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You may have heard that a mattress needs replacing every seven years, but in fact even the best mattress is due an upgrade as soon as you begin to notice aches and back pain, or wake up feeling less rested than before. You don’t necessarily have to break the bank: brands like Silentnight prioritise affordability and value for money. Simba, Tempur and Emma lean towards the more expensive end but focus on quality. There are also cooling mattresses (and duvets) to regulate your body temperature.
“We spend a third of our lives asleep, so a mattress is actually the product you probably spend the most time with,” says sleep expert James Wilson, also known as ‘The Sleep Geek’. “Sleep forms the foundation for rest of our health. During sleep, your body recovers and you process your memories of the day, making you more resilient.”
We’ve tried all this year’s best hybrid, memory foam and pocket sprung mattresses. You can read our full reviews further down, followed by an FAQ section full of advice from sleep experts about how to choose the right mattress. If you’re in a rush, here’s a quick glance at our top five:
Which are the best mattresses in 2024? At a glance
What are the best mattresses made of?
A Pocket sprung mattress is made from individually woven pockets of springs. It tends to feel bouncy and supportive. The more springs the better, particularly if you share a bed, since they provide the support that stops you both rolling into the middle or disturbing each other when you turn.
A memory foam mattress has a reputation for trapping heat, but new formulations of foam offer far better temperature regulation and are well worth considering. They consist of a base layer of supportive foam, usually topped with a second (and in some cases third) layer of softer foam which moulds to your body shape for comfort.
A hybrid mattresses contains both a layer of pocket springs and a layer of memory foam to provide improved comfort, support and temperature regulation.
There are other, more niche types of mattress out there – such as latex mattresses, which tend to be very expensive – and open-coil mattresses, which tend to be cheap and uncomfortable.
How to choose the best mattress for your sleeping position
You should choose your mattress based on the position you spend the most time sleeping, although there are other factors to consider including your weight, where in your body you need the most support, whether your skin reacts to certain materials and simply, what you find the most comfortable.
Here is our advice, based on testing dozens of mattresses over the years:
Front sleepers, otherwise known as stomach sleepers, should generally buy a medium-firm or firm mattress to ensure spinal alignment and an even distribution of weight. Memory foam, pocket sprung or hybrid mattress types can all provide the required level of support.
Side sleepers (which is the majority of us) have more pressure points that dig into the mattress than those who sleep on the back or front, so they need a mattress with the best possible pressure relief. Modern hybrid mattresses will best conform to a side sleeper’s body shape for maximum support. You’ll also want to choose supportive pillows.
Back sleepers need to avoid the heaviest part of their bodies, the middle, from dropping too far into the mattress, which could cause over-flexion of the spine. Medium to firm pocket-sprung mattresses are best, because each spring works individually, meaning each body part gets the independent cushioning it needs.
