How To Buy A New Bed
King-sized or California king mattresses are made for master bedrooms and offer plenty of space for couples. Keep in mind that moving a mattress this large can present some challenges if not done the right way.
how to buy a new bed
You need just enough firmness to properly support your spine and other parts of your body. Firmer mattresses are usually preferred by back and stomach sleepers because they tend to provide better spine support. But excess firmness can cause uncomfortable pressure points and prevent your spine from maintaining its natural curve while you sleep.
On the other hand, too much softness will sag under the middle area of the spine, which can cause poor posture and lead to back pain. This is why a softer mattress is usually better for side sleepers.
Innerspring beds are prone to sagging and allergens, are noisy, and have a bouncy effect some people find uncomfortable. While memory foam mattresses tend to feel hot, can have an unpleasant chemical smell, and is prone to body indentations.
If your mattress budget is a bit larger, consider adjustable air beds, multi-zoned beds, and waterbeds as potential options. An adjustable air bed may be expensive, but it allows you to adjust your mattress to be as firm or soft as you want.
If you find adjustable beds too expensive, a multi-zoned bed is a good alternative. These mattresses are designed with different support zone layers. Hunt for a mattress that is softer at the hips and shoulders, but firmer at the mid-spine area.
Knowing what to look for in a mattress will steer you in the right direction when it comes time to make a decision. Remember that you will spend more time on your bed than any other furniture item in your home. A small amount of time spent researching your mattress choices can guarantee your comfort and well-being for years to come.
Sleep is one of the most important aspects of human health. Without quality sleep, our bodies are not able to heal and rejuvenate themselves, and our brains struggle to process emotions and store memories.
If you're thinking of replacing your mattress with a model that better suits your needs, you'll want to consider your sleep position, body weight, and other personal sleep preferences. Our quiz will help determine if it's time to upgrade your mattress.
A variety of factors influence the longevity of a mattress. A cheap $250 bed will degrade much faster than a luxury mattress, for example. Some key factors that impact mattress replacement guidelines include:
In almost all cases, the answer is absolutely. A new mattress can improve the quality of your sleep, which influences everything from your energy levels to mood to overall health. Some potential benefits of a new mattress include:
For example, twin XL bed is 5 inches longer than a standard twin-size mattress. An Olympic queen mattress is 6 inches wider than a queen. A California king is 4 inches narrower and 4 inches longer than a standard king.
The other option is a complete bed with the frame integrated with the headboard, footboard, and side rails. This creates a more finished look. The frame is often more decorative since it includes the side rails.
The quality of the material is also important. Solid hardwood is a very sturdy material, but a wooden frame with inferior construction might not hold up as well. For a quality bed, always check what hardware and joinery system is used.
If you have a big or reasonable size bedroom and your partner is always taking up all the space in the bed then consider investing in king beds or super king beds. If you want even more room and comfort, then opt for an Emperor bed.
Spring and slat beds are the best types of beds for back support. And always remember a good bed should respect the size, shape and specific needs of the sleeper. If, for instance, your back often troubles you when you are lying down, then choose an adjustable bed and sleep in a position that is comfortable for you.
Many people approach mattress shopping in the wrong way, by focusing solely on measures of firmness level or sleep position, considering only the price, or choosing materials and technology touted in an ad. But that approach might land you a not-so-comfy mattress that you could regret buying.
As the name suggests, an innerspring mattress uses a system of connected metal springs, or coils, to support the weight of your body. A top layer of soft, fabric-encased padding (aka the comfort layer) provides cushioning and contouring without the sinking sensation of memory foam. In general, a quality innerspring mattress offers good edge support, is more breathable (and thus cooler) than its all-foam counterparts, and comes in a range of firmness levels to accommodate a variety of preferences.
Most online mattresses come with a free trial period of about 100 days or so, if you buy it directly from the company. You might be required to try a mattress for 30 days before you can initiate a return, though. Third-party retailers, such as Amazon, department stores, and mattress stores, might have their own rules, whether you purchased the mattress online or in a brick-and-mortar store.
