This is the quite the question considering all types of mattresses that are out for consumers to choose these days. Let’s look at the choices…
Traditional innerspring mattresses. This list is even quite long and would include. Bonnell coils Pocketed coils (made famous by Simmons BeautyRest) Continuous coils (made famous by Serta) LFK type coils (made famous by Sealy) Foam mattresses Conventional Urethane Foam Memory Foam (made famous by TempurPedic) Latex Foam (known by industry insiders as the mattress maker’s bed of choice) Gel Foam (made famous by Serta I Comfort) Combinations of all of the above. Hybrid, this is combination of any or all of the above products (Serta I Series as an example) Airbeds (made famous by Sleep Number) Waterbeds
So, as you can see there are many choices. What is a better question is what is the best mattress for you? The lion’s share of product sold still is with the first category of traditional innerspring mattresses. Within that category there are single sided, double sided and foam encased products. Single sided foam encased innerspring mattresses offer the convenience of not having to flip every three months (mattresses can still be rotated head to foot). These mattresses offer superior edge support and will generally have less side-to-side motion particularly in the pocketed version. The argument for double sided mattresses is more durability due to the fact that the mattress can be flipped which generally extends the life of the mattress offering more durability (kind of like rotating the tires on your car).
As far as all foam mattresses are concerned, this is the fastest growing category of all the mattresses above, particularly memory foam mattresses. Memory foam has been popularized by Tempurpedic and has taken the mattress industry by storm due to Tempurpedic meteoric rise in a very short period of time. There are plenty of new products available in the memory foam category and now almost every major mattress manufacturer offering a version of this product. The addition of memory foam gel and memory foam phase change gel now offer new foams that sleep cooler that the original memory foam mattresses. Memory foam offers a conforming surface that is supposed to adapt to each sleeper, offering pressure point relief on the surface of the mattress. These beds have very little motion transfer as well, due the energy absorption characteristics of memory foam also known as slow recovery foam.
Latex as referenced above as the mattress maker’s bed of choice is truly slept on by countless industry insiders. Latex is very durable and resilient unlike memory foam. There are several types of latex as well made from either 100% synthetic latex, 100& natural latex or a blend of both. The two latex categories are Talalay process (process that homogenizes the cell structure using extreme heat and extreme cold). The other type is known as Dunlop process which does not introduce heating and cooling during vulcanization. There are all Talalay, all Dunlop, and combinations of Talalay and Dunlop latex mattresses. Generally softer layers of latex are used in surface layers with medium firmness in transitional or intermediate layers and firmer layers for the support layers deep down in the mattress. All and all latex can be very supportive as well as pressure relieving on the surface of the mattress.
Hybrids are a somewhat new sensation utilizing all the characteristics of innerspring, latex, memory foam and gel.
Airbeds have been popularized by Sleep Number and supposed to offer varying degrees of comfort and support through the use of adjustable air chamber buried deep inside the mattress. Usually there is a deep quilted top with softer foams used in order to offer a luxurious feel on the surface of these beds.
Waterbeds are still around, however have practically faded from the scene since their glory days of the 70s and early 80s.
As you can see it is very hard to make a definitive statement as to what is the best type of mattress. It is a subject that is very subjective with you being the final determining as to what is the best type of mattress for you.
