Buying a mattress: what should you look out for?

Compare mattresses

You should start by researching the different types of mattresses and their advantages. Then it’s important that you compare the mattresses, so you can find the best mattress for your needs. You should focus your comparison on the following properties:

• Firmness: The firmness determines the comfort and whether you wake up well-rested.
• Mattress core: This can be foam, feathers, latex, gel or a combination of these. The mattress core materials all have different properties. These materials are instrumental to the firmness of the mattress and therefore its comfort.
• Suitable for your bed base: Not all mattresses are suitable for every bed base. Ask the sales clerk or check the website where you want to buy this.
• Personal circumstances: you personal circumstances, such as whether you suffer from aches and pains, sleep with a partner or have a budget should also be taken into consideration.

Buying a mattress: what questions should you ask?

Good advice is invaluable when buying a mattress. Not only it is a large investment, but you’ll also be using it for a considerable amount of time. But you also have to ask the right question, if you want to get good advice. But what questions should you even ask? In addition to discussing price and delivery conditions, you should make sure to cover the following topics:

• Your current bed base. As discussed earlier, not every mattress is suitable for any old bed base. You should definitely avoid placing your mattress directly on the floor, even though some mattress retailers might say you can do that. Not only will you improve the lifespan of the mattress, but you’ll also get additional support if you put your new mattress on the correct base.
• Whether you tend to suffer from night sweats. Everyone perspires during the night, but some suffer from excessive sweating at night. If this is the case, you should definitely mention it to the sales clerk, as they’ll be able to select a mattress that has good breathability.
• Favourite sleeping position. Some mattresses are more suitable for side sleepers, others for back sleepers – ask which the mattress suits your preferred sleeping position the best!
• Back or neck pain. A bad mattress is often the cause of back or neck ache. Even if you don’t think a mattress sales clerk is the right person to ask, you should definitely mention it.
• Try it out. Always ask if you can sleep on the mattress for at least 3 weeks, because it is only under real sleeping conditions that you can determine whether a mattress is suitable for you. This is one of the great advantages of ordering a mattress online. Many mattress e-commerce’s offer a lengthy trial period, so you have enough time to really test out the mattress. In addition, their customer service is often so good that you can easily mention the above topics when talking to them.

Our Pick

If it is still too painful for you to start out of the scratch, feel free to take a look at our mattress reviews, where you can find mattresses tested with us.

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