Mattress Reviews

The predecessor of today's foam mattresses, spring mattresses are often referred to as "traditional mattresses". That's probably because spring mattresses date back to 1871, when Heinrich Westphal invented the world's very first innerspring mattress - just a few years after the first steel coil was invented for use in car seats. Innerspring coils were also patented in 1865.

Today, however, innerspring mattresses are still a popular option. Due to several metal coils tightly suspended within the mattress material, spring mattresses offer great temperature control, good support, and a lot of bounce. And since they are sold by almost all mattress brands, spring mattresses also come in a wide range of pricing options.

Here are some basic coil types found in innerspring mattresses:

Bonnell Coil - a distinctive coil type as it is shaped like an hourglass, this type of coil is laced tightly together to create a uniform reaction. Due to the wide portions of the hourglass-shaped coils, Bonnell coils flex, provides strong support and easily allows the sleeper's body to sink into the mattress. Within seconds of laying down on a Bonnell coil innerspring mattress, comfort and support is felt immediately.

Offset Coil - similar to Bonnell coils, Offset coils are different only because it features one side that is flat (it has a square-shaped "head") which allows the coils to intertwine closely together. It is designed to offer better custom contour support compared to Bonnell coil innerspring mattresses.

Pocketed Coil - is an innerspring mattress coil system that is encased individually in fabric as it is designed, not to intertwine or lace together, but react to pressure independently from each other. This type of coil system is sometimes referred to as "pocket spring", "wrapped coils", "encased coil springs" or, named after its inventor James Marshall - "the Marshall coil". As the coils are encased in fabric sleeves, the design allows the sleeper on this type of mattress a more bouyant, floating feel while resting.

Continuous Coil - thus referred to as "continuous" as the coils are constructed and designed so that each row consists only of a single piece of S-shaped, curved metal wire. Once weight is applied, the bed contracts and binds together so that it creates continuous support all throughout.

The 20th century brought not only the most notable inventions known to mankind (the Personal Computer and antibiotics, to name a few groundbreaking stuff) it also brought to the mass market the foam mattress. More easily mass-produced than spring mattresses and at lower price points, as well, America simply loved the latex mattress that was invented by John Boyd Dunlop around the 1920s. Foam mattresses did fall out of trend in the latter part of the 20th century but it has regained a new following as people now want to achieve healthier sleep and want to purchase more eco-friendly mattress options.

Here are some basic types of foam mattresses:

Latex Foam - offering both firm and bouncy support to the sleeper, Latex foam has the tendency to push back once a person’s weight is pressed into it. This results in superior support and better sleep. Latex foam can be made both naturally or, it can also be man-made. It's also known to be produced in an extremely clean manner, hence it's friendlier to the environment.

There are two ways Latex foam can be manufactured: Dunlop and Talalay. While both manufacturing types start by adding water along with natural, vulcanizing agents, Dunlop latex is poured in one go into a mold. This results in a more dense bottom compared with its top. Talalay latex is produced in a more complex manner involving pouring partially into a mold, and then vacuuming air out which results in the foa expanding to fill the foam. It is then frozen for the purpose of preserving both uniformity and shape. That's why Talalay latex is priced more expensively than Dunlop latex. Compared with Dunlop, Talalay is also known as the more modern manufacturing method of Latex foam.

Poly Foam - short for Polyurethane Foam, this type of mattress foam is actually part of full mattress construction and was introduced to the mattress manufacturing process in the 1950s. Poly foam is actually the most common type of foam used as a mattress top for innerspring mattresses. Also, one layer of polyurethane can be integrated as part of a full, poly foam mattress. Compared with memory foam, poly foam mattresses feel bouncier and springier. As it's lightweight, poly foam mattresses are known to be one of the easiest types of mattresses to move around.

Poly Foam is divided into 3 main categories:

Regular Grade Poly Foam

High Density Poly Foam

High Resiliency Poly Foam

While Regular Grade and High Density Poly Foam are only suitable to use as layers for mattresses, all three types of poly foams are combined to produce a full, poly foam mattress that provides the best kind of comfort and support to the sleeper.

Memory Foam - is actually a type of polyurethane foam which was invented by NASA scientists in the 70's for the purpose of improving safety in aircraft cushions. The medical industry soon adopted memory foam to use as mattresses on hospital beds particularly for patients struggling with mobility, used as mattresses for operating tables, and, in addition, to use as cushions for wheelchairs, among others. Memory foam became increasingly popular as it soon made its way into the mass market - with several common household items made with memory foam popped up into the modern market including memory foam mattresses for improved sleep.

What's the difference between poly foam and memory foam?

The primary difference is actually found in the chemical composition of memory foam. Simply stated, it contains more chemicals compared to poly foam, making memory foam much denser while poly foam, less denser which then makes it feel much springier and bouncier.

This type of mattress is actually the result of the combination of both spring mattresses and foam mattresses. The hybrid mattress is the answer of mattress manufacturers to consumers who are neither satisfied with purely spring or purely foam mattresses. Manufacturers of hybrid mattresses say that purchasing this type of mattress gives sleepers "the best of both worlds".

Typical hybrid mattresses are constructed with pocketed coil (coils encased in individual fabric) and then the topmost layer of the mattress is made from either memory foam or latex foam. The result is a hybrid mattress without the bounce and noise of a spring mattress yet still has the same supported feeling. The hybrid mattress is recommended for people who aren't happy with the "sinking" feeling of some foam mattress brands.

If you want to sleep well at night in every sense of the word, buying an eco-friendly mattress might be just the thing for you. Usually hand-crafted and processed in an extremely clean and eco-friendly manner, lots of mattress manufacturers offer nature-friendly mattress options that ensure you healthier sleep while contributing positively to Mother Earth, as well. There are several top-rated mattress brands that offer sustainable options from pre-production up to disposal (should you wish to discard the mattress in a sustainable manner).

Also known as an inflatable mattress, this type of mattress option may sometimes be used for swimming (as a pool float), for outdoor activities (camping) or an extra guest bed for sleepover for visiting friends and loved ones. Easy to stow away and easy to inflate, air mattresses are a great temporary bedding option for any household. However, experts recommend not to use on a long-term basis as this might contribute to back problems.

A novelty mattress type that made its way into pop culture (Edward Scissorhands deflating a waterbed was quite iconic) and was uber-popular in the ‘80s and early ‘90s, waterbeds were actually conceptualized and created in the 19th Century as a means of medical treatment. However, once it was patented in 1971, it shot off the mattress charts and comprised a large chunk of mattress sales during that time, turning it into a billion-dollar business. However, due to high costs and impracticality, the waterbed trickled down to just around 5% of overall bed sales today. Still, waterbed manufacturers continue to produce different types (waveless/semi-waveless) of waterbeds usually related to treatment or relief of chronic back pain or as a means to prevent nasty bed sores in immobile, comatose or paralytic patients.

Literally the mattress of the future, innovative sleep technology companies have jumped into the better sleep bandwagon and developed smart mattresses that intelligently tracks the human body's sleep cycles, sleep duration, oxygen levels, heart rate, body movement, and breathing.

Some smart mattresses also feature heating & cooling climate control functions as well as smart home integration.

While pricey, it's a popular choice among the world's elite athletes as well as those that require constant health monitoring, even while at rest.