How to Choose a Mattress

Did you know the average person will spend around a third of their life asleep? 

Getting a good night’s rest is crucial for both our physical and mental health and falling short of sleep can take a serious toll on your energy levels, productivity and even weight.

Yet many of us regularly toss and turn at night, leaving us feeling frustrated and tired the next day.

 The amount of sleep you need depends on various factors including your age, health and sex. However, in general, most healthy adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, teenagers a little more but younger children need between 9 - 11 hours. 

During our sleep, we enter various stages, starting with light sleep and getting progressively deeper throughout the night. Whilst we are sleeping our bodies make repairs and work to replenish our energy stores.

In order to feel refreshed the next day, it’s important for us to experience all stages of sleep throughout the various cycles…feeling tired the next day indicates we experienced fewer cycles of sleep the night before!

 Your bed is by far one of the most important elements in getting a good night’s rest. Lumpy old mattresses, lacking in comfort and support are likely to increase the chances of you waking in the night and leave you waking up feeling tired and achy.

Here are some key points to consider when choosing the perfect mattress

Try before you buy...

We spend a third of our lives in bed, so it's worth every bit of time and financial investment to get it right! 

Ideally, always try before you buy. This is an important and key factor, take some time to try out different mattresses and consider a few points – do you sleep alone or with your partner – if you sleep with a partner, try the mattress together, if possible.

Lie on your back, your side and generally try to move about, as you do throughout the night. This will give you a greater understanding of the suitability of the mattress. Make sure you are comfortably dressed, take off your coat and shoes, and relax whilst you try the different beds available.

 Your sleep position is something you need to understand and it could be having a negative impact on the quality of your sleep, certainly as people get older and have more medical issues, sleep position is very important. 

Sleeping on your back can be very good for lower back pain but have a negtive impact on people suffering with neck pain. 

Sleeping on your side is good if you have an issue with snoring or suffer from sleep apnea. Sleeping on your side is also good if you suffer from heartburn or reflux.

Types of Mattress

What sort of mattress is right for you, there is a baffling choice of mattress types.

 We’ve listed a few here to consider, sprung mattress – open coil, continuous spring or pocket spring. Or you could go down the non- sprung mattress route, with options including Latex foam, visco elastic/ memory foam or polyurethane foam.

Don’t worry, we will guide you through the various options and find your perfect sleep partner. They all have different advantages and disadvantages so we will explain the differences and help you make the right choice.  Ideally you would be trying the beds in our showroom, so our expert team can guide you through the process.

At Cookes we firmly believe you must try a mattress to truly understand its features and benefits, that’s why we recommend you spend time with our team of experts to explore the different types of beds available.

Comfort is a subjective thing and understanding the correct level of comfort and support, that each bed can provide is personal to each individual. Some people want to experience the feeling of sleeping “in” a soft mattress whilst others prefer the firm feel of sleeping “on” a hard mattress.

Personal choice and the individuals’ requirements for comfort mean you really must try before you buy!

Sprung Mattress

Sprung interior mattresses provide a “core” support. Changing the spring construction, thickness of the wire, number of coils, height of each spring and quantity of springs, all vary the tension and feel of the mattress.

Sprung mattresses are normally regarded as a firmer mattress but they are available in soft, medium or firm tensions, this ensures everyone can find the correct level of comfort and support.

There are different types of Sprung Mattresses available - 

Open Coil, Open Sprung or Continuous Spring Mattresses

These are some of the most widely used types of spring options, Springs are arranged in rows and connected to each other top and bottom by a spiral wire or they are interwoven and linked vertically. These mattresses whilst supportive are regarded to be in the entry or midpoint of the market in terms of levels of flexible support and the comfort they can offer the sleeper.

Pocket Spring Mattress

 A pocket spring mattress contains smaller, softer springs that work independently from each other. They conform and adjust to your body contours, which helps to eliminate you rolling into the middle of the bed. Spring count can vary from 600 - 800 but can go as high as 4,000. Pocket spring mattresses are available in a range of tensions. 

If your bed is going to be regularly slept on and not a rarely used guest bed, we would always recommend investing in a Pocket Sprung mattress, which is a superior product to the open coil or continuous sprung mattress. This will offer you premium levels of comfort and support, through the use of advanced pocket spring technology and high-quality fillings.

 Mattress Fillings

Interior sprung mattresses use a wide variety of fillings to create different properties and comfort. Mattress fillings are chosen for their resilience, flexibility, absorbtion of body moisture and durability and does affect the price of the mattress. Fillings can include cotton, polyester, silk, cashmere, mohair, foam and wool. 

Non - Sprung Mattresses

 Memory Foam and Latex Mattresses are made from layers of different densities of foam. They are designed to mould to the shape of your body and offer different levels of comfort and support. They are particularly suitable for slatted bases and adjustable beds.

There are different types of Non - Sprung Mattresses available - 

Latex Foam Mattress

Latex Foam is a quality material derived from the sap of the rubber tree. The latex foam mattress has a resilient feel and has anti-microbial properties, that offer benefits to many allergy sufferers. The natural elasticity in latex foam means it recovers immediately when pressure is put on it. 

