Tempur-Pedic vs. Sleep Number Mattress (2022 Review & Comparison): Which Mattress Is Best For You?
Tempur-Pedic vs. Sleep Number Mattress
Tempur-Pedic and Sleep Number are among the top mattress brands in the market today. But what makes each mattress unique? How is it different from the other? And, more importantly, which one is best for you? With Tempur-Pedic known for its higher price points (above $1000), you may want to have a look at the Sleep Number for lesser-priced options. But, is its quality and design worth it? We pit these two mattress giants head-to-head in this comprehensive comparison guide.
According to a study, the global mattress market will outgrow from 30 billion U.S dollars in 2019 to 43 billion U.S dollars in 2024. These statistics are sufficient to conclude that the mattress industry is facing a boom, where new features and facilities are introduced to please the consumers.
In this race, we saw two top competing mattresses, Sleep Number and Tempur-Pedic, competing for the top spot.
The average consumer, who is not well aware, might think that all mattresses are the same, but the reality is far different.
With advanced technology, mattress producing companies have inculcated different advancements in mattresses to adapt well to the increased public demand.
Both Tempur-Pedic and Sleep Number have little in common but they differ when it comes to features.
The purpose of this article is to give valuable insight to you so that you can make informed and valid purchases, rather than going on a shopping spree and buying what looks aesthetically pleasing.
The types we discussed above provide varying sleep experiences, foams, firmness, comfort.
Let’s scratch the basics first.
Table of Contents
First things first
It’s important to debunk some myths before getting deep into the article.
First and foremost, mattresses won’t immediately seem ideal as it takes time for them to adjust to your body type and shape. Just like shoes, or shirts, mattresses require some time. So, until then you have to stay positive and bear with them to see results.
Secondly, you do not have to replace your mattress every couple of years. It obviously depends on the brand and the use but a general rule of thumb stays that a mattress lasts for at least 10 years, if not more.
Sleep Number
Sleep Number beds are known for their use of air chambers. The air chambers create a support core for sleepers and add an individualistic feel to the mattress.
What we mean by this is that each individual holds his preferred comfort of the bed. With Sleep Number mattress, this is possible.
You can either inflate or deflate your side of the mattress without affecting the other side with the smartphone app. The settings can be easily adjusted, and you can enjoy your preferred settings.
Generally, Sleep Number beds have two types of products 360 Smart Beds and Sleep Number beds (general).
The 360 Smart Beds, as the name suggests, have the adjusting function in which the air can be manipulated to optimize comfort at night and have a sound sleeping experience.
The details about the contents of these mattresses are unknown, as Sleep Number prefers to keep them private.
Tempur-Pedic
Unlike Sleep Number, Tempur-Pedic has mainly three product lines available: Flex, Contour and Cloud.
Flex mattresses are unique as compared to Contour and Cloud since they are supported with an innerspring support core. Meanwhile, Contour and Cloud are made with foam.
Before we advance further, it’s important to explain what memory foam means.
Our bodies have pressure points all around, and the job of mattresses is to keep them from trouble during sleep. Memory foam reduces heat and pressure and helps with better adjustment.
The Cloud and Contour products are made out of memory foam, with the top-most layer being TEMPUR.
This layer is considered to be of high-quality in the mattress market.
As the name suggests, their advantage is to have excellent response while contouring to one’s body in magnificent ways.
This provides the sleeper with a relaxing time instead of body aches and pains in the morning before leaving for work.
However, if you’re wondering about the thickness or the density of the mattress then this varies with the specific model you choose.
Before buying the mattress, make sure that the one you select has the right thickness to accommodate your body well.
Flex mattresses are touted for being bouncy and responsive.
The bounciness assists in keeping people delighted and also helps during intimate moments. Partners usually prefer Flex mattresses for the exact reason, it’s bouncy and the support core has innerspring coils that do not impede upon the mattresses’ responsiveness while adding bounce.
