If you are looking for To buy a mattress, I don’t need to tell you that the research process is complex. To help that, we have Total Guide That exhibits (no punishment intended … well, partially intended) where to start. But for now I will walk through the various types of mattress Materials. I hope that when you finish reading this, you will have a better idea of what mattress you are looking for, what will make your final decision easier.
To calm your mind, let me walk you through my credentials: I am Certified Sleeping Science Coach and a mattress test of more than five years. I can split a mattress plan faster than pour your morning cup of coffee, I have perfected my unpublished form (because mattresses are Heavy), and I can recite the factory process of major mattress materials at some point. It’s a fun party -trick, but it makes me what I like to think like the final boss of mattress testing. My teammates also know their things (we sleep on mattresses we test for a week or more, then report on our findings), which helped us compile this list of the Best mattresses of 2025.
So, back to choose a kind of mattress: despite the popularity of mattresses in a box and the image they project in our heads, it is much more than a rectangular piece of foam on which you sleep. 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, Director General of 3Z marks (parent company of Helix, Birch, Bear, Nolah, and Leesa) and founder of Brooklyn Bedding, Weigh.
Innerspring
It really is said, this is more than a historical lesson than a kind of mattress you want to buy (unless you really love this kind of mattress; to each own). “Traditional” stationary mattresses are the firm sensitive beds you probably have early memories, considering that the makeup is just intermingling coils wrapped in a lid. It’s as bad as you probably also remember, because 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. Everything to say, when you lie and your weight is pressed into the mattress, all those coils act as “one for everyone and everyone for one” and at the same time compresses. It will not do wonders for relief of pressure as modern hybrids, but it responds very much, which means it will appear back into its original form as you move. So if you are sleepy that moves between sleeping positions, coils are a good feature, then you get near-sensitive support.
Why are traditional coils in the works with mattresses at present? According to Merwin, updated coils are far exceeding traditional.
“Unlike traditional coils, which are wired together and move as a unit, inserted coils are inserted 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 up, their partner feels much less disruption. It also gives more intended support, outlining the body in a way that enhances spinal alignment and overall comfort.” While you can still find ruthless mattresses with traditional coils there, they usually go out in favor of hybrids. It really is said, I just tested less than a handful of them over the years. If you die on this mattress type, every power to you, and have fun about your personal mattress treasure hunt.
Hybrid
Traditional coil mattresses have evolved into hybrids, which is what you are likely to meet in today’s mattress market (except latex and foam options). Hybrid mattresses are very customizable, allowing you to choose and choose what you want in your bed, whether this is a combination of foam and coils, latex and reels, or even a mixture of the three. Many mattress reviews will use the phrase “best of both worlds” to describe hybrids, as this mattress allows to test the projective aspects of the materials involved. You can get the pressure relief you need from a memory foam or latex above, but extensive support from the core core (not to mention the aforementioned responsibility of coil inclusion).
Courtesy of nolah
Speaking of coils and returning to traditional mattress design, the type of coil used in hybrid mattresses is also important, as it improves the Bonnell coil project. The keywords to search are “pocket coils” or “individually wrapped coils”, which make up the main support mechanism of mattress. Instead of being linked, each coil stays in its own alley (pocket, really) and compresses discouraged by the other coils around it. In other words, where there is more weight, the bed will feel firmer.
This applies especially to areas where body weight is centralized when you lie, especially around the hips and shoulders. Enclosed coils also aim to surpass traditional in the moving isolation, meaning that when you move around, the individual coil takes the heat moving and prevents the bed from reacting a small earthquake. With the interconnection of traditional coils, it does not need much for the feeling of movement to travel along the entire surface of the bed.
