The Best Mattress for a Better Night's Sleep Buying a new mattress? Here are tips for finding the right mattress for you. You spend about a third of every day in bed. Whether that time is spent blissfully slumbering -- or tossing and turning -- depends a lot on your mattress. "A mattress can impact a person's sleep," says Michael Decker, PhD, RN, associate professor at Georgia State University and spokesman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. One way that your mattress affects your sleep has to do with the network of fine blood vessels, called capillaries, that runs underneath your skin. "When you lie on any part of your body for an extended period of time, the weight of it reduces the flow of blood through those blood vessels, which deprives the skin of oxygen and nutrients," Decker says. This causes nerve cells and pain sensors in your skin to send a message to your brain for you to roll over. Rolling over restores blood flow to the area, but it also briefly interrupts your sleep.
Ideally, a mattress that reduces the pressure points on your body should give you a better night's sleep, Decker says. Yet the ideal mattress is different for each person. Which Mattress Is Right for You? Finding the right mattress isn't about searching out the highest-tech brand or spending the most money. "A much more expensive mattress doesn't necessarily mean it's better," Decker says. A high price tag is a product of both the materials that go into the mattress, and the marketing that helps sell it. Instead of focusing on price and brand name, think about what you want in a mattress. "Selecting a mattress is very personal," Decker says. Some people prefer a firmer mattress; others favor a softer style. Although there isn't a lot of scientific evidence to prove that one type of mattress will help you sleep better than another, people with certain medical conditions do seem to rest easier on a particular mattress style. Anyone with back or neck pain should take a Goldilocks approach to mattress buying: not too hard, and not too soft.
"If you're on too soft [of] a mattress, you'll start to sink down to the bottom. But on too hard of a mattress you have too much pressure on the sacrum, and on the shoulders, and on the back of the head," says Howard Levy, MD, an Emory University assistant professor of orthopaedics, physical medicine, and rehabilitation. A medium-firm mattress, or a firm mattress with a softer pillow top, will give your spine that "just-right" balance of support and cushioning. An adjustable bed can be a good buy if you need to sleep with your head raised. Doctors sometimes recommend elevating the head to help people with COPD breathe easier, or to prevent nighttime heartburn from GERD. These beds can also allow you to adjust your knees and hips to a 90-degree angle, relieving some of the pressure on sore joints, Levy says. If you have allergies or asthma, you might have considered buying a bed labeled "hypoallergenic." "There are a lot of claims made by mattress manufacturers that their mattresses are hypoallergenic or don't support the growth of dust mites, but I don't know of scientific evidence to support these claims," says Paul V. Williams, MD, a pediatrics professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine and an allergist at Northwest Allergy and Asthma Center in Washington state.
Williams says dust mites will live anywhere there's food -- and that food is your dead skin cells. Instead of investing in an allergy-free mattress, slip on a washable mattress encasing. It will form a barrier that prevents dust mites from getting to you. A mattress encasing cuts allergen growth by robbing dust mites of their food supply, Williams says. And what about those space-age memory foam mattresses, which can cost thousands of dollars? There is some evidence they can help with back problems and improve sleep, but their advantage over a regular coil mattress is only slight. Where memory foam mattresses can really help you sleep is if you have an active bed partner who is keeping you awake, Decker says. Foam mattresses reduce motion transfer, letting you lie still while your partner tosses and turns. Test Drive a Mattress Before You Buy "You wouldn't buy a car without test driving it," Decker says. So why would you invest hundreds -- or even thousands of dollars in a mattress without trying it out first?
Take any new mattress you're considering for a test nap. "People should not be embarrassed to go into a store and lay on a mattress for 20 minutes," Decker says. For a more realistic test, sleep in the beds at different hotel chains when you travel. If you get an especially good night's sleep on one of them, ask the desk clerk what brand it is. When you test out a mattress, make sure it feels comfortable in every position, especially the side you favor for sleeping. The mattress should be supportive where you need it, without putting too much pressure on your body, Levy says. Time for a New Mattress If you've been having trouble sleeping, the problem might not be your mattress type, but its age. "It's really important for people to realize that mattresses have a certain lifespan," Decker says. Keep your mattress too long, and the foam and other materials inside it will start to break down, compromising its ability to support your body. Decker recommends keeping your mattress for no more than 10 years.