Like Sleep Number, Tempur-Pedic does not provide the exact details of their mattresses. We are unaware of the thickness and the density of the layers of the foams that are used to construct these mattresses.
Your best bet, as a buyer, is to select the mattress that does the job for a long time.
Considering the fact that a mattress usually lasts around 10 years or more than that, you have to sleep on the same mattress every single day. Don’t be that buyer who proceeds to buy impulsively, only to regret his decision a few months later.
Sleep Number vs Tempur-Pedic
Both Sleep Number and Tempur-Pedic are different in many ways.
Hence, their pros and cons need to be stated separately, so you can choose the one that’s right for you.
We are going to discuss different factors that go into buying a mattress that ultimately gives you that best sleep experience. These factors include the comfort or the firmness, temperature control, responsiveness, motion transfer, edge support and bounce.
Responsiveness
Sleep is an act of repairing and restoring the body. After a comfortable night of sleep, your body should feel refreshed and new, instead of ached and sore.
The level of responsiveness decides the cushioning, which manages pressure points on your body.
Generally, it is said that the spine’s alignment should be kept in mind, as back pain is a serious issue that heavy sleepers deal with.
Sleep Number beds don’t live up to par when it comes to responsiveness. Especially because their models are not provided with comfort layers, or are limited in number which decides the responsiveness of the mattress.
Although some models have catered to this demand by offering thicker comfort layer models and they may even appease some customers, but it’s still not good enough for people who desire optimized responsiveness. This is where Sleep Number mattresses seem to fall short of Tempur-Pedic mattresses.
Tempur-Pedic mattresses are great at maintaining responsiveness.
As mentioned earlier, Tempur-Pedic mattresses are constructed with TEMPUR foam, which manages and adjusts to the body size and provides the feel that you desire.
Their mattresses ensure proper spine alignment and handle pressure points (according to their need) very well.
Customers especially like and compliment Tempur-Pedic mattresses for having better mattresses because of this exact reason.
Temperature control
According to Sleep Org, the body temperature at night should be around 60 to 67 Fahrenheit at night to sleep comfortably.
Sleep Number beds are neutral when it comes to temperature control as it varies with the models. Generally, thicker models manage heat less effectively.
Moreover, the height of the mattress matters as well. If you prefer sleeping cool, then consider lowering your mattress and having less sink, as this affects the airflow, which directly decides the temperature or the “feel” of the mattress.
However, still, the mattresses by Sleep Number are not ideal for temperature control. People may prefer different types of foams with better airflow, especially in summers and heat-prone areas.
The biggest and the most valid issue with Tempur-Pedic mattresses is that they lack temperature control.
This largely occurs due to the TEMPUR foam that hugs the body tightly and reduces airflow.
Moreover, the foam also traps heat and produces a hot environment altogether for the sleepers.
This can make the sleeping experience irritable and even prevent people from sleeping. But this can be helpful to people who live in colder areas. The mattress will prevent them from feeling cold as there’s less airflow around the mattress.
Edge Support
Edge support is how a mattress feels from the edges when weights are introduced.
Sleep Number beds and their beds have varying edge support. This is because the edge support depends on your settings. With the inflation and deflation of the mattress, the edge support increases or decreases.
With Tempur-Pedic beds, it doesn’t look good since their models can’t provide resilient edge support at all except the Flex model as its innerspring coils maintain strong edge support throughout your use.
Firmness
Firmness refers to the comfort level of a mattress. While this fact is true that the most sought-after feature in a mattress is its firmness.
The biggest reason why buyers prefer to buy Sleep Number mattresses is that their firmness can be manipulated. This is especially important considering that with age, people’s moods and preferences plus their bodies undergo change.
They can then easily change the firmness of their mattress. The air chambers can inflate or deflate with air, as per your command.
This directly influences the softness of the mattress, making it harder or softer. That’s why Sleep Number focuses their advertisements on this feature the most.
