Pillow Top Mattresses Review Why Get a Pillow Top Mattress? If you find yourself dreading sleep each night, you might need a pillow top mattress. If lying in bed feels like you’re on a piece of wood, you might need a pillow top mattress. If you spend the night tossing and turning only to wake up with countless aches and pains, you probably need a pillow top mattress. Pillow top mattresses are the solution to solving the pains of a regular spring mattress, utilizing multiple layers of foam and pillow cushioning to give you that unmatched level of comfort needed to fall asleep and stay asleep. Three pillow top mattresses available are the Serta iSeries Ceremony, Sleeping Beauty and the Birchmere Plush Euro. Pillow Top Mattresses: What to Look For The best mattress is one suited to your body’s needs, and only you can determine that. Even the best mattress reviews and clinical studies will tell you how personalized mattress comfort is. If you have back or neck pain, you might prefer a healthy medium between firm and soft.
However, do your own primary research to find your optimal firmness level. Ask a doctor if necessary. And by all means, go to a mattress store to try out many mattress types. Pillow top mattresses offer many sleepers the perfect amount of firm support and soft body contouring, so be sure to try them out. As you examine these mattresses, keep in mind the following attributes. A pillow top bed contains an added layer of cushioning foam atop a traditional spring mattress. The density of the foam contributes to the mattress’s level of firmness, allowing even a pillow top to become quite firm. At the same time, the key selling point of a pillow top is how soft it can become. A soft top layer effectively alleviates pressure points and relieves the causes of pain that most often awake you from sleep. There's more to a mattress than springs. A quality pillow top mattress has high-grade memory foam that's odorless, layered for comfort and durable enough to go decades without losing its shape.
The best mattresses also have springs – or spring alternatives – that isolate movement and hold their form long after the warranty expires. The mattress frame and surrounding tacking should also be high quality as well as pleasing to the eye. Most people change positions while in bed at night, and a bed that proves too small will keep you from moving freely in your sleep. The standard dimensions of a mattress range from the king at 76 x 80 inches and the queen at 60 x 80 inches to the full at 53 x 75 inches and the twin at 38 x 75 inches. A king size pillow top mattress obviously offers the most room to stretch out, but since it also costs the most, other sizes are also smart considerations. A common issue faced by owners of pillow top mattresses is a gradual indentation or the loss of foam integrity. The presence of a dip in the mattress can become quite apparent and detract from a pleasant night’s rest, which means you need a warranty that will protect against common and uncommon problems alike.
And not just any warranty, a warranty that will protect it for years to come. Beds are significant investments, and as such they should be guaranteed to last. The pillow top mattress continues to prove popular due to the soft yet supportive surface it presents sleepers. After spending the night on one big pillow, you’ll never want to go back to spring top mattresses.Which is the Best Mattress of 2017? For more, watch our interactive video. You can skip to chapters on the different types of mattresses, tips for test driving a mattress, and more. Common claims that haven’t held up in our tests: Foam Layers Make a Better Bed More innerspring mattresses now include foam on top. But the foam is often too thin to make a difference on some of the hybrid models. Hybrid innerspring models that scored well in our tests had a foam layer several inches thick, though performance still varied. More Coils, the Better The better innerspring models we tested had 600 to 1,000 coils.
But even if one mattress has more coils than another, the coils could be made of thinner-gauge metal. You’ll also hear about coil variations such as Bonnell (hourglass type), continuous wire, and individually pocketed springs. None of those is inherently superior. Gel Provides a Cooler Sleep Some mattresses (noted in our Ratings) have a layer of gel-infused foam that’s supposed to provide a cooling effect. But that layer is buried beneath other layers. While our tests have shown that innerspring mattresses containing gel did tend to sleep slightly cooler, the reverse was true with gel-infused foam beds. Extra Lumbar Support Helps Back Sleepers A special lumbar-support zone is one of many ways manufacturers try to differentiate their product lines. But there’s no guarantee that it makes any real difference, and it hasn’t shown significant benefits in our tests. Forget About Comparison Shopping If you like a mattress at one store and ask elsewhere for something similar, you're likely to be steered toward a same-brand mattress claimed to have the same construction, components, and firmness.
But they’re probably not the same. Mattress makers offer some lines nationally, but when those brands are sold through major chains such as Macy's, Sears, and Sleepy’s, they're for lines exclusive to those chains. And manufacturers don't publish a directory of comparable mattresses. When we went to three bedding chains and asked for mattresses similar to those we’d bought at three department stores, five of the six were way off the mark. So use our Ratings as a guide, and insist on the precise make and model that scored well in our tests. Also check our Ratings of mattress brands and stores, based on subscriber surveys. If possible, lie on any mattress that you’re considering. Wear loose clothes and shoes you can slip off. Make yourself comfortable, and shoo away the salesperson if you’re feeling pressured. Salespeople should expect you to take your time. Spend at least five or ten minutes on each side and on your back (your stomach, too, if that's a preferred sleeping position).
Panelists who took beds home for a month-long trial rarely changed the opinion they formed after the first night. Shopping online or at a warehouse club? Tryouts aren’t usually an option, so checking return policies before you buy is extra important. Make sure the store offers a full refund or credit toward another mattress. Return periods, often called “comfort guarantees,” range from a couple of weeks to 120 days. Some retailers, including Macy’s and Sears, charge a 15-percent restocking fee. Costco and some online sellers provide free pickup if you want a refund or exchange, but otherwise, you’ll have to pay for it—or cart the mattress to the store. And you’ll be responsible for any damage. Once you’ve settled on a model, try to bring the price down. Many businesses, such as warehouse clubs, have fixed prices and won’t budge. But for retailers that do negotiate—particularly specialty chains—huge markups allow them to lower prices by 50 percent or more during their frequent sales.
Our recommendation: Any time of year, insist on a sale price you’ve seen for the mattress you know you want, and don’t be afraid to walk out if you feel you’re getting a raw deal. Don’t Be Bullied Into Buying a Box Spring You might not need it. For an innerspring mattress, the box spring (also called a “foundation”) is a wood frame enclosing stiff wire and covered with fabric to match the mattress. For foam or adjustable-air mattresses, it’s a box several inches high. If you're switching to a foam or adjustable-air bed from an innerspring, you'll need a boxy foundation that lacks springs and wire. Otherwise, if your box spring isn't broken and is still structurally sound, consider keeping it and saving money (roughly $150 to $300 for a queen-size). One caveat: Some brands require you to buy their box spring to receive full warranty coverage. It can range from 10 to 25 years and covers only manufacturing defects such as sagging and loose or broken coil wires.