You were probably conceived on one and you’ll probably die on one. You spend nearly 3,000 hours a year sleeping in one. It’s where you spend the most time with your partner, and where you first bond with your children. Hundreds of thousands of people are injured by them each year. In short, there aren’t many things in your home more important than your bed. Which makes it all the stranger that most of us give them so little thought. For many, a mattress comes a long way down the list of domestic priorities. But it has been estimated that a quarter of the British population suffers from sleep disruption, and often a bad mattress is at the root of this problem. The wrong sort of sleep can also cause cricked necks and bad backs – not to mention domestic tension. David Villaverde knows this better than most. As a furniture specialist at John Lewis on Oxford Street in central London, he spends his days showing people how to get a good night’s sleep. As I sprawl out over his show beds in the middle of the day, he takes me through the bed basics.
“The first thing I tell people is to slow down,” he explains. “Most want to get it over with in five minutes. It’s such an important item – you might as well take the time to get it right.” David says that you should spend around 45 minutes choosing, and lie on each mattress you’re interested in for at least 10 minutes. First I try the glossy newcomer to the market, the Tempur mattress. I say “newcomer”, but it’s a relative term for a product that has been around for 20 years. The beds world, you may not be surprised to hear, is a relatively slow-moving industry. The Tempur mattress is made from “memory foam”, derived from a material initially developed by Nasa to cushion astronauts against extreme g-forces. They have become hot property in the past few years. It’s easy to see why. As I lie on it, each bit of my body is absorbed and supported just as much as it needs to be. If you are used to a firmer mattress, you might find it a bit too squishy, but I think it’s great.
It’s like lying on an enormous marshmallow. Next up are two more traditional models. Jensen, the Norwegian company, is widely seen as the market leader in pocket-sprung mattresses. This is the classic design, in which the stuffing is held in place by togs. I test an “Ophelia” model. I ask if the name means that purchasers sleep in it alone and cry a lot. David doesn’t think so, and as I lie on this two metre-wide monster of comfort, I’m rather inclined to agree with him. In the middle of the department store, I have a sudden sensation of being in a five-star hotel. A Jensen bed comes in three parts – the base unit, the mattress and the topper. They work together to provide the right resistance. The mattresses are “zoned” so that they’re firmer in some parts than others. “Your bottom and your shoulders stick out more than other parts of your body,” says David. If your partner prefers a firmer mattress, or is much heavier than you are, you can even have different levels of tension on your respective sides of the bed.
The final bed I test is from the hand-sprung Vi-Spring range, “the Rolls-Royce of mattresses”, as David explains. This venerable British brand, founded in 1901, is the leading “hand-sprung” model. These mattresses are hand made, and filled with a mixture of lamb’s wool, silk and mohair (the Jensen uses a blend of natural and man-made fibres). This makes the mattress more breathable. “People sweat on average between half a pint and a pint while they sleep,” explains David. Like good sportswear, a mattress must be breathable, to let out all that excess body heat. Poor breathability is often the cause of heat itches, which can seriously disrupt sleep. I certainly don’t think I’d be disrupted on this particular bed. I feel as if I should be eating grapes, and ordering soldiers into battle far away. None of this technology, care and quality comes cheap. A top-of-the-range Jensen will set you back almost as much as a small car. Unless you’re a serious art collector, or have a loo seat made out of gold, your bed can easily be the most expensive thing you own.
“It’s an investment,” says David. “And though they’re all covered by warranties, I’d say 99 per cent of the people who take the time to buy one of these beds are satisfied.” Compared with the tetanus-threatening, mite-ridden, prison-style bunk I usually make do with, all of these beds seemed excellent. I understood Heidi’s joy when she goes to Frankfurt and learns that it’s possible to have more than one pillow. I could have slept the day away on any of them. But forced to choose, I’d go for a Vi-Spring. British beds for weary British heads. The Tempur original, without a frame, starts at £1,500 for a double and goes up to £2,175 for a king-size “Sensation” Prices for a Vi-Spring go from £1,000 for a mattress up to £5,000 for a set Jensen mattresses start at £1,950 and go up to £4,050 for an Ophelia bed and mattress set Five tips for choosing a new bed 1 Take your time You’re going to spend many hours sleeping on your new mattress, so make sure it feels comfortable.
2 Think about long-term value £100 spent on a mattress is just 2.7p a night spread over 10 years. Even £5,000 works out at less than £1.50 a night. 3 Check your allergies Even mild allergies to some fibres can seriously disrupt your sleep patterns. Mattresses are available to accommodate every sort of problem. 4 Hunt in pairs When testing mattresses, make sure you go with whoever you’ll be sharing it with, so that you get something suitable for both of you. 5 Pay attention to details Pillows, toppers, sheets and duvets all make a big difference too. Spend your money equally, rather than blowing it all on a mattress and scrimping on the rest. MORE: The best mattress toppers MORE: How to choose a mattressFinding the right type of mattress to suit your body and budget can be tricky, so we show you how to choose the best mattress.Memory foam, pocket sprung, latex, open coil, continuous coil... not sure which type of mattress is best for you? We look at the pros and cons of the main types of mattresses to help you find the best.
There are four main mattress types to choose from. Most mattress manufacturers make more than one type - different varieties go through a different manufacturing process and cost different amounts. Price isn't everything, though, as what is most important is what you as an individual find comfortable.Use our interactive tool, below, and read our expert tips to help you decide which type of mattress to buy. Once you've made up your mind, you can use the filters on our independent mattress reviews to find your perfect mattress. Keep reading for more information on the main type of mattress. Or, if you already know which type you want, find out how to buy the best mattress.Pocket sprung mattressIn pocket sprung mattresses, the springs are sewn into individual fabric pockets. Pocket sprung mattresses are the most popular type of mattress among Which? members - more than half of the members we surveyed about their mattress had bought a pocket sprung one.Pocket sprung mattresses don't mould to your shape in the same way that memory foam mattresses do, but that doesn't necessarily mean they offer less support.
They also tend not to be as warm as memory foam mattresses, which could be an important consideration if you tend to find yourself too warm at night.We've tested some great pocket sprung mattresses at a range of different prices, so you're sure to find one that suits you. Go to our Best Buy mattresses page to see the very best.Memory foam mattress/memory mattressMemory foam mattresses, also known as memory mattresses, are topped with a layer of temperature-sensitive viscoelastic material (memory foam). They can be expensive, but we've found some fantastic memory foam mattresses for less than £400.This makes the shape of the mattress change to fit the shape of your body, and it also tends to make the mattress feel warmer.Everything you need to know about this increasingly popular type of mattress can be found in our memory foam mattress guide. If you already know that you want to buy a memory foam mattress, you can find the right model for your budget and body type by reading our mattress reviews.
Continuous coil mattress and open coil mattress These mattresses are cheaper than other types of bed mattress. Continuous coil mattresses are made from a single looped wire Open coil mattresses are made of single springs fixed together by one wire. Because the springs move as one unit, you're more likely to be disturbed by your partner moving around during the night. The coils in these mattresses wear out more quickly than pocket springs, so you’re likely to end up rolling together eventually.When we surveyed Which? members to find out more about mattresses, those who own an open-coil mattress are less likely to say that it helps them to get a good night's sleep than those who own other types of mattress.You can find out more about our survey results, including which brands to look out for, in our full mattress brand reviews.Latex mattressLatex is a less common type of mattress which features a core made up of layers of springy latex. These mattresses tend to be more expensive, but manufacturers claim that they are more resilient and able to better keep their shape.