While Goldilocks only had three mattresses to try, the rest of us have a much larger selection to peruse. Key factors like size, price, and firmness play a big role in making a bed feel “just right,” but it’s also important to consider the best mattress type for your personal comfort and sleeping needs: innerspring, latex, memory foam, or hybrid.

No type of mattress is inherently better or worse than another, but getting the best one for you may help boost your sleep quality and your quality of life, says Justin M. Lantz, DPT, director of the spine physical therapy fellowship program at the University of Southern California. There are a whole bunch of reasons for this (keep reading!), but to start, Raj Dasgupta, MD, FACP, FCCP, FAASM, board-certified sleep-medicine doctor, tells SELF: “A good mattress can help with back pain, keeping your spine aligned, and making you feel more rested. On the flip side, the wrong one might leave you sore or tossing and turning all night.”

Not sure how to find your perfect match? We’ve broken down everything you need to know about the different mattress types so that you can find your dream bed.

In this article

• Types of mattresses
• Features to look for in a mattress
• What to avoid in a mattress
• FAQs

Latex, hybrid, innerspring, and memory foam are the most common types of mattresses, and each will appeal to different people.“Think about what your body needs,” says Dr. Dasgupta. Think: What position do you usually sleep in? Do you run hot at night? Get the details on the benefits that each type of mattress stands to offer.

Latex mattresses are made of a foam material that can be man-made or derived from rubber trees. They’re known for being bouncy, cushiony, and naturally cooling, and Dr. Dasgupta suggests them to anyone looking for “something durable and eco-friendly.” Latex is also a solid pick for folks with allergies (unless they’re allergic to latex itself), since the material is allergen-friendly and naturally resistant to dust mites and mold.

Latex mattresses suit a number of sleeping positions, which makes them a great choice for couples who share a bed. (Truly, has there ever been a couple with the same sleeping preferences and habits?) Latex beds are firm enough to support many back and stomach sleepers, and their natural responsiveness makes them a great pick for combination sleepers who toss and turn through the night. They’re often pressure-relieving, which can be helpful for those with back pain or stiff joints, and they are naturally more breathable than memory foam, a prayer answered for hot sleepers. Just know that latex beds are often expensive and can be super heavy—a.k.a. difficult to move—Dr. Dasgupta says.

Some of our favorite latex mattresses:

• Saatva Latex Hybrid (featured in The 9 Best Latex Mattresses of 2024)
• Avocado Green Mattress (featured in The 9 Best Mattresses for Sex in 2024)

With innerspring mattresses, coils are the star of the show. These beds have a springy core and, usually, a thin comfort layer on top. Some use a zoned system in which the coils are stronger and denser in certain parts of the bed to help support high-pressure areas of the body.

Coils offer more support than plush, cushiony memory foam, making this type of mattress a good choice for those who benefit from a stiffer bed, like stomach sleepers. The coils give it a bounce that other mattress types lack, making it great for changing positions (while snoozing, sure, but also during sex). And if you work up a sweat while rolling around in bed, know that innerspring mattresses are a naturally breathable, cooling option because the shape of coils allows air to pass through.

That said, if you sleep with a boisterous partner who is seemingly living out their Dancing With the Stars fantasy in their sleep, a spring bed could be bad news—you’ll feel every dip and spin they do. Dr. Dasgupta notes that innerspring mattresses can get squeaky too—and you can’t exactly use WD-40 on the inner coils of your bed. If mattress noise is a top concern, keep on scrolling.

Our favorite innerspring mattress:

• Saatva Classic (featured in The 11 Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers in 2024)

Memory foam is a plush material made of polyurethane foam, which conforms to your body and supports the natural curvature of the spine. Dr. Dasgupta says these beds offer “that cozy, sinking feeling and are fantastic for pressure relief.” That means it’s often a comfortable option for folks with back pain or side sleepers, who need extra cushion around their shoulders and hips.

Memory foam is also an excellent choice if you have a bedmate who you’d rather not wake up during your middle-of-the-night pee breaks. These beds are known for their ability to isolate motion, preventing it from transferring across the surface.

But you might want to invest in some cooling pjs before tucking yourself into one of these spongy, squishy numbers; this mattress type tends to trap heat more than its counterparts because the dense foam layers don’t easily allow air to flow through them. Combination sleepers might find it tough to move around on these beds, too, since they’re aren’t typically the most responsive.

