A detailed guide to buying a Mattress

In this fast paced world, relaxing and taking a time-out from work and responsibilities sounds more like a hobby than a necessity. Therefore, after a tiring day at the workplace, the time which is left should be utilized to take a deep and sound sleep so that you wake up afresh and ready to take the challenges of the next day.
To ensure a sound and undisturbed sleep, there are two main ingredients:-

• A good quality and comfortable mattress
• A well built bed

This post shall cater to everything that should be known before purchasing a mattress.

Now, if you are a frequent visitor to the posts on this blog, you might be probably aware that we take each topic from the grass root level and we will do the same with this post as well. We will begin with the basics first and then we will move forward to learning about the construction of a mattress and discuss each section of its construction in detail. After that, we will move on to discuss how some brands reduce production costs so as to maximize their profits and manufacture below par mattresses that are very non durable and often the materials from which they are built are extremely uncomfortable and may severely impact your spine and posture. Then we will proceed onto deciding which mattress would be the best for you, according to your needs.

So without further a do, let’s begin..

THE BASICS
A mattress is a thick pad which serves the purpose of supporting and maintaining the correct posture of the human body. A mattress is mostly placed on top of the base of the bed.
The construction of a mattress primarily consists of two sections:-

1. The core or the support layer
2. The upholstery or the comfort layer

CONSTRUCTION OF A MATTRESS

The Support Layer

• Spring mattress

The core of the mattress supports the body of the person sitting or lying on the mattress. The core is made up of steel springs often known as “coil” or “innerspring”.
The coils having diameter in the range of 1.3 mm and 1.7 mm (14 to 16-gauge) make up for a high quality mattress which provides the best balance between firmness and cushioning and provides the best support to the body.
Whereas, the coils having diameters above 1.7 mm (12 gauge) make the mattress too firm and the mattress no longer remains supportive or comfortable.

Now, this core or the coil can be of four types:-

• Bonnell coils: These are round top, knotted and hourglass shaped steel wire coils. When laced together with cross wire helicals, these coils form the simplest innerspring unit. The knots at the top and bottom provide stability for a supportive surface. Bonnell coils are one of the oldest and quite a popular choice among mattress manufacturers.

• Offset coils: These coils are hourglass shaped, similar to the Bonnell coils, but the top and bottom are squared off so the coils can fit together in rows. In assembling the innerspring unit, these flat segments of wire are hinged together with helical wires. The hinging effect of the unit is designed to conform to the body shape and delivers firm support and durability.

• Pocket spring: These coils are made by enclosing individual coils in their own flexible, breathable fabric pocket, resulting in reductions in motion transfer and noise. The fabric pockets are ultrasonically welded or glued together so the coils can move independently, conforming to the body of the sleeper. Before they’re placed in the pocket, the coils can be pre-compressed, giving them more firmness. Since the springs are not wired together, they work more or less independently, i.e. the weight on one spring does not affect the neighbouring springs.

• Continuous coils: These coils work in a hinging effect and are formed using only one piece of wire for an entire row of coils. This amounts to higher coil counts and usage of less steel in manufacturing the units. These mattresses are generally affordable, and usually quite comfortable, but they can allow for more motion transfer than other coils.

(Image of a mattress fitted with Bonnell coils)

Now, having understood the types of coils that make the core of the mattress as well as the two types of foams that are used in the construction of a mattress along with their advantages and disadvantages, let’s proceed to learn about the upholstery or the comfort layer of the mattress.

• Foam mattress

Foam mattresses rely on air trapped within aerated substances (rather than springs) to offer support and bounce. Foam mattresses generally consist of three broad types: polyurethane(PU) foam, memory foam and latex foam.

Among the two, Memory foam provides better all-round comfort to the body as compared to a PU foam and is well suited for people who suffer from neck/spine issues or others who prefer body hugging comfort. While, the mattresses built with PU foam provide better temperature regulation and the user sleeps cooler than in case of memory foam mattress. They also tend to be marginally more ‘bouncy’ than their memory foam counterparts. So, those who prefer less sunken sitting/lying experience would find PU foam mattresses a great choice.

On the other hand, latex - a type of rubber, provides superior shelf life than both Memory and PU foam, thus mattresses fabricated using latex are the most durable among the three. Latex mattresses are naturally resistant to formation of mould and bacteria. Additionally, they carry all the advantages of a memory foam mattress such as less motion transfer to the person sleeping beside when taking turns, pinpointed support for the neck and back. On the flip side, these tend to be slightly more expensive than the other two categories of foam mattresses.

• Coir Mattress

Coir based mattresses are fabricated using the fibers from outer husk of a coconut. Due to their organic nature, they are very well suited for the people who are allergic to synthetic substances. The greatest advantage of such mattresses is that they are very well ventilated and thus provide enhanced hygroscopic properties, i.e., they offer great air circulation and moisture absorption characteristics.

To enhance the comfort factor, a coir mattress is often processed with latex solution - a type of rubber, the product so obtained is commonly known as Rubberized coir mattress. This is done in order to enhance its comfort imparting property and to add some sort of the ‘bouncy’ nature of spring based mattresses in it.

The Comfort Layer
This layer is responsible for providing comfort and cushioning to the person sitting or lying on the mattress. The upholstery layer consists of three parts, these are:-

• The Insulator: An insulator is any material that acts as a barrier between a mattress's coil system and comfort layers. Also called the insulator pad, mattress insulation prevents comfort layers from coming in the contact with the coils. Without an insulator, comfort layers can get tangled in coils or coils can poke through the cushioning. The insulator is usually made of mesh or fibre and is intended to keep the middle upholstery in place.

