In the event you’re wanting to purchase a mattress, I need not inform you the analysis course of is advanced. To help with that, we’ve a complete information that lays out (no pun meant … OK, partially meant) the place to start. However for now, I’m going to stroll via 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 on the lookout for, which is able to make your ultimate choice that a lot simpler.
To place your thoughts comfy, let me stroll you thru my credentials: I am a licensed 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 means of main mattress supplies at any given second. It is a enjoyable social gathering 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 check for every week or extra, then report again on our findings), which helped us compile this checklist of the finest mattresses of 2025.
So, again to selecting a sort of mattress: Regardless of the recognition of mattresses in a field and the picture they venture in our heads, it’s a lot greater than an oblong piece of froth you sleep on. There are 4 most important 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 (mother or father firm of Helix, Birch, Bear, Nolah, and Leesa) and founding father of Brooklyn Bedding, to weigh in as properly.
Innerspring
Fact be advised, that is extra of a historical past lesson than a sort of mattress you wish to store for (until you actually love this sort of mattress; to every their very own). “Traditional” innerspring mattresses are the firm-feeling beds you in all probability have early reminiscences of, provided that the make-up is simply innerspring coils wrapped in a canopy. It’s simply as squeaky as you in all probability bear in mind, too, because the coil sort used includes connecting every coil to work as one unit.
These are Bonnell coils, they usually join each laterally and vertically. All to say, if 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 strain reduction like fashionable hybrids will, however it’s extremely responsive, which implies it’ll pop again into its authentic form as you progress round. So for those who’re a sleeper who strikes round between sleeping positions, coils are characteristic to have, so that you’re getting near-instantaneous help.
Why aren’t conventional coils within the works with mattresses these days? In keeping with Merwin, upgraded pocketed coils far outperform conventional ones.
“Unlike traditional coils that are wired together and move as a unit, pocketed coils are encased individually, which allows each coil to respond independently to movement and pressure,” he said. “This design minimizes motion transfer, so when one person moves or gets out of bed, their partner feels far less disruption. It also provides more targeted support, contouring to the body in a way that improves spinal alignment and overall comfort.” 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 advised, I’ve solely examined lower than a handful of them over time. In the event you’re lifeless set on this mattress sort, 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 doubtless encounter on at the moment’s mattress market (apart from latex and foam choices). Hybrid mattresses are extremely customizable, permitting you to choose 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 “best of both worlds” to explain hybrids, as this mattress permits you to pattern the design elements of the supplies concerned. You may get the strain reduction you want from reminiscence foam or latex on high, however ample help from the coil core (to not point out the aforementioned responsiveness from coil inclusion).
Courtesy of Nolah
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 help mechanism of a mattress. As an alternative 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 if you’re mendacity down, notably across the hips and shoulders. Pocketed coils are additionally meant to outperform conventional ones within the movement isolation enviornment, which means that if 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 your complete floor of the mattress.