Some of our favorite memory foam mattresses:

• Nectar Memory Foam (featured in The Best Memory Foam Mattresses of 2024)
• EgoHome Memory Foam Mattress (featured in The Best Mattresses on Amazon in 2024)
• Layla Memory Foam (featured in The 11 Best Mattresses-in-a-Box of 2024)

Hybrid mattresses combine aspects of two mattress types: foam layers (either memory or latex) that add cushion and innerspring coils that provide support and allow for airflow that helps keep things cool. Dr. Dasgupta calls hybrid beds a “nice middle ground” when it comes to mattress types. “Hybrids, with their mix of foam and springs, offer solid support, comfort, and breathability,” he says. To put it plainly, these kinds of mattresses are likely to work well for even the biggest bed snobs.

A hybrid’s mash-up of materials creates a balanced base for plenty of sleepers, but pay attention to the firmness level. Many back and stomach sleepers should look for a firmer option to provide a supportive surface that keeps their spine aligned, while side sleepers may benefit from a softer option that allows for more give around their shoulders and hips.

Like beds made from latex, Dr. Dasgupta says a hybrid mattress can be “both heavy and expensive.” So call in backup if your delivery doesn’t include setup.

Some of our favorite hybrid mattresses:

• DreamCloud Premier Hybrid (featured in Need a New Mattress? Start Here)
• Helix Midnight Luxe (featured in 9 Best Hybrid Mattresses of 2024, Tested and Approved)
• The WinkBed Original (featured in 9 Best King-Size Mattresses in 2024

The right mattress should support spinal alignment while preventing pressure points, heat buildup, joint pain, and muscle stiffness, Nitun Verma, MD, a sleep-medicine doctor and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, tells SELF. Based on your sleeping position, body size, and other factors of your sleeping environment, your mattress type can affect all of the above. Below, experts break down key features to help you decipher what mattress type is best for your needs.

Mattress firmness is the measurement of how hard or soft a bed feels when you get into it—and the correct level for you will depend largely on preference. Most mattress brands use a 1-to-10 scale to rate firmness, with 10 being the stiffest, comparable to sleeping on the floor.

In spite of the scale, mattress firmness is largely subjective. That’s because the way a bed feels will vary based on personal factors like sleeping position and body weight. “There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here,” Dr. Dasgupta says of selecting mattress firmness. “Side sleepers usually like softer mattresses because they cushion your hips and shoulders. But if you sleep on your back or stomach, firmer mattresses tend to keep your spine in better alignment. A medium-firm mattress is often a safe bet if you’re not sure.” Research backs him up there: Studies show that medium-firm mattresses are the best for many people.

Of all the mattress types, innerspring beds tend to be the firmest, as the coils create a sturdy base. Memory foam beds are usually the softest, since the plush materials allow the body to sink into the mattress’s layers for cushioned comfort. But there’s an exception to every rule; some beds use higher-density memory foam that is on the firmer side. For example, the Plank Firm and WinkBeds GravityLux are two memory foam options we love, and they aren’t softies.

Support refers to the strength of your mattress’s core and how well it holds up your body. Some may conflate firmness and support, but as Osama Kashlan, MD, a neurological spine surgeon and director of spine surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, previously told SELF, firmness is all about comfort when you first lie down. Support, on the other hand, describes how well your spine stays aligned throughout the night as you sleep. “Good support is key to waking up without aches,” Dr. Dasgupta says.

Innerspring and hybrid mattresses typically offer the strongest support because their coil layers can balance your body weight better and for longer than the spongy layers in a memory foam bed. Some coil-based beds also offer zoned support, meaning the coils are targeted to hold up the parts of your body that need it the most, like your shoulders and hips.

“The amount of firmness and support play an important role in a good night’s sleep,” William Kemp, MD, spine neurosurgeon at the Virginia Spine Institute, tells SELF. “The most important thing to remember is to tailor your mattress to your body’s specific needs and comfort level.”

Hot sleepers (and cold sleepers, too, for that matter) know exactly how important it is to keep your temperature regulated at night—and different mattress materials heat up at different rates, which can affect the way you sleep.

“Mattress temperature and materials directly relate,” Dr. Kemp tells SELF. Innerspring mattresses tend to be the coolest, because the structure of coils allows air to flow through them, while memory foam is dense and tends to trap heat. That said, if you’re laser-set on foam, know that many of these beds are made with cooling agents (like copper, graphite, bamboo, or gel) infused in the layers to help keep you from overheating. Latex also tends to be a cool pick for hot sleepers, as it’s a naturally breathable material, and hybrid beds also have a layer of coils that help with dissipating heat.