Visco Elastic and Memory Foam Mattresses

Visco elastic and memory foam mattresses respond to individuals shapes and have good pressure relieving properties. These mattresses are available in a variety of qualities and densities.

Polyurethane (Pu) Foam Mattress

Polyurethane mattresses are synthetic, petroleum based foam. The price and performance of these mattresses varies depending on the quality and density of the foam. Polyurethane is widely used and very versatile. 

What is the best tension Mattress?

Tension in a mattress is important to get right as this will ensure you have got the correct support for you back, hips and neck. This can also be a personal preference, some people like to feel cocooned in bed and others prefer to feel like they are lying on top of it. Most manufacturers will offer a firm, medium or soft tension.

Split tension mattresses are also available if you and your partner have different needs, offering a good solution for you both to get a good night’s sleep.

Too Soft

If the mattress is too soft, your body will slouch and your spine will be out of alignment.

Just Right

The perfect tension mattress will give you the right support and follow your body's profile, ensuring your spine is kept aligned.

Too Hard

A mattress that is too hard will create tension and pressure points throughout your body. 

A good test to make sure you have the right tension is to lie on your back and slide your hand in the hollow of your back, if your hand slides too easily, the bed could be too firm for you and put pressure on your hips and shoulders. 

If you struggle to slide your hand through, the mattress is probably too soft for you. The perfect tension mattress should allow a little resistance to your hand sliding through. 

It is advisable to purchase a bed 10cm longer than the tallest person using it, you definitely don't want feet hanging off the end of the bed or having to curl your legs up. 

The length of a standard UK double bed is 190cm (6ft 3") so anyone taller than 180cm (5ft 11") should opt for a 200cm length bed. A UK King or Super King bed is 200cm in length, so preferrable for taller people.  

Mattress Sizes

Single mattress is 90cm wide and 190 cm long, 3' wide and 6'3" long

Double mattress is 135cm wide and 190cm long, 4'6" wide and 6'3" long

King mattress is 150cm wide and 200cm long, 5' wide and 6'6" long

Super King mattress is 180cm wide and 200cm long, 6' wide and 6'6" long

A few reasons why a bigger bed is better!

A rule of thumb generally states, the bigger the mattress, the better you sleep - especially true when sharing a bed. 

A standard double bed gives each person about 68cm of space, less than a baby in a cot!

It doesn't often cost much more to go bigger and studies prove you get a much better night's sleep in a bigger bed!

Studies show people move about 60 to 70 times in one night, so a bigger bed will help to reduce the movement waking up your partner.

Bed Bases

A mattress can be used in conjunction with a variety of bed bases, such as divans, bedsteads, adjustable beds and bunk beds. Certain mattresses are better suited to certain bases, our Sleep Specialists will give you all the advice you need to make sure the mattress and base are suitable for use together.

Divans

Divans are the most popular style of bed base in the UK. A divan can be fitted with castors or legs, be upholstered in an approrpiate fabric and can offer storage solutions such as drawers or an open lift, ottoman. 

There are three main types of divans - 

Sprung Edge Divan

This is the most luxurious option and features an open coil or pocket spring unit mounted on the divan frame, these provide a softer, more luxurious feel. 

Solid or Platform Top 

These bases are rigid with a non - sprung top panel, often made from hardboard. Often cheaper than sprung edge divans and provide a firmer feel to the base. 

Firm Edge Divans

These bases feature a smaller number of larger, heavy duty springs that are held together within a rigid, wooden sided frame. These are a great option if storage is needed as the storage solution won't affect the comfort of the bed. 

Slatted Bases

Slatted bases are most commonly used with bedsteads. These can be rigid or flexible. Rigid slats will give the bed a firmer feel and make the mattress do all the work! Flexible slats are made from laminated wood and create a modest level of springiness from their bowed shape, flexible slats work with the mattress to improve comfort levels and prolong the life of the mattress. It is essential that the mattress you put on a slatted base is compatible. 

Adjustable Beds

Adjustable beds have become increasingly popular as people use their bedrooms to read, watch TV, use their laptops and mobile devices. Adjustable beds also offer many benefits for a range of medical conditions requiring a raised sleeping position, raised legs or aid getting in and out of the bed. Adjustable beds can have flexible, laminated slats or fully sprung upholstered sections and are available with a choice of adjustable options. A specific mattress is required for adjustable beds. 

Bunk Beds

Bunk beds provide a practical and fun solution to many parents with children. They are a great space saving option. 

Sleep Specialists

We know that's a lot of information to take in, we’ve designed the guide as a handy introduction to the world of mattress design and construction.

There are quite a few things to consider when setting out to choose a new mattress. It should be a long-term investment, to ensure you receive the health benefits of a great night’s sleep.

It’s taken our teams many years to become Sleep Experts, so we highly recommend a visit to one of our showrooms and enjoy the guidance and expertise of the Cookes team.

Please visit one of our showrooms or alternatively, please get in touch using our Contact Us form, by emailing info@cookesfurniture.co.uk or calling 0121 250 5050

Once you have chosen your perfect mattress,  we recommend the 5 Year Unique Protection Plan for total peace of mind. The plan includes a free mattress protector and protects again accidental spillages and any damage.

More information on our Furniture Protection.