Mattress Buying Guide
Read our guide to sleep tight at night.
Mattresses are a crucial part of getting the rest and rejuvenation your body needs. From sleeping style to firmness, choosing from all the different types of mattresses available can be a tough decision. Our guide covers all you need to know about mattress buying, including a mattress size chart with key dimensions, so you can sleep soundly knowing you’ve chosen one that meets your needs.
In This Guide:
When to Buy a New Mattress
How to Choose a Mattress
Wayfair's 100-Night Trial
When to Buy a New Mattress
Here are some signs that it might be time to replace your mattress:
- Your mattress is more than eight years old.
- You wake up with aches and pains in your back or joints.
- Your sleep is restless; you toss and turn or wake up frequently at night.
- Your mattress shows visible signs of wear and tear (i.e. sagging).
- You hear noises or creaks when moving around.
- You roll toward the middle of the bed or you easily roll off the edge of the bed.
- You’ve outgrown your current mattress size or want to upgrade.
How to Choose a Mattress
If you’ve determined its time for a new sleeping setup, follow these steps to find the right mattress.
1. Choose a Firmness
Firmness is a crucial aspect of a mattress. We recommend choosing firmness based on your personal sleeping habits. You want the mattress to contour to the curves of your body while providing enough support to maintain neutral alignment.
Side Sleepers: If you sleep on your side, choose a mattress that has a plush to medium comfort level. This will allow your body to sink into the mattress and align your hips and shoulders, preventing pressure points. You can even opt for an ultra-plush mattress for additional padding.
Back Sleepers: Medium firmness is best for back sleepers. The mattress will contour to the curve of your lower back, while providing enough support to keep your body aligned and your legs from sinking.
Stomach Sleepers: Stomach sleepers need mattresses with a firm or extra-firm comfort level to keep their torsos from sinking in throughout the night.
Combination Sleepers: If you find yourself switching between different sleeping positions throughout the night, a mattress with medium firmness is ideal as it’s not too soft and not too stiff.
Tip!
For a more in-depth look at mattress firmness, read our guide Understanding the Mattress Firmness Scale & How to Choose the Mattress Firmness for You.
2. Understand Types of Mattresses
Mattresses are classified by their materials and construction. Each type has its pros and cons, so you should consider different factors like breathability, motion transfer, and durability. Keep reading to see how mattress types stack up against each other.
Spring Mattresses
Innerspring: These mattresses are typically made with metal coils, giving them a firmer and bouncier feel. Innerspring mattresses are ideal for stomach or back sleepers that prefer firm support.
Hybrid: Hybrid represents the best of both worlds – a coil base topped with foam layers. This combines the traditional feel and support of innerspring mattresses and the contouring pressure relief of foam mattresses. Hybrid mattresses are great for combination sleepers or those who sleep hot.
Memory Foam: Foam mattresses mold to your shape in varying degrees and allow you to move around without bothering your partner. The stacked layers of foam conform to the body by reacting to its heat and pressure. They evenly support your entire body and spread your weight across the bed’s surface, relieving aches and pains. Memory foam mattresses are best for side sleepers because they contour well to your hips and shoulders.
Latex: Similar to memory foam, latex mattresses conform to your body's curves. The material is composed of a natural substance which is harvested from rubber trees. Latex mattresses offer a lighter feel and more bounce than memory foam, but are slightly less contouring. The material is breathable, hypoallergenic, and eco-conscious.
Whether you’re replacing an existing mattress or upgrading to a new size, being familiar with mattress dimensions can make the shopping process simpler. Take a look at standard mattress dimensions of US mattresses using the mattress size chart above, or read our guide What Are the Most Common Bed Sizes? for an in-depth look at mattress sizes.
4. Consider Mattress Features
Mattress in a Box: Innerspring, hybrid, or foam mattresses are compressed, rolled, and placed in a box for ease of setup and delivery. Once it arrives, simply expose the mattress to air again, placing it on a flat surface and removing the plastic packaging. Watch it spring back to its usual form.
Cooling Technology: If you’re a hot sleeper, mattresses with cooling technology could be a simple fix. These mattresses use different features like infused foam, moisture-wicking fabrics, built-in airflow channels to regulate temperature and create a cooling effect.
Low Motion Transfer: Low motion transfer mattresses are designed to reduce the amount of movement when one person moves or gets out of bed. This feature is great for couples, especially if one person is a light sleeper.
Your new mattress also needs a base to be placed upon. Some beds feature a flat platform or slatted base, while others require a box spring for added height, support, and ventilation. You can place mattresses directly on top of platform beds or beds with closely placed slats for secure support. A box spring is another type of mattress support that is placed between the bed frame and mattress. Whether or not you need a box spring depends on your bed rather than your mattress, so it’s important to check the specifications of your bed to see if yours requires one.
Wayfair's 100-Night Trial
We know that buying a mattress online can be daunting. To ease your decision-making, all Wayfair mattresses come with a 100-night trial.
If you don’t love your new mattress within the first 100 nights, you can arrange a return in one of two ways: a free return in exchange for store credit or a refund to your original payment method with a return fee ranging from $49 – $99. Keep in mind that this trial is only available once per mattress order and is ineligible for mattress toppers, crib mattresses, air mattresses, and open-box mattresses. Some payment methods (e.g. financing payment options) may not be eligible for store credit refunds – if store credit does not appear as an option when setting up a return, this is likely due to your original payment method. Read more about the mattress return policy here.