If you wake up feeling less “light as a feather” and more “stiff as a board,” zone in on pressure relief for better sleep. This category refers to how a mattress disperses your body weight and reduces the impact on joints as you sleep.

The amount of pressure relief you’ll get from a mattress largely depends on its construction because certain “materials respond differently to your body,” Dr. Dasgupta says. “This makes a big difference in how comfortable the mattress feels, especially if you have specific areas where you tend to feel sore or uncomfortable.”

Research has found that latex mattresses “reduce peak body pressure on the torso and buttocks and achieve a more even distribution of pressure on the body,” Dr. Lantz explains. And that joint relief is likely to hold up throughout the night, regardless of your sleep style. Studies show that memory foam’s contouring quality can be pressure-relieving too. Hybrid mattresses tend to provide average pressure relief, though the thickness of their comfort layer and whether or not they include zoned support can tip the scale either way.

If you’re able to roll around a bed’s surface (rather than feeling sucked into its depths), it’s likely pretty responsive. High responsiveness refers to a springy bed that’s reactive to movement, while low responsiveness allows you to sink into its layers. “A mattress that responds well to movement is a win if you toss and turn—no one wants to feel stuck in place,” Dr. Dasgupta says.

Thanks to their bouncy coils, innerspring and hybrid mattresses both generally offer high responsiveness and ease of movement. Latex mattresses also skew bouncy. Memory foam is normally the least responsive mattress type, which means you can expect to exert some effort moving around on one.

If you have a sleeping partner, take their habits into consideration as well when figuring out your desired level of responsiveness—maybe they’re the one tossing and turning. In this case, you’ll “want to minimize how much that affects you” by looking for lower responsiveness, Dr. Verma says.

Keeping an informed list of features to avoid in a mattress is just as important as knowing what to look for. Even “seemingly small things can have monumental effects,” Dr. Kemp says.

Mattresses made with low-quality materials could lead to health issues. In order to steer clear of such risks, “shoppers should inspect the material that the mattress is made from,” Dr. Lantz says. A good way to know your mattress is made with materials you can stand behind is if it qualifies for certain seals and certifications. For instance, as Sarah Silverman, PsyD, a behavioral sleep medicine specialist, previously shared with SELF, the Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex seal shows that a mattress does not contain harmful chemicals like acetone and chloromethane, and the Global Organic Textile Standard seal signifies that it uses at least 70% organic materials.

Low-quality materials may also lack durability, leading to the bummer (and costly) situation of a shorter mattress lifespan.

Dr. Dasgupta explains that some mattresses could have “chemicals that release fumes and mess with your breathing.” These volatile organic compounds have been found to lead to respiratory irritation or more serious issues over time.

Fiberglass is sometimes used in mattresses because it is a flame retardant. Unfortunately, its fire protection doesn’t translate to health preservation: Inhaling fiberglass could lead to issues affecting the eyes, skin, and lungs. Dr. Dasgupta also notes that “you’re in for a headache if the cover rips—[the fiberglass] can get everywhere and be a nightmare to clean up.”

There are a lot of layers to look through when researching the best mattress types—we’re breaking it down even further with quick answers to the most frequently asked questions:

Each person’s individual needs will help determine which type of mattress is best, but medium-firm mattresses are often a good place to start your search. “Make sure you find a mattress that fits your individual needs,” says Dr. Lantz, who adds that it’s important to pay attention to trial periods and return policies so you can replace an uncomfy bed with an option that works for you in the event your first choice isn’t a winner.

While the general guideline is to replace your mattress every seven years, latex beds might have a longer lifespan—they can last for 10 years or more with proper care.

Choosing a mattress type suited to your needs matters for your comfort and health; a good night’s sleep affects more than your morning mood. “Poor sleep quality has also been associated with such health issues as chronic musculoskeletal (including spine) pain, metabolic dysregulations, dementia, and cardiovascular disease,” Dr. Lantz says.

Factors including your weight, sleeping posture, and aches and pains can make a difference in whether you’ll prefer a soft or firm mattress—or something in the middle. Research supports that a medium-firm option can work for many sleep styles. Dr. Verma also adds that “it’s better to err on the side of firmness” if you’re teetering, noting that you can always grab a mattress topper to soften things up. “It’s much harder to make a soft mattress firmer,” he says.

Related:

• When Is the Best Time to Buy a Mattress?
• 11 Blackout Curtains That’ll Turn Your Bedroom Into a Sleep Sanctuary
• How to Get Better Sleep If You Run Hot at Night