• Middle Upholstery: It is usually made from materials which are intended to provide comfort to the sleeper. The most popularly used material is flexible polyurethane (PU) foam. Other materials include visco-elastic foam, latex foam, felt, polyester fibre, cotton fibre and wool fibre.

• The Quilt: The quilt is the top layer of the mattress. It is made of light foam or fibres to provide a soft surface texture to the mattress and can be found in varying degrees of firmness. The quilt is stitched to the underside of the ticking. A ticking is a linen or textile that is tightly woven for durability and to prevent down feathers from poking through the fabric.

Having learnt about the comfort layer of the mattress, let’s proceed to discuss the ways by which some manufacturers cut manufacturing costs to maximize their profits and in turn deliver a sub-standard mattress to the customers which are very non durable and are known to cause severe and often irreversible damage to the person’s spine and posture.

COST CUTTING TECHNIQUES

• Using poor quality inner springs. Since the coils or the inner springs are one of the fundamental components of a mattress and cover more than 60% of the total manufacturing cost of the entire mattress, it is also the favourite area of cost cutting of some manufacturers. Therefore, one must always ensure the warranty period duration of the mattress. The higher the warranty period, the less likely it is that the manufacturer has ill intentions. Also, as a rule of thumb, always prefer to purchase mattresses manufactured by reputed brands only. After all, health is one area of life where one should never compromise.

• Using an insulator of low grade fibre. Since the insulator separates the coils from the middle upholstery layer, the mesh or the fibre from which the insulator is built has to be very strong and durable so as to prevent the coil springs from getting in contact with the upholstery layers. Most buyers are not aware of the fact that the quality of the insulator material plays a major role in ensuring the longevity of the mattress. This is when the manufacturers find a perfect opportunity to make huge profits. They do so by manufacturing the mattress with an insulator material which is not strong enough to prevent the contact of coil with the upholstery layers for a long period and thus the mattress begins to deteriorate from the inside. Then, the brands make additional money when a buyer takes the mattresses to the service centers to get them serviced/repaired.

Now, let’s proceed to discuss some important things that one must take care of when buying a mattress and then talk about the various mattress sizes that are available in the market and which one would serve your needs depending upon the size of your bed.

MATTRESS SIZE GUIDE

• The mattress that you are looking to buy should be at least 8 cm longer than the height of the tallest person using it.

• The width of the mattress should allow you to be able to put both your hands under your head without your elbows touching the edge of the mattress or the person sleeping next to you.

The various sizes of the mattresses depending upon the dimensions of the bed are as follows:-

• For a Single bed, the dimensions of the mattress required would be: 72" x 36" or 6 feet x 3 feet.

• For a Double bed, the dimensions of the mattress required would be: 72" x 42" or 6 feet x 3 feet 6 inches.

• For a Queen sized bed, the dimensions of the mattress required would be: 72" x 60" or 6 feet x 5 feet.

• For a King sized bed, the dimensions of the mattress required would be: 78" x 72" or 6 feet x 6 feet.

NOTE:- The above dimensions may vary by a few inches from brand to brand.

In addition to the length and width of the mattress, height also plays an important role in determining the cushioning of the mattress. As a rule of thumb, the mattresses having height 4 inches and above are known to provide adequate support and cushioning to the body and hence, one must go for mattresses having height at least 4 inches.

Having said that, let us proceed to zero down on some of the best mattresses available in the market that are not only built from high-grade, durable materials that would ensure great shelf life, but also provide best possible comfort to one’s back and spine when one is fast asleep.

Note: In our constant endeavour to assist you in making an informed buying decision, we test the new launches of the products on multiple parameters, and if they stand tall in our analysis we periodically add them to the below mentioned list of our recommended products. So, if you plan to make the purchase at a later time, you may visit the links once again at the very time of buying to ensure that the purchase turns out to be a very fruitful one.

Mattress for a Single bed
Best Choice 1, Best Choice 2, Best Choice 3, My Preferred Choice, Best Choice 4, Best Choice 5, Best Choice 6, Best Choice 7, Best Choice 8, Best Choice 9, Best Choice 10, Best Choice 11, Best Choice 12, Best Choice 13, Best Choice 14 and Best Choice 15

Mattress for a Double bed
Best Choice 1, My Preferred Choice, Best Choice 2, Best Choice 3, Best Choice 4, Best Choice 5, Best Choice 6, Best Choice 7, Best Choice 8, Best Choice 9, Best Choice 10, Best Choice 11 and Best Choice 12

Mattress for a Queen sized bed
Best Choice 1, Best Choice 2, My Preferred Choice, Best Choice 3, Best Choice 4, Best Choice 5, Best Choice 6, Best Choice 7, Best Choice 8, Best Choice 9, Best Choice 10, Best Choice 11, Best Choice 12, Best Choice 13, Best Choice 14 and Best Choice 15

Mattress for a King sized bed
Best Choice 1, My Preferred Choice, Best Choice 2, Best Choice 3, Best Choice 4, Best Choice 5, Best Choice 6, Best Choice 7, Best Choice 8, Best Choice 9, Best Choice 10, Best Choice 11, Best Choice 12, Best Choice 13 and Best Choice 14