The Sleep Doctor team understands how confusing and challenging it can be to choose a new mattress. For this reason, our team has conducted extensive testing on hundreds of mattresses sold today. We present our findings in comprehensive mattress reviews, which discuss how each model has performed during our various hands-on tests. These reviews also cover pricing, sizes and dimensions, available firmness levels, and information about shipping, returns, and warranty coverage. Our goal with these reviews is to provide a well-rounded look at each model and help you find the best mattress based on your needs and preferences.
We’ll cover our rating methodology and how hands-on testing shapes our mattress recommendations. You’ll also find a collection of The Sleep Doctor’s mattress reviews below.
Choosing the Right Mattress
In order to choose the right mattress, you should take several factors into account. We’ve found that the most comfortable mattress for any given person largely depends on their body type and primary sleeping position. Your personal firmness and thickness preferences should also guide your decision. Construction is another important consideration, as each type of mattress is defined by different pros and cons. For most shoppers, cost is a key factor as well.
Sleeping Position
Your sleep position largely influences which mattresses feel comfortable. Whether you sleep on your side, back, stomach, or a combination of these positions, your goal with choosing a new mattress should be to sleep comfortably in your preferred position and wake up each morning without soreness or discomfort. Our team consists of people of differing sizes who favor different positions. This ensures that our hands-on tests represent all sleepers.
Best Mattress for Side Sleepers
Sleeping on your side can cause the head and neck to fall out of alignment with the rest of your spine. Most side sleepers prefer softer mattresses that sink beneath their weight, allowing the head, neck, and shoulders to rest on an equal plane. See our recommendations.
Best Mattress for Back Sleepers
Back sleeping typically doesn’t cause the same misalignment issues as side sleeping. That said, people who sleep on their backs often need medium, medium firm, or firm mattresses to prevent sinkage beneath their torso and hips that can lead to pain and pressure points. See our recommendations.
Best Mattress for Stomach Sleepers
Most stomach sleepers prefer firm mattresses. When sleeping face-down, the weight of your chest and stomach essentially pull your entire body toward the mattress. If your sleep surface is too soft, excessive sinkage can occur and you’ll likely wake up with soreness in your neck and lower back. See our recommendations.
Mattress Type
Every mattress sold today has a unique design, but most models fall into one of five general categories based on their materials and construction. Each mattress type is defined by certain qualities in terms of feel and support level, as well as unique pros and cons. You should consider your own needs and preferences when determining which type of mattress is best for you.
Types of Mattresses
Type | Description |
|---|---|
Foam | All-foam mattresses contain top layers of memory foam or adaptive polyfoam, followed by support layers of dense polyfoam. These mattresses “hug” the body by molding around your unique contours, and this can alleviate pain and pressure in sensitive areas. See our top foam picks. |
Hybrid | Hybrids contain comfort layers of foam or latex, followed by pocketed coil support systems. These mattresses combine the contouring and pressure relief of foam and latex beds with the sturdy support of innersprings, so many sleepers consider hybrids the best of both worlds. See our top hybrid picks. |
Latex | All-latex mattresses cushion and contour to the body, but latex is naturally responsive and won’t hug you as closely as foam. These mattresses are also popular for their low heat retention, ease of movement, and above-average durability. See our top latex picks. |
Innerspring | A traditional innerspring features thin comfort layers of foam or fiber fill, but the coil support core makes up most of its profile. Innersprings are bouncier and more supportive than other mattress types, and also carry the lowest average price-point among all five categories. See our top innerspring picks. |
Airbed | Airbeds contain air chambers you can inflate or deflate to change the firmness in different areas of the sleep surface. This adjustability lets you optimize how the mattress feels for your entire body, and most airbeds feature dual-firmness settings that allow your partner to do the same. See our top airbed picks. |
Budget and Quality
A new mattress can cost anywhere from a couple hundred to a few thousand dollars. In order to get the most value out of your purchase, we recommend creating a realistic shopping budget and focusing on mattresses within your price range. Click the links below to see our top mattress picks for different price ranges.
- Mattresses under $2,000
- Luxury Mattresses
- Mattresses under $500
- Mattresses under $1,000
- Cheap Mattresses
- Mattresses under $300
Preferences and Needs
Your personal preferences, needs and certain lifestyle demands should all factor into your decision when choosing a new mattress. Couples, parents, hot sleepers, and people with chronic pain all have special mattress considerations to take into account. We’ve assembled mattress guides that cater to people who fall into one or more of these categories. Visit the pages below to see our mattress recommendations for shoppers with specific criteria in mind.
See our top mattress picks for:
Reviewing Mattresses – Our Testing Methodology
Every mattress featured in The Sleep Doctor’s reviews undergoes a full round of hands-on testing. Our team performs these tests in our dedicated sleep lab. We use the same methodology and performance criteria to test and rate each mattress. To ensure unbiased reviews and results that are inclusive of all sleepers, the members of our testing team cover a wide range of body types, sleep positions, and firmness preferences.
Performance areas we test mattresses for are outlined below. Visit our full methodology page for more details.
Review Methodology | Description |
|---|---|
Pressure Relief | Mattresses alleviate pressure by cradling your body, maintaining even support, and promoting spinal alignment. Most mattresses that excel at pressure relief have thicker, softer cushioning layers. |
Temperature Neutrality | Temperature neutrality means a mattress provides enough breathability and cooling to keep you comfortable on hot nights while retaining enough warmth to prevent you from feeling too chilly. |
Motion Isolation | When you change sleep positions, this movement can transfer to other areas of the mattress and disrupt your sleep partner. Mattresses with thick, adaptive comfort layers tend to isolate more motion than those with bouncy surfaces. |
Edge Support | Some mattresses feature components such as reinforced perimeter coils or dense foam rails to stabilize their perimeters. This reduces sinkage and helps you feel secure when lying or sitting along the edges. |
Durability | The average mattress performs for seven years before it needs to be replaced. Firmer mattresses with strong support layers typically outlast models with softer layers. |
Ease of Movement | Mattresses that perform well for ease of movement push back against your weight when you move across the surface. Those that struggle tend to sink, making movement more difficult. |
Sex | We evaluate mattresses for sex based on how well they perform in other areas, such as edge support, ease of movement, and temperature neutrality. Most couples prefer responsive mattresses for sex that provide some cushioning without hindering movement. |
Off-Gassing | Off-gassing refers to chemical smells your mattress produces immediately after you unbox it. Most of these odors completely dissipate in 24 hours or less, but some mattresses emit strong off-gassing smells that can linger for days and create unpleasant sleeping experiences. |
All Mattress Reviews
Now that you understand how and why we review mattresses in-depth, please visit our review pages to learn more about some of the leading mattresses sold today. We’ll be continually adding to this list as we publish more reviews, so check back for new content.
Casper Wave Hybrid Mattress Review
About The Author
Staff Writer, Product Testing Team
Alison is a health writer with ample experience reading and interpreting academic, peer-reviewed research. Based in San Diego, she is published in the journal PLOS Genetics and the Journal of Biological Chemistry and has been a copywriter for SmartBug media. With a master’s degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Davis, she has nearly a decade of academic research experience in life sciences. She enjoys helping people cut through the noise to understand the bigger picture about sleep and health. Alison likes to stay active with rock climbing, hiking, and walking her dog.
- Position: Stomach Sleeper
- Temperature: Neutral Sleeper
- Chronotype: Bear
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