After that, it's time to go mattress shopping again. Today I’m tackling the million-dollar question, what is the best mattress for sex? For this guide, we’re going to look at the major criteria that make a mattress better or worse for sex. Some factors may not be that important to you, while others may be absolutely critical. We’ll be breaking down each mattress based on these criteria so you can find the best mattress for sex. Bear in mind, we’re not going to talk much about sleep in this analysis. You should definitely consider how a mattress feels and sleeps in addition to how it performs for sex. Check out our full mattress review series for more on that. If you’d rather skip the intro section and just get into the top mattress choices, feel free to jump down to the bottom. With that brief intro out of the way, let’s dive in! A mattress response time means how fast it adjusts to your body as you move around. Mattresses with slower response times can feel like having sex in quick sand.
An ideal mattress for sex will rapidly adjust to your change in movement and positions so you are well supported on a stable surface. The bounce of a mattress relates to the feel when it’s being compressed. A mattress with good bounce will rebound, as opposed to simply absorbing your impact. During sex, this can help to create a consistent rhythm that works with you and not against. Let’s face it, sometimes you need a certain degree of discretion. Some mattresses can be extremely loud during sex, drawing unwanted attention. An ideal mattress for sex will help to keep the noise to a minimum. The overall durability of the mattress will surely be put to the test during sex. A good mattress for sex should be able to standup to years of consistent amorous activities. Many sex positions require, or are significantly improved, by a stable and strong edge. Mattress edges that collapse under pressure can make for a less than ideal experience. The best sexy-times mattress will be one that supports pressure and weight directly on the edge of the mattress.
And lastly, we have comfort. If the mattress creates pressure points on your body during sex it can limit your desire and amount of time you actually want to be there. The ideal mattress for sex will be one that doesn’t create pressure points in any position. Below I have listed my favorite and best mattresses for sex. I’ll continue to update this list as I test and review new mattresses. Have a mattress you think should be added or tested? Drop me a note here. Down at the bottom we have all of our favorite mattresses for sex compared to each other in a table. The Leesa is one of my favorite mattresses when it comes to both sleep and sex. This mattress has a nice balanced touch in almost every area. Both the responsiveness and bounce are quite good, making for an enjoyable experience. The only area of weakness is the edge support, which is tough on most any foam mattress.However, it does a great job everywhere else. Read our full Leesa Mattress review here.
Brooklyn Bedding uses 4″ of latex foam to deliver great bounce and push back. This push back helps improve sex enjoyment on the mattress, as it behaves similar to how an innerspring would in this regard (however, not quite at the same level as an innerspring). Slightly better than average edge support makes the Brooklyn Bedding a good all around option for both sex and sleep alike. Read our full Brooklyn Bedding mattress review here. The Alexander Hybrid mattress is one of Nest Bedding’s most luxury level mattresses. Build from a high-end zoned coil system and topped with layers of memory foam and a thick quilted cover, the Alexander Hybrid creates a beautiful combination of great bounce, edge support, and comfort. The Alexander Hybrid has a quality and performance level that would put it in the $3-4K range in-stores, making it a steal at $999 for a Queen. Read our full Nest Bedding Alexander Hybrid mattress review here. The Purple mattress is built from 3 layers of foam and gel polymer.
The gel polymer is really what makes the Purple unique. This patented hyper elastic polymer creates impressive cooling, bounce, and instantaneous response. A leaner 9.5″ profile gives it a clean and modern aesthetic in any room. This mattress is a great choice for sleepers who want the added bounce / response, but don’t want coils. Read our full Purple mattress review here. The Saatva stands among a small group of online mattresses that are still constructed from traditional innersprings. That said, the Saatva isn’t just your ordinary innerspring mattress. Its coil-on-coil construction results in great support, durability, and impressive bounce. Additionally, Saatva’s euro-style pillow top has a delightful feel that adds softness and comfort without sacrificing aesthetic appeal or bounce factor. Read our full Saatva Mattress review here. The WinkBed mattress is a hybrid mattress built with coil-on-coil innerspring construction and high-quality foam. The innerspring core results in exceptional bounce and strong edges, both important factors for bedroom activities.
Truly a luxury mattress build, the WinkBed is on par with other high-quality innerspring mattresses. You could expect to pay $3,000+ for this mattress in a retail store. Read our full WinkBed mattress review here. The Loom & Leaf is a luxury foam mattress designed for maximum comfort and cooling. That said, it still performs strongly for amorous activities. Despite the multiple layers of memory foam, it has good bounce and is responsive. The L&L is one of my personal favorites. It’s a great all around mattress that can be enjoyed by most sleepers and lovers alike. Read our full Loom & Leaf Mattress review here. The Helix mattress is the only customizable mattress on this list. The Helix can be both very good or very average for sex. Since it’s customizable, your specifications, needs, and desires will dramatically influence how the mattress actually performs in your bedroom. The layers used in the Helix, notably latex and microcoils, help to solidify bounce and response.