned properly. A mattress that is too soft or too firm will leave you feeling achy in the morning. However you sleep, you should be supported appropriately, but a mattress that seems too firm to one person might seem too soft to another. Like Goldilocks, you need to find the mattress firmness that’s just right for you.

Age of your existing mattress

We recommend replacing your mattress at least every five to seven years. Older mattresses will start to degrade and lose their support, leading to uncomfortable sleep for you. Older mattresses can also accumulate dust mites, fungus, germs and other allergens (yuck!), all of which can negatively impact your sleep quality. It generally also makes sense to replace the box spring at the same time as replacing the mattress.

Comfort

When possible, take your new mattress for a sleep “test drive” in the store before you buy. Ask your salesperson for some privacy, and lie down in the same position you sleep in to test your comfort level. Ask yourself these questions:

Do you feel supported, and is your spine straight? If not, you may wake up with an achy back.
Does the new mattress feel like it is helping distribute your body weight evenly, so your hips and shoulders are not bearing too much pressure? If it’s not, you may wake up with specific aches in those areas.
Is the mattress designed to help regulate airflow, so your body temperature is at the right level? At one time or another, everybody has probably had a sleep experience that either left you feeling too hot or too cold; to the extent that the materials in your mattress can help with this, it’s worth paying a little bit more to be comfortable.
What happens when you change position on the mattress? If you sleep with a partner, will your movements automatically wake them up, or does the mattress do a good job of minimizing movements?

If it doesn’t feel right, try another, and another until you find the right one. While the first mattress you try might be amazing, the second or third one might be even better. A mattress purchase, like any major purchase, isn’t something you should rush headfirst into.

Budget

Figure out how much you can afford to spend on a new mattress before you go shopping, and make sure to budget for any new bedding or other accessories like mattress covers or pillows. If your budget is tight, consider adding accessories like a softer mattress pad. While budgeting is important, remember that you will be spending a lot of time with your new mattress, so it’s important to get the right mattress for you.

Final thoughts

Remember that the perfect mattress for one person might seem horribly uncomfortable to another, so there is no one true universally “perfect” mattress choice.

There are a lot of factors that influence sleep quality, including things like stress, room temperature and lighting, but finding a comfortable mattress is the first step in getting great sleep every night.