As someone who's spent five years providing advice on buying the best mattresses at the lowest prices, it's basically my job to direct you to the ideal bed for your sleep preferences and budget.
I'll pick out the leading options, tell you what makes them good choices (and why you might want to avoid them), and let you know whether the current price is worth paying. However, as memory foam beds tend to be the cheapest, a lot of shoppers may want to know my advice on whether these affordable mattresses are a false economy.
Everyone has their own preferences, though, and if there's one kind of bed I wouldn't shop for in the extended Labor Day mattress sales, it's a memory foam model. In fact I'd go further than that: when it comes to choosing a bed that I'll be sleeping on for the next 10 (or hopefully more) years, I'll accept nothing less than one type of mattress — here's why.
Why I avoid all-foam mattresses
Look, I don't have anything against memory foam per se. As I write this, I'm sitting on a memory foam cushion that helps soften up the creaky old office chair. So yeah, I appreciate memory foam's effectiveness when it comes to boosting comfort.
What I can't get behind, though, is the feel of a bed that's entirely made from foam. The thought of sinking into a memory foam mattress sounds uncomfortable for me, simply because I'm used to lying on top of a mattress and not lying in it. I tend to change position a lot in the night, too, and being restricted in my nocturnal movement really isn't for me.
Beyond that memory foam sinking feeling, there's also that big warm elephant in the room: temperature regulation, or a lack thereof. While some of the best memory foam mattresses on the market have cooling features to offset the heat-trapping tendencies of memory foam, a lot other all-foam models can still retain body heat and cause a stuffy night's sleep.
I've also tested memory foam mattress toppers and they really did retain heat. I hate being in a bed that's too warm; I'll take a bed that's slightly too cold over one that's a bit too hot any time.
Here's the type of mattress I'd actually buy
I take a long-term view when I'm buying a mattress. I want one that's going to last me a really long time, and that means it has have a high-quality design. For me, that means I'll be shopping for a hybrid mattress.
Yes, hybrids tend to cost more than all-foam beds, but I think that's worth it because I'll be getting a bed that lasts much longer and keeps delivering in terms of comfort and support, and that in turn means it'll be a very long time until I have to think about shopping for a new mattress again, which is a definite plus.
The best hybrid mattresses we've tested generally featured thin layers of memory foam in combination with other foams on top of a airflow-enhancing sprung layer, and only did I not sink into them, they also didn't get too hot in the night.
While I don't completely discount memory foam as an element in a mattress' construction, paying more money for the best luxury mattress with a hybrid design means I'll reap the benefits of high-quality materials such as high-density foam and sturdy supportive springs.
The best organic mattresses (which are usually hybrid) also use naturally durable latex foam, organic wool and cotton, and recycled steel coils — all eco-friendly, naturally breathable ingredients.
The addition of airflow-boosting springs mean hybrids sleep more temperature-neutral, so they won't trap heat. My current mattress is made with multiple layers of wool and microcoils on top of a sprung core, and it never once got too warm over a summer of extended heatwaves.
