What Type of Mattress Should You Choose?

WIRED

5 hours ago

Jun 17, 2025 9:37 AM Here's how to pick the best mattress for your sleep needs, straight from a professional mattress tester. Courtesy of Birch; Nectar Sleep; Nolah
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If you're looking to buy a mattress, I don't need to tell you the research process is complex. To assist with that, we have a whole guide that lays out (no pun intended … OK, partially intended) where to begin. But for now, I'm going to walk through the various types of mattress materials . My hope is that by the time you finish reading this, you'll have a better idea of what kind of mattress you're looking for, which will make your final decision that much easier.
To put your mind at ease, let me walk you through my credentials: I'm a certified Sleep Science coach and mattress tester of over five years. I can dissect a mattress blueprint faster than pouring your morning cup of coffee, I've perfected my unboxing form (because mattresses are heavy ), and I can recite the manufacturing process of major mattress materials at any given moment. It's a fun party trick, but it makes me what I like to think of as the final boss of mattress testing. My teammates also know their stuff (we sleep on mattresses we test for a week or more, then report back on our findings), which helped us compile this list of the best mattresses of 2025.
So, back to picking a type of mattress: Despite the popularity of mattresses in a box and the image they project in our heads, it's so much more than a rectangular piece of foam you sleep on. There are four main types of mattresses: innerspring, hybrid, memory foam, and latex. To help me explain these materials even more, I asked John Merwin, CEO of 3Z Brands (parent company of Helix, Birch, Bear, Nolah, and Leesa) and founder of Brooklyn Bedding, to weigh in as well. Innerspring
Truth be told, this is more of a history lesson than a type of mattress you want to shop for (unless you really love this kind of mattress; to each their own). 'Traditional' innerspring mattresses are the firm-feeling beds you probably have early memories of, given that the makeup is just innerspring coils wrapped in a cover. It's just as squeaky as you probably remember, too, as the coil type used involves connecting each and every coil to work as one unit.
These are Bonnell coils, and they connect both laterally and vertically. All to say, when you lie down and your weight is pressed into the mattress, all those coils act as 'one for all and all for one' and simultaneously compress down. It's not going to work wonders for pressure relief like modern hybrids will, but it is highly responsive, which means it'll pop back into its original shape as you move around. So if you're a sleeper who moves around between sleeping positions, coils are a good feature to have, so you're getting near-instantaneous support.
Why aren't traditional coils in the works with mattresses nowadays? According to Merwin, upgraded pocketed coils far outperform traditional ones.
'Unlike traditional coils that are wired together and move as a unit, pocketed coils are encased individually, which allows each coil to respond independently to movement and pressure," he said. "This design minimizes motion transfer, so when one person moves or gets out of bed, their partner feels far less disruption. It also provides more targeted support, contouring to the body in a way that improves spinal alignment and overall comfort.' While you can still find innerspring mattresses with traditional coils out there, they're typically getting phased out in favor of hybrids. Truth be told, I've only tested less than a handful of them over the years. If you're dead set on this mattress type, all power to you, and have fun on your personal mattress treasure hunt. Hybrid
Traditional coil mattresses have evolved into hybrids, which is what you will likely encounter on today's mattress market (aside from latex and foam options). Hybrid mattresses are highly customizable, allowing you to pick and choose what you want in your bed, whether that's a combination of foam and coils, latex and coils, or even a mix of the three. Many mattress reviews will use the phrase 'best of both worlds' to describe hybrids, as this mattress lets you sample the design aspects of the materials involved. You can get the pressure relief you need from memory foam or latex on top, but ample support from the coil core (not to mention the aforementioned responsiveness from coil inclusion).
Speaking of coils and harking back to traditional mattress design, the type of coil used in hybrid mattresses matters too, as it improves upon the design of the Bonnell coil. The keywords to look for are 'pocketed coils' or 'individually wrapped coils,' which make up the main support mechanism of a mattress. Instead of being interconnected, each coil stays in its own lane (pocket, really) and will compress uninhibited by the other coils around it. In other words, where there is more weight, the bed will feel firmer.
