How we test mattresses at Ideal Home

Our in-house mattress review process puts bestselling and newly launched mattresses through their paces to find our tried-and-tested favourites – here's how...

A mattress on a bed with a white bed frame in a room with pink walls and black and white striped feature wall
(Image credit: Future/ Heather Young)
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Amy Lockwood
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Wondering how we test mattresses at Ideal Home? In order to compile the Ideal Home guide to the best mattress you can shop, our dedicated team of mattress reviewers regularly tests mattresses from a wide variety of brand names to find the best-in-class mattresses for a variety of sleep requirements.

We aim to test both the bestsellers within a brand's product range, (after all, they're usually a bestseller for good reason) and review brand new mattresses as they're launched to compare new innovations in the world of sleep to our tried-and-tested favourites.

We know that a mattress is a significant investment and a key factor in how well we sleep, so we try to ensure our tests demonstrate exactly how each mattress feels to sleep on to make it easier to assess whether it's the right choice for you.

The back of a woman with shoulder length brown hair laid on her side on a mattress on a bed in a bedroom with pink walls

(Image credit: Future/ Heather Young)

How we test mattresses at Ideal Home

Why you can trust Ideal Home Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Each mattress is sleep-tested in the homes of our review team and slept on for a minimum of two weeks – in most cases far longer – before we write our review. This enables our reviewers to adjust to each new sleep surface and assess a mattress's performance over a prolonged time period. We also take into account third-party reviews from customers who've owned the mattress for far longer, to assess how its performance holds up over months and years.

In the course of our testing, we've developed extensive knowledge of what makes the best night's sleep – from comfort and support to responsiveness, motion isolation, good breathability and temperature regulation, and edge support.

We also make sure to assess additional factors that may impact a mattress purchase, such as the delivery process, any off-gassing of the mattress, whether sleep trials are available, and, of course, price point.

How we test comfort

There's really only one way to test out the comfort of a mattress, and that's by sleeping on it. And not just for one night either.

Even if you have the luxury of testing a mattress out for yourself in a mattress showroom – and these days that's easier said than done with so many retailers now selling online only without bricks-and-mortar stores – a quick lie down isn't the same thing as actually sleeping on a mattress for eight hours, night after night.

That's why our review team tests all the mattresses we review in our own homes. This way we're able to form a full picture of what the mattress is like to sleep on long-term.

A woman laid on the Dreams Workshop Follows Traditional Spring Mattress with her back to the camera

(Image credit: Future / Rachel Tompkins)

We assess comfort, cushioning, support, and the responsiveness of the mattress within this section. (Responsiveness meaning whether it offers a little bounce to make turning over at night easier, or whether you sink in so much that changing position is a struggle).

Where possible we also enlist the help of partners for a dual opinion and even invite friends and family to come and stay the night to get a range of viewpoints. After all, one person's 'too firm' can easily be another's 'just right'.

Because all of us are different, and weight, our preferred sleeping position, and any niggling sleep problems can all affect our mattress preferences, we also try to take this into account in our reviews. We assess if a mattress is suitable for front, back, or side sleepers, and whether it's a softer sleep surface that would suit lighter weight sleepers or a firm surface better suited to heavier weight sleepers.

We also dig into the nitty gritty to see how the mattress is constructed, as this will all affect the comfort of the mattress over the long term. Whilst (sadly) we don't have enough bedrooms to keep all of the mattresses we test, we do try to hang onto as many as we can so that we can keep sleeping on them and update our reviews after 6 months, a year, and beyond.

A woman laid spread eagle on the Dreams Workshop Follows Traditional Spring Mattress wearing a black denim jumpsuit

(Image credit: Future / Rachel Tompkins)

How we test breathability

Breathability and temperature regulation are key when it comes to a good night's sleep. Why? Well, as Sleep Expert Dave Gibson, explains, our night time temperature is an important factor in how well rested we feel in the morning.

As Dave explains, 'when we overheat during the night we disrupt our body’s natural cooling process and negatively impact our sleep quality. As our body temperature gradually drops in the first half of sleep, this initial period is particularly sensitive to overheating'.

'Research indicates that elevated temperatures can interfere with two crucial sleep stages: Deep Sleep and REM Sleep. Deep Sleep is essential for bodily repair and rejuvenation. Overheating can reduce the depth and duration of this stage, hindering the body's restorative processes. REM Sleep is associated with dreaming and memory consolidation. Disruptions caused by overheating can impair cognitive function and emotional regulation'.

The body is better able to regulate its temperature if air can circulate as this allows body heat and humidity to dissipate. If our mattress or bedding lacks breathability this means that body heat and humidity can become trapped, which is what can cause overheating, and in turn lead to us waking up too hot in the night and our sleep being disrupted.

Therefore, we assess all of the mattresses we review for how 'cool' they sleep. We do this by ensuring the rest of the bedding we use during our tests remains consistent, and noting if the mattress keeps us cool during the night and has us waking up refreshed in the morning, or if we sleep hot, bothered, and clammy on its surface.

A mattress on a bed with a white bed frame in a room with pink walls and black and white striped feature wall

(Image credit: Future/ Heather Young)

How we test motion isolation

Motion transfer in a mattress means that if there is movement on one side of the mattress then it will travel, and be felt, on the opposite side of the mattress. Good motion isolation prevents this transfer of vibration from happening.

If we share our bed with a partner, our kids, or even our pets, then a mattress with good motion isolation can be an important factor in getting a better night's sleep as it will reduce the likelihood of us being woken up if our companion(s) toss and turn or get out of bed in the night.

In fact, even if you sleep alone, a mattress with poor motion isolation and excessive bounce can lead to a disrupted sleep as the movement of turning over or changing position in the night could lead to enough vibration in the mattress that it wakes you up.

That's why we test all of the mattresses we review for motion isolation or motion transfer. To do this we lay on one side of the bed whilst asking another person to roll over, change postion, and generally toss and turn beside us to see if the movement reverberates through the bed or is dampened enough to be relatively unnoticeable.

The Sleepeezee Jessica 1800 Pocket Gel mattress on a blue upholstered bed in a bedroom with two white terrier dogs sat on it

(Image credit: Future / Rachael Penn)

How we test edge support

When choosing a mattress size we'd always recommend opting for the largest mattress your bedroom (and budget) allows so that there's enough space that no one is forced to sleep on the edge of the mattress.

However, if you do find yourself gravitating towards the outer edges of the mattress then good edge support is what keeps the edge of the mattress from sinking. It also keeps you from rolling off the edge of the bed – or, at least feeling like you might, as sometimes this sensation alone can be enