In case you’re trying to purchase a mattress, I needn’t inform you the analysis course of is complicated. To help with that, we now have a whole guide that lays out (no pun meant … OK, partially meant) the place to start. However for now, I’m going to stroll by the assorted forms of mattress supplies. My hope is that by the point you end studying this, you’ll have a greater thought of what sort of mattress you’re searching for, which is able to make your closing resolution that a lot simpler.
To place your thoughts comfortable, 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 technique of main mattress supplies at any given second. It is a enjoyable celebration trick, nevertheless 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 per week or extra, then report again on our findings), which helped us compile this record of the best mattresses of 2025.
So, again to choosing a sort of mattress: Regardless of the recognition of mattresses in a field and the picture they mission in our heads, it’s a lot greater than an oblong piece of froth you sleep on. There are 4 principal forms of mattresses: innerspring, hybrid, reminiscence foam, and latex. To assist me clarify these supplies much more, I requested John Merwin, CEO of 3Z Manufacturers (mum or dad firm of Helix, Birch, Bear, Nolah, and Leesa) and founding father of Brooklyn Bedding, to weigh in as properly.
Innerspring
Fact be instructed, that is extra of a historical past lesson than a sort of mattress you wish to store for (except you actually love this type of mattress; to every their very own). “Conventional” innerspring mattresses are the firm-feeling beds you in all probability have early recollections of, provided 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 kind used includes connecting each coil to work as one unit.
These are Bonnell coils, they usually join each laterally and vertically. All to say, whenever 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 reduction like trendy hybrids will, however it’s extremely responsive, which implies it’ll pop again into its unique form as you progress round. So should you’re a sleeper who strikes round between sleeping positions, coils are a superb characteristic to have, so that you’re getting near-instantaneous assist.
Why aren’t conventional coils within the works with mattresses these days? In line with Merwin, upgraded pocketed coils far outperform conventional ones.
“In contrast to conventional coils which might be wired collectively and transfer as a unit, pocketed coils are encased individually, which permits every coil to reply independently to motion and stress,” he stated. “This design minimizes movement switch, so when one individual strikes or will get off the bed, their associate feels far much less disruption. It additionally supplies extra focused assist, contouring to the physique in a method 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. Fact be instructed, I’ve solely examined lower than a handful of them through the years. In case you’re useless set on this mattress kind, 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 probably encounter on at present’s mattress market (except for latex and foam choices). Hybrid mattresses are extremely customizable, permitting you to select 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 opinions will use the phrase “better of each worlds” to explain hybrids, as this mattress allows you to pattern the design points of the supplies concerned. You may get the stress reduction you want from reminiscence foam or latex on prime, however ample assist from the coil core (to not point out the aforementioned responsiveness from coil inclusion).
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 assist mechanism of a mattress. As a substitute 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 whenever 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 whenever 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 the whole floor of the mattress.
