Quick Mattress Type Guide - What type do you need?

What type of Mattress do I need?

This is a question that everyone asks themselves at one point in their life or another. There are a few out there that provide a range of different things. They all, however, claim to offer you the best night of sleep you have ever experienced. So lets take a look at a few of the different types of mattresses so you can get a better idea of what you are looking for!

Memory Foam Mattresses

Memory foam mattresses come in several different flavors, latex, gel, standard, and all offer body conforming support. Standard memory foam mattresses are quite comfortable, but sleep a little hot, so you sometimes wake up in the middle of the night sweating pretty hard, even though it might be cold. Gel memory foam sleeps about the same as standard memory foam, but is a little better at heat dissipation. So you will sleep a little cooler. 

Latex memory foam mattresses are a little bit of an odd man out in this category, as a newer type of mattresses many people don't really know about them. The best thing to mention about these, would be the anti-microbial property. Latex is by far the most hygienic of these three types, since odor causing bacteria can't really survive in the latex environment. If you were ever considering a mattress protector... they tend to be made of a layer of latex that protects your mattress. 

Typical memory foam, lets you sink into it as you lay down and in doing so conforms to your body and provides the extra support where you need it. Latex foam mattresses don't do this... Latex mattresses are more springy and resilient so there is none of that sinking feeling as you sink into the mattress, it feels more like a plush mattress with great support.

Innerspring Mattresses

These are the classic tried and true style of mattress that offers a range of support, comfort, price, and sleep. These types of mattresses can range from very cheap, to a bit pricey and their support and comfort will be commensurate with what you pay. For these types of mattresses I highly recommend trying before you buy. 

Innerspring Mattress Comfort Levels

There are a great many different types of  innerspring mattresses. Pillow tops, euro-tops, firm flat tops, plush flat tops, cushion firm tops. The different comfort levels and where they rank for you is really up to you. They only advice I can give you here is know your comfort level and find mattresses that offer that sort of comfort. 

Always Examine the features! Some innerspring mattress offer fun little bonuses like gel memory foam packed body zones, that reinforce the middle third of the mattress with extra support, or across the whole surface to provide a much cooler sleeping area.

Hybrid Mattresses

These mattresses are designed to combine the best of both technologies into one mattress and address the problems that either has on their own.  With spring on the bottom, these types of mattress typically have better deep down support than a standard memory foam mattress, and with memory foam on the top, these mattresses don't suffer from pressure points in the shoulder or hip. Making them a lot more comfortable to sleep on than a standard innerspring mattress.

The only drawback to hybrid mattresses is that they tend to be a bit more expensive due to the higher production cost of combining the two types.