This is especially applicable for areas where body weight is centralized when you're lying down, particularly around the hips and shoulders. Pocketed coils are also meant to outperform traditional ones in the motion isolation arena, meaning that when you move around, the individual coil takes the heat motion-wise and stops the bed from reenacting a small earthquake. With the interconnectivity of traditional coils, it doesn't take much for the feeling of movement to travel along the entire surface of the bed.
Fun fact: You do not need a box spring with a hybrid mattress. This is a recurring question I see, and pocketed coils in hybrids eliminate the need for one. Box springs were designed to give more support and elevate performance to traditional coil beds, which would align certain sections of coils to yield more support. Nowadays, you may actually void your warranty if you use a box spring with a hybrid mattress—be sure to check that fine print. Memory Foam
We actually have NASA to thank for this one. If you google images of those early space missions, it's no wonder that something was needed to keep astronauts from being jostled around inside rockets; hence, memory foam was born. It's evolved quite a bit from those initial iterations, especially when Tempur-Pedic came onto the scene in the '80s with a vision for it to become the basis of sleep products. Today, memory foam stands in a league of its own when it comes to the unique, compressive feel. Photograph: Bear Mattress
Memory foam is more of an umbrella term for all the iterations mattress brands have come up with today, but let's refer to the mattress manufacturing expert for this one.
"Memory foam is produced by combining liquid polyurethane with various chemicals, like polyols and isocyanates, to enhance its viscosity and density," says Merwin. Without whipping out the periodic table of elements and giving you a science lesson in the chemical components of this material, here's the need-to-know: These compounds form a malleable foam that holds teeny-tiny bubbles within it. How it works is, as you lie on it, your body imparts heat onto the surface, flowing into these air pockets, which in turn allows it to become softer to contour around your body.
But for the science enthusiasts reading this, Merwin's got you covered: 'The key ingredient is a polymer that creates an open-cell structure, which allows the material to respond to heat and pressure. This is what gives memory foam its signature contouring or 'hugging' feel. During the manufacturing process, the liquid foam mixture is poured onto a moving line, where it expands and solidifies into large foam blocks, which we call 'buns.' At a high level, it's a blend of chemistry and precision that transforms raw materials into a high-quality product.'
To say it's a natural fit for those who need pressure relief from their mattress may be a bit too on the nose, but it's arguably the most standout feature of this material. It also lessens the feeling of movement for the most restless of sleepers, which also makes it an attractive option for couples. Arguably, the biggest issue that plagues memory foam is heat retention, since once the heat has entered into these air chambers, it turns into something akin to microscopic saunas that can make the overall mattress into a nightmare for those who sleep warm. This is where the various iterations of foam come into play, as some brands infuse elements like graphite, copper, gel, or more advanced cooling technology like phase-change materials into the foams that they use. Latex
The same stuff that goes into tires, balloons, and sports equipment can also be used for mattresses—and it's the good stuff, too. Latex acts similarly to memory foam when it comes to pressure relief, but is far more reactive to you moving around. Think of a rubber band snapping back into shape when released; it's pretty dang close to that. Many brands rely on organic rubber sap to create latex as we know it, and there are two categories of latex foam you'll usually find with mattresses: Dunlop and Talalay. These names refer to the production process and resulting product, as liquid rubber is poured into molds, torched at high temperatures (called 'vulcanization' and yes, I have to resist doing Spock's 'live long and prosper' hand signal every time), and flash-frozen to retain the feel. Dunlop is a firmer latex foam, and hence, firmer feel. Talalay yields a more plush feel. Latex is generally pretty even-keeled when it comes to temperature, too, keeping heat from accumulating within your mattress to maintain a nice, room-temperature feel. So, Now What?
Congratulations, if you made it to this part of this article, you've passed your mattress type crash course. Hopefully, it's a bit less overwhelming to kick off your mattress research when you better understand what each product actually is . And to further your mattress education, we are actively testing beds to put into our mattress guides. These picks are not only what material works in what instance, but specific models we've tested that best exemplify what the material has to offer.
There is always the option to try these mattress types in person to better discern what the bounciness of latex feels like, or the pressure relief of memory foam. But if you aren't all for a field trip to the mattress store, online brands offer sleep trials so that you can comfortably try out their products without leaving your house. Now comes the next part of our course: becoming a mattress tester yourself!