Modern Mattresses for Beds - Which One Is Right for You?

We spend approximately 8 hours of every 24 hours of a day sleeping in our beds. Considering that 1/3 of our lives are spent in bed it would reason that we should have the most comfortable sleeping surface we can considering we spend so much time in our beds. In this article we'll take a look at the most popular types of mattresses available today for our beds.

The type of mattress that has seen the most redesign over the last 50 years is that of the innerspring mattress. Innerspring mattresses are classified as using steel coils surrounded by various foams and batting to create different sleeping surfaces. Foam is a bi-product of the petroleum industry and as such has increased in price over the last 5-10 years due in part to growing cost of petroleum.

Hence many mattress manufacturers have elected to redesign mattresses to be non-flip and use only one side of the mattress for sleeping with the rest of the mattress housing the various layers of foam and supporting materials for the mattress. There are still flip mattresses available through many different manufacturers but the growing trend has been to move away from those designs and concentrate on non-flip types. With conventional innerspring mattresses there are typically three general models to choose from.

Firm, Plush & Pillow Top. These can be made in a wide variety of quilted tops and coil counts all of which will change the look and feel of these mattresses. Many of these mattresses are starting to be designed quite thick so be ready to double check the height of your headboard to make sure they'll work with your existing furniture.

The major brands are Serta, Sealy, Simmons, Spring Air, Stearns & Foster, King Koil with many more available. Another type of mattress growing in popularity are memory foam mattresses. Made famous by the brand Tempur-Pedic memory foam mattresses are designed without springs and use technology created for the space program to create cells that react to you when you lay on the mattress.

The heat generated from your body causes these cells to mold around your body giving you excellent support. Tempur-Pedic refers to it's mattresses as being visco-elastic and most mattresses that follow in the footsteps will use this terminology or will also refer to the mattress as being a memory foam. Latex mattresses are yet another type of mattress you'll find in the market.

Latex is created from tree sap that is processed to form the material used in these mattresses. Many latex mattress manufacturers also incorporate memory foam components into their mattresses to help increase the mattress reaction to your body as you lie on the mattress so that it will conform around you providing optimum comfort. Latex is very dense (4lb/cubic foot) which means that it is very resilient to everyday wear and tear and is the reason higher end mattresses incorporate this into their design.

In this article we've taken a look at three of the most popular mattresses offerings in the market today. We talked about innerspring mattresses and how you have choices in selecting firm, plush or pillow top models depending on the feel you're looking for. We discussed memory foam and visco-elastic mattresses and how these mattresses react to your body when you lay on them.

We also briefly examined latex mattresses and the advantages that latex offers in mattress design. Hopefully this article will help you decide which mattress may be right for you and will give you an opportunity to try out styles you may not have previously considered.