Mattress Buying Guide: How to Choose the Best Mattress

On the search for a new mattress but unsure where to start? Our easy-to-follow mattress guide equips you with everything you need to know when shopping for your next mattress. From mattress types, tensions and sizes to tips and advice on where to buy a new mattress, find out everything you need to know to make a confident and informed mattress-buying decision.

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The importance of finding the right mattress

Did you know that we spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping?

Sleep is important. In fact, sleep is just as important to maintaining health and well-being as exercise and diet. In the short term, a lack of quality sleep can affect mood, energy levels and concentration. But in the long term, sleep deprivation can be linked to many health issues including long-term pain, immunodeficiency, hormonal imbalance, diabetes, mental health disorders, obesity and cardiovascular disease. To support both short and long-term health and well-being, creating the right sleep environment for healthy sleep is essential.

This is where the importance of finding the right mattress truly lies.

Amongst other things, the suitability of your mattress has a direct correlation with sleep quality. Finding a mattress that provides the right level of space, support and comfort is the key to promoting healthy sleep.

Reasons you might need to get a new mattress

Replacing an old mattress

Years of sleeping on your mattress night in, night out means that over time, the mattress materials, including the springs or foam, may lose their original shape. When this happens, it’s likely that your mattress is no longer providing adequate support. The result? Maybe a few aches and pains here and there, restlessness throughout the night and a reduced level of comfort compared to what you may have previously experienced in the early days of owning your mattress.

But really, even if your mattress has lasted well structurally, the greater concern that comes with older mattresses is general mattress hygiene. Whilst you can protect your mattress from dead skin and sweat and split cups of tea with a mattress protector and regular bed linen changing, it’s not unreasonable to want to freshen up your sleep space with a new mattress after years of sleeping on the same mattress.

Moreover, after a few years, mattresses become subject to dust build-up, which can contribute to allergies and restlessness during the night. Most manufacturers recommend that you replace your mattress every 7-10 years. So if you have had your mattress for over a decade, you may be due an upgrade.

Replacing a broken mattress

A broken or sagging mattress is no longer able to provide your body with the support you need. You may wake up with muscle pain or find it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. If you notice any lumps, sags, or tears, it is time to replace your mattress. Rolling towards your partner at night or noisy or protruding springs are also red flags indicating that the structural integrity of your mattress just isn’t what it once was.

Finding a mattress that is better suited to you

We’re all different and what we need from our mattress changes from person to person. Maybe you bought a mattress a few years ago and you’ve never really experienced the comfort that you quite expect. Perhaps you moved in with a partner and their mattress is just not matching your required support levels. Or, maybe, you’re only just waking up to the benefits of actually investing in a mattress that works to provide proper support to your body during the night. Whatever your reason, you deserve great sleep and that comes from finding a mattress that best suits you.

Upgrading to a bigger bed

Do you find yourself stretching out during your sleep? Are you sleep-deprived because your bed feels cramped? Or perhaps you and your sleep partner just need a little more space at night to rest without disturbing one another. An upgrade to a bigger bed can significantly improve the quality of your sleep. Even if you only have the space to choose the next bed size up, there’s great potential to be found in an extra few inches of sleep space.

What to look for when buying a mattress

Before you start the search for a new mattress, it helps to run a bit of a self-assessment of your mattress needs. Ask yourself the following questions:

What is my sleep position?
Do you sleep mostly on your side, back or front? Your sleep position is the position you typically wake up in. Our sleep position has a big part to play in the level of support and cushioning we require from our mattress.

What is my body composition?
Consider your height to understand whether or not you’re someone who needs a little extra legroom. You also need to consider your size and weight. Those with a larger body composition often benefit from a firmer mattress tension to allow correct spine alignment.

Do I have any sleep struggles?
Maybe you and your partner are feeling too cramped, perhaps you have allergies or maybe you find yourself getting too warm and sweaty at night. Consider your common sleep struggles to identify what you really need from your next mattress.

What different types of mattresses have you had a positive experience with in the past?
Cast your mind back. Maybe you can think of a time you had an amazing night’s sleep in a hotel. Perhaps you stayed at a relative’s or friend’s house and liked the feel of their mattress. Try to remember how these positive sleep experience mattresses felt and if you can make a mental note of their size, tension and mattress style.

What is my budget?
How much would you like to spend on your next mattress? This is important, particularly if you’re considering pairing your new mattress with a divan or bed frame.

The different types of mattresses explained

Wondering which type of mattress to choose? Here’s an overview of what to expect from the most popular types of mattresses currently available on the mattress market.

Pocket sprung mattress

A pocket-sprung mattress is one of the more traditional styles of mattress. It’s a tried and tested choice that has been a popular favourite amongst mattress buyers for years.

The term ‘pocket spring’ refers to the mattress’ core structural composition. The mattress is filled with springs, each individually sitting inside its own little fabric pocket. This allows each spring to work independently of one another, reacting to movement only when pressure is applied to the individual spring itself.

The great benefit of this is that whilst the sleeper moves, the mattress works to provide a highly responsive and personalised level of support. From spring count and spring gauge (meaning the ‘springiness’ of the springs) to mattress thickness and additional mattress materials, pocket-sprung mattresses are a highly customisable option offering a vast choice of tensions and support levels.

What is the difference between an open coil and a pocket-sprung mattress?

An open coil or a miracoil mattress contains springs that move simultaneously. The springs in these mattresses are not sat in an individual pocket, unlike those in a pocket spring mattress.

Memory foam mattress

This super moulding mattress material was first designed for use by NASA. They included memory foam within their spaceship seat, seatbelt, helmet and shoe designs. Memory foam mattresses first hit the mattress market in the 90s, when Fagerdala World Foams released their flagship Tempur Pedic Swedish mattress. Over the past 30 years, they have become an increasingly popular mattress choice.

Memory foam mattresses are made entirely from memory foam, or specifically, polyurethane foam. When in contact with heat, the foam softens and slowly moulds around the body to provide a responsive, pressure-relieving sleep experience whilst evenly distributing weight across the mattress surface. The foam structure then returns to its original shape, once pressure is removed.

Hybrid mattress

Hybrid mattresses mix and match between different mattress styles. For example, a pocket sprung mattress may include a gel layer to enhance the cooling properties of the mattress design, or a memory foam mattress may incorporate pocket springs to increase the firmness of the mattress whilst maintaining a softer and more contouring feel on the body.

There’s no ‘one type’ of hybrid mattress. They are all different. However, the design is largely dependent on the type of sleep experience the manufacturer is aiming to provide. They help sleepers, with specific sleep needs, to find a mattress that offers the right level of support and comfort, to create the optimum sleep environment for quality sleep.

Gel mattress

Gel mattresses are a specific type of hybrid mattresses. They are memory foam or sprung mattresses that feature a layer of cooling gel. This works to help regulate body temperature during the night, providing a cooler night’s sleep.

Latex mattress

A latex mattress is exactly what it says on the tin; a mattress made from latex. Latex is a natural material derived from rubber trees, and in recent years, it has proved to be a fantastic mattress material for a great range of reasons.

Similarly to a memory foam mattress, it offers a ‘sink in’ feeling, ideal for supporting pressure points. But, it is typically less compressive and a little more supportive than a classic memory foam mattress. Latex mattresses are also great for allergy sufferers, as the latex material is particularly effective at promoting air circulation whilst being a fairly hostile environment for dust, mould, mites and bed bugs.

Natural and organic mattress

A natural or organic mattress is one that incorporates natural or organically produced materials, such as wool, cotton, mohair, silk and cashmere. Many of these materials have been used in mattress manufacturing for centuries and have a range of superb benefits in creating a comfortable, breathable, environmentally friendly and luxurious sleep environment.

The types of natural materials included depend on the mattress and brand that you choose. Different structural compositions of materials work to create different mattress tensions and overall mattress design properties.

Roll-up and boxed mattresses

The bed-in-a-box mattress has become an increasingly popular choice. Convenience, affordability and great quality are three reasons why the bed-in-a-box mattress has spiked in popularity over recent years. Whilst you don’t quite get the same level of bespoke comfort as you do with many other styles of mattress, boxed mattresses are available in a choice of tensions suitable for different sleepers.

Orthopaedic mattresses

Orthopaedic mattresses are certainly not designed to fix body alignment issues or pains caused by illness or injury, however, they are made with such things in mind. A typical orthopaedic mattress is designed to be slightly firmer whilst providing a little extra targeted support to the back, hips and neck. These mattresses work to alleviate stress on joints, whilst helping the body to relax in a position that supports correct spinal alignment.

Choosing the right mattress tension

Once you’ve chosen the type of properties you need from your mattress and selected a suitable mattress type, the next step is to decide what tension you need.

Which mattress tension do I need?

Here are the two things you need to consider when choosing mattress tension:

1 – Body composition – how much do you weigh and what is your body shape (tall, petite, curvaceous)

2 – Sleep position -are you a front, back or side sleeper?

Body composition

Your body weight will affect what type of mattress you choose. The heavier your body weight, the firmer the tension you will require. Heavier sleepers who choose a softer tension mattress will not get adequate support. Equally, those with a lighter body weight may not feel the benefits of a mattress that is too firm.

Here are some weight and tension guidelines that may help you to choose:

Soft: children and adults up to 9 stone
Medium/medium firm: 9-16 stone
Firm: 16 – 20 stone
Extra firm: 20+ stone

Sleep position
Side sleepers: side sleepers must ensure that their shoulders and hips are given extra cushioning support whilst ensuring the spine remains aligned.

Side sleepers are typically most comfortable on a soft to medium mattress.

Back and front sleepers: the lower back must be adequately supported. Whilst front sleeping is not generally recommended due to the pressure it can put on the neck, if you’re a natural front sleeper, at some point during the night, you’ll likely roll into your front and therefore you need to be supported as best as possible.

Front and back sleepers are typically most comfortable on a medium-firm to firm mattress.

Choosing the right mattress size

Size matters when it comes to choosing a mattress that will work to provide you with a comfortable sleep environment for healthy sleep. Generally speaking, you should aim for the largest mattress size that you can afford and fit in your bedroom.

A bed that is too small may leave you and your sleep partner feeling cramped at night, causing sleep disturbance.

Here is a mattress size guide to help you choose the right mattress:

How to look after your new mattress

Once you’ve bought a new mattress, it is important to look after it. There are a few things you can do to keep it clean, comfortable and supportive.

Choose the right base

Some mattresses are designed to be paired with certain bed bases. In fact some manufacturers will not provide a warranty for your mattress unless it’s been paired with the right base. Be sure to find out what kind of base is needed to support the structural integrity and longevity of your mattress.

Use a mattress protector

Add an additional layer of protection to your mattress with a mattress protector. Not only do they work to protect the mattress from spillages, sweat, dust and dirt, but they also help to ensure a more hygienic and odour-free night’s sleep as they can be washed frequently.

Let your mattress breathe

Between changing your sheets, allow your mattress a few hours to breathe. Some also recommend pulling back your bedsheets, before making your bed to allow the air to get to the mattress for a few hours after sleeping in it.

Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines

Some mattresses need to be turned or rotated every once in a while. You should always read the manufacturer’s instructions and follow their guidelines to get the best from your new mattress purchase.

Avoid jumping or standing on your bed
Beds are not designed to be used as trampolines. You should avoid jumping or standing on your bed as this could damage springs, internal materials or the slats on your bed base.

Do not try to bend or roll your mattress
If you need to move the mattress or transport it elsewhere, be very careful not to bend or roll the mattress in the process.

Shop online or instore from our range of mattresses

If the time has come to begin the search for your next mattress, then why not check out the fantastic range of mattresses at Beds Are Uzzz? Choose from some of the UK’s most popular mattress brands including Vispring, Tempur, Hypnos and Relyon to find a mattress that falls within your budget and sleep needs. You can shop online, or visit your local Beds Are Uzzz showroom.