Some brands encourage replacing your sheets every year or couple of years, but the truth is that, if you treat your bedding well, high-quality sheets should last you for a number of years. In reality, sheets only really need replacing when they are damaged or uncomfortable.
Furthermore, you should stay away from using excessive amounts of detergent, as this can coat the sheets and make them feel rough. If you use bleach to sanitize your sheets, some experts believe the chemicals will eventually degrade the fabric, aging them faster. However, some companies claim that their bleach products are safe for use and will not damage fabrics.
Taking care when buying will also ensure your sheets last as long as possible, since certain fabric blends will last longer than others. Sheets that are 100% cotton are hardier and will last years as long as you care for them properly.
Mattress Clarity was founded in 2015 with one goal in mind: to simplify your mattress and sleep product purchase decisions with personally tested reviews. Looking to buy a mattress or sleep accessories? Searching for better sleep? We are here to help.
In this guide, I will go over the basics of selecting the correct mattress. Elsewhere on the site, I will go into more detail on each of these topics and more, but this will be enough to get you started. If you just want a recommendation, check out some of our top picks below.
The most important factor in finding the correct mattress is proper support. You need the mattress to push up on your body to counteract your body weight. So that means a hard, firm, stone-like mattress, right? Wrong.
Motion & SeparationIf you share your bed, you want to minimize motion transfer. If your partner gets in or out of bed, or changes positions, you run the risk of being woken up if the mattress transfers too much of that motion to your side of the bed. Try the mattress in the store with your partner, and have your partner switch positions while your back is turned to see how much motion you feel.
TemperatureAnother issue some people have is heat retention of the mattress. Most good mattresses these days have features to help mitigate this (advanced foams, phase change materials, ventilation, etc). The biggest risk here is with cheap memory foam mattresses.
Memory foam is probably the most recognized type of foam in bedding. It is a slower-response foam (meaning it takes time to return to its normal position). This has the benefit of not causing pressure to the body. Memory foam is perhaps the best pressure-relieving material that is used in beds today.
$400-600: These range from some of the nicer guest room mattresses to maybe the bare minimum for every night use by an adult. You will either get nicer foams on the top than the cheaper ones, or stronger coils, but not usually both. The ones with a 10 year or more warranty will usually have no pressure-relieving foams up top at all, while the ones that have some nice layers of foam will probably still be using the 420 coil Bonnell unit. These tend to be good for college students on a budget.
$600-1000: These are about the average range for every night use mattresses. These are where a lot of your Sealy Posturepedic and Simmons Beautyrest lives. You will get the better coil systems and advanced foams for coil mattresses. This is also the price range that the lowest priced memory foams start appearing. The direct-to-consumer mattresses I mentioned elsewhere in this article generally fall somewhere around this price range. If you find a memory foam mattress for significantly less than $600, you should be very skeptical.
Another exception: If you try a mattress in person, you can buy the same or similar model online if you can do the comparison shopping. In fact, this is the strategy I recommend in my mattress negotiation guide.
Cons: Like online, you often cannot try all of the mattresses (they might have a couple out on display), and even if you can, you will get no expert help in selecting the right one. They also have a smaller selection. Lastly, you need to be a member at some of them.
Cons: The retail prices tend to be higher (but again, most will have a price match guarantee and the most room for negotiation). The experience is highly dependent on how good the salesman is.
The prices of mattresses are negotiable at most retailers and on most brands. In mattress shopping, the general strategy is to play one retailer off of another. Most places have a price guarantee. So if you get a quote from one place, you can take it to a competitor and have them beat the price. Take that price to another competitor and get an even lower price. You can also look up the mattress online (like at US Mattress) and get the retailer to match the online price. This is the easiest, least painful way to negotiate on mattresses. 041b061a72