How to find the most comfortable mattress for you

Here at The Original Mattress Factory, we feel that there are four elements that are important to keep in mind while shopping for a mattress: comfort, support, durability, and price.

Comfort is all about how hard or soft the mattress is. The feel of the mattress is determined by the type and the amount of foam, cotton, and other upholstery layers that are on the mattress. Support comes from the core of the mattress — usually either the innerspring unit or a high-density foam layer. Durability is determined by the quality of the materials used in the mattress, as well as the construction of the mattress. Price isn’t as cut-and-dry in the mattress industry thanks to artificially inflated prices. What you need to know about price is that an expensive mattress isn’t necessarily a better mattress.

Today, we’re going to focus on comfort and share our tips for finding the most comfortable mattress for you. Comfort is unique to each individual. While some would prefer their mattress be extremely firm, others want a mattress that is as soft as possible. There’s no one-size-fits-all mattress, so it’s important to take your time in order to find the right mattress for you.

Test the mattress out in the store if you can

Describing how a mattress feels (especially when comfort is unique to everyone) is really, really difficult. Trust us — we’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure it out. One person’s “medium” is another’s “rock hard” and another’s “way too soft.”

We do our best. We hope that our website can help you narrow down your options. But it’s not easy to understand how a mattress will feel to you until you test it out. The description online usually won’t cut it.

We always recommend stopping by a store to test out a mattress in person if you can. Wear comfortable clothing when you go to the store. Bring anyone else who will be sharing the bed with you — you want to make sure the mattress is comfortable for both of you.

Understanding that selecting the right mattress for you takes time, many manufacturers and retailers (both online and in-store) develop “mattress selector” tools to help direct customers to a specific mattress, supposedly based on the customer’s needs. Because comfort is unique to everyone, these tools are not able to help the customer select the right mattress for them — they only serve to push the customer into higher-priced mattress.

Take your time

When you’re testing out mattresses in a store, it’s important to take your time. Don’t just test the mattress with your hand or by sitting on the edge. You should test out the mattress in your natural sleeping position.

Once you have it narrowed down, we recommend testing out the mattress you like for at least 15 minutes before making your final selection. This will increase the likelihood that you’ll find the right mattress for you.

During those 15 minutes, you’ll also get a feel for the support of the mattress, which can be a vital element for overall comfort, too. A very soft mattress with no underlying support could end up causing you a lot of aches and pains down the road.

Give your body time to adjust

Once you have your new mattress, you may need to give your body time to adjust. Your body has been used to your old mattress that you’ve likely been sleeping on for five or more years. It’s a bit like breaking in a new pair of shoes. We recommend giving your body at least 30 nights to get used to a new mattress.

Check out Mattress Shopping 101.

Ready to start your mattress buying journey? Come to The Original Mattress Factory first. No one knows more than our team about what makes a great mattress great. Whether you buy from us or not, you’ll be better prepared to make a smart mattress buying decision. Find a store near you.