Mattresses Reviews

The average person spends one-third of their life in bed, but we were surprised to find how little scientific research has been performed on mattresses, and how few experts make specific recommendations. The UK-based Which? magazine has the most comprehensive test of 17 memory-foam mattresses. While this is an excellent review that tests for durability (simulating ten years of use), support and overall comfort, few of the tested mattresses are available in the United States.

Consumer Reports has an extensive buyer's guide for mattresses. The magazine hired industry insiders who tore apart and analyzed 18 top-brand mattresses to reveal the differences between high- and low-priced models. In addition, Consumer Reports enlisted 59 staff members to try out different mattresses in a simulated mattress store. Four couples also tested mattresses at home by sleeping on them for a month. This massive article also includes interviews with mattress makers, visits to a variety of mattress stores and a Consumer Reports online poll. Consumer Reports also tackles mattress myths and the anatomy of a mattress.

What you won't find in Consumer Reports' article is ratings or recommendations. Even after three different types of exhaustive tests, editors found themselves no closer to determining the best mattress. Editors say that's because no matter how many thousands of people test mattresses, the results still wouldn't address your own particular comfort preferences. Many credible articles repeatedly give the advice that in order to select the mattress best for you, you will need to go into a store and test the mattress you like by actually lying on it.

The old adage that "firmer is better" when it comes to mattresses and back pain has come into question. A 2003 Spanish study of people with lower back pain published in The Lancet revealed that medium-firmness mattresses help back sufferers more than hard mattresses -- something to bear in mind if you have an occasional achy back.

Mattress buyers should also be aware that a new mattress flammability standard has been in effect since July 2007. However, there is no cut-off date for selling mattresses that do not meet that standard, so stores are allowed to continue selling them until they are gone. Mattresses meeting the standard must have a non-removable label stating that they are in compliance. The standard -- 16 CFR Part 1633 -- deals with resistance to fires started by sources other than cigarettes (resistance to cigarette-started fires is already covered by another standard), such as candles.  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Despite hotly marketed alternative beds, such as those from Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort, most consumers buy traditional innerspring mattresses. Experts say offerings from Sealy, Simmons and Serta are comparable, and all offer a large variety of features and prices. Experts say that ultimately construction and quality of materials is a more important consideration than brand.