Three Things to Know About Choosing the Right Mattress

Staff here will be glad to help you find the perfect sleeping surface for you. Check out Groupon’s assessment of mattress firmness to learn what you’ll want to think about.

1. Consider the position you sleep in. Firm mattresses offer uniform support for people who prefer to sleep on their backs, and they’ve been found to be especially helpful for mitigating lower-back pain. Stomach sleepers, too, should go firm to avoid sinking in and curving the spine in the wrong direction. If you sleep on your side, though, getting an arm trapped between your body and a stiff surface is likely to make it fall asleep and dream that it's a snake trapped under a rock. A plush or cushion-topped mattress works well for both side sleepers and people dealing with upper-back or neck pain.

2. Material matters, too. Traditional spring mattresses come in varieties to suit just about anyone, but it’s worth checking out other options. Memory foam can be ideal for people who have chronic pain or sleep beside a restless sleeper, since the material molds around the body and absorbs motion rather than sending ripples across the bed. Latex is great for sleepers who enjoy an especially firm bed, since it’s springy but offers more resistance than memory foam. And newer technologies such as the Sleep Number system let you adjust the firmness of each side of the mattress by gently inflating or deflating remote-controlled air chambers in the center of the bed.

3. BYOP. Pillow, that is—it’s an important element of your sleep experience, so you’ll want to know whether your favorite one still works with prospective mattresses. Bed down in your usual position for 10–15 minutes, enough time to notice whether there are any uncomfortable pressure points or areas that need extra support. While you don’t need to show up in your union suit and nightcap, you should wear comfortable clothes that make it easy to crawl up and down from various models.