Tempur-Pedic mattresses cannot be adjusted; one can only look for their preferred firmness in the models that they provide.
It’s true though, however, that the wide variety by Tempur-Pedic may just help you find the mattress of your choice.
Still, they can’t match the level of adjustable firmness like Sleep Number.
Bounce
As mentioned earlier, bounce is how the mattress responds to one’s weight.
Although that’s largely subjective, the material and the feel of the mattress matters too.
Generally, customers prefer mattresses that provide a decent bounce since it feels good and makes for better intercourse and adjusts to people when they alter their sleeping positions at night.
Sleep Number and Tempur-Pedic both fall short when talking about bounce. They are not resilient enough and their models lack the bounciness that people, especially couples, look for.
However, one model that seems to fit the criteria by an inch is the Flex mattress by Tempur-Pedic. The innerspring coils present pocketed in the mattress help to provide bounce.
Still, it doesn’t hit the mark.
Motion Transfer
People move out and move in at night due to various reasons. This can disturb one’s sleep.
Luckily, motion isolation can protect and contain the motion that will be felt by the other person who’s sound asleep.
One may think that since Sleep Number beds can be adjusted to each individual’s liking, the motion transfer or the vibration will be drastically reduced but that’s not true. Motion transfer is barely reduced with Sleep Number mattresses because they have less or no comfort layer to shield themselves with. This can be counted as a disadvantage of Sleep Number mattresses.
This is where Tempur-Pedic mattresses go one up from Sleep Number beds. Their mattresses, constructed with memory foam helps to keep Motion transfer barely noticeable.
If someone wakes up or settles down in the mattress, the other person won’t even feel how or when that happened.
And the Pros and Cons
Let’s brush through the pros and cons of both the products to see where they sit.
Sleep Number
Pros
- Adjustable firmness
- Better temperature control
- Edge support
- 25-year warranty
- Variety of models
- Less pressure points
Cons
- No bounce
- Poor motion transfer
- Considerably low responsiveness
Tempur-Pedic
Pros
- Excellent motion transfer
- Edge support
- Commendable responsiveness
- Bounce and resilience
- 10-year warranty
- Wide variety of models
Cons
- No firmness adjustment
- Poor temperature control
- No bounce
- Models soften with use
Frequently Asked Questions
Since we have covered most of the things that go into Sleep Number and Tempur-Pedic mattresses, we have a short FAQ part where we respond to the queries that are posed by the public to clear confusions.
It depends on your preferences. People who prefer adjustable firmness may prefer Sleep Number mattresses but then you have to live with its cons. At the end of the day, your personal preferences matter the most.
Although it depends on the model and the product line bought, generally Tempur-Pedic mattresses soften up with use. It takes around 30-60 days for the mattress to soften up though.
It’s because of the adjustable firmness. When an air chamber inflates or deflates more than the other then you may see an imbalance. Hence, the bed may seem uneven.
Mainly, the brand name matters when it comes to mattresses. One can say that the goodwill that they have built in the market, along with the individual pros of the product makes its prices go up.
It largely depends on the use and the model but a general age limit is around 7 to 10 years. However, their warranty goes for 25 years which is a big bonus.
Yes, they are. It’s because the advanced memory foam used to construct their mattresses help to keep pressure points at ease.
It may be that your mattress is experiencing difficulties or problems. You may want to refer to customer service since this may be a technical problem with the inner workings of the mattress.
Memory foam has a support layer of polyfoam, which is a bit hard compared to others. This may cause your back, especially the lower part to feel pain along with the innerspring that increases the stiffness of the mattress.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, your selection depends on you. There are various brands and producers out there who may promise to provide the best there is but reputation is what prevents people from making that decision.
It’s wise to prefer either Sleep Number or Tempur-Pedic as their models have individual pros and cons that can be compared and contrasted with the help of this article.
Which one did you like?
We’d love to hear from you.
