Should you’re trying to purchase a mattress, I needn’t inform you the analysis course of is advanced. To help with that, we have now a whole guide that lays out (no pun supposed … OK, partially supposed) the place to start. However for now, I’m going to stroll by means of the assorted varieties of mattress supplies. My hope is that by the point you end studying this, you’ll have a greater concept of what sort of mattress you’re searching for, which is able to make your closing determination that a lot simpler.
To place your thoughts comfy, let me stroll you thru my credentials: I am a certified Sleep Science coach and mattress tester of over 5 years. I can dissect a mattress blueprint quicker than pouring your morning cup of espresso, I’ve perfected my unboxing kind (as a result of mattresses are heavy), and I can recite the manufacturing means of main mattress supplies at any given second. It is a enjoyable occasion trick, however it makes me what I like to think about as the ultimate boss of mattress testing. My teammates additionally know their stuff (we sleep on mattresses we take a look at for every week or extra, then report again on our findings), which helped us compile this record of the best mattresses of 2025.
So, again to selecting a sort of mattress: Regardless of the recognition of mattresses in a field and the picture they challenge in our heads, it’s a lot greater than an oblong piece of froth you sleep on. There are 4 foremost varieties of mattresses: innerspring, hybrid, reminiscence foam, and latex. To assist me clarify these supplies much more, I requested John Merwin, CEO of 3Z Manufacturers (mother or father firm of Helix, Birch, Bear, Nolah, and Leesa) and founding father of Brooklyn Bedding, to weigh in as nicely.
Innerspring
Reality be informed, that is extra of a historical past lesson than a sort of mattress you wish to store for (except you actually love this sort of mattress; to every their very own). “Conventional” innerspring mattresses are the firm-feeling beds you in all probability have early reminiscences of, on condition that the make-up is simply innerspring coils wrapped in a canopy. It’s simply as squeaky as you in all probability keep in mind, too, because the coil sort used includes connecting each coil to work as one unit.
These are Bonnell coils, they usually join each laterally and vertically. All to say, if you lie down and your weight is pressed into the mattress, all these coils act as “one for all and all for one” and concurrently compress down. It’s not going to work wonders for stress aid like fashionable hybrids will, however it’s extremely responsive, which suggests it’ll pop again into its authentic form as you progress round. So in case you’re a sleeper who strikes round between sleeping positions, coils are a great characteristic to have, so that you’re getting near-instantaneous help.
Why aren’t conventional coils within the works with mattresses these days? In accordance with Merwin, upgraded pocketed coils far outperform conventional ones.
“In contrast to conventional coils which are wired collectively and transfer as a unit, pocketed coils are encased individually, which permits every coil to reply independently to motion and stress,” he mentioned. “This design minimizes movement switch, so when one particular person strikes or will get off the bed, their accomplice feels far much less disruption. It additionally supplies extra focused help, contouring to the physique in a manner that improves spinal alignment and total consolation.” When you can nonetheless discover innerspring mattresses with conventional coils on the market, they’re usually getting phased out in favor of hybrids. Reality be informed, I’ve solely examined lower than a handful of them over time. Should you’re lifeless set on this mattress sort, all energy to you, and have enjoyable in your private mattress treasure hunt.
Hybrid
Conventional coil mattresses have advanced into hybrids, which is what you’ll possible encounter on at this time’s mattress market (other than latex and foam choices). Hybrid mattresses are extremely customizable, permitting you to choose and select what you need in your mattress, whether or not that’s a mixture of froth and coils, latex and coils, and even a mixture of the three. Many mattress evaluations will use the phrase “better of each worlds” to explain hybrids, as this mattress helps you to pattern the design features of the supplies concerned. You will get the stress aid you want from reminiscence foam or latex on high, however ample help from the coil core (to not point out the aforementioned responsiveness from coil inclusion).
Courtesy of Nolah
Talking of coils and reminiscent of conventional mattress design, the kind of coil utilized in hybrid mattresses issues too, because it improves upon the design of the Bonnell coil. The key phrases to search for are “pocketed coils” or “individually wrapped coils,” which make up the principle help mechanism of a mattress. As an alternative of being interconnected, every coil stays in its personal lane (pocket, actually) and can compress uninhibited by the opposite coils round it. In different phrases, the place there’s extra weight, the mattress will really feel firmer.
That is particularly relevant for areas the place physique weight is centralized if you’re mendacity down, notably across the hips and shoulders. Pocketed coils are additionally meant to outperform conventional ones within the movement isolation enviornment, that means that if you transfer round, the person coil takes the warmth motion-wise and stops the mattress from reenacting a small earthquake. With the interconnectivity of conventional coils, it doesn’t take a lot for the sensation of motion to journey alongside your complete floor of the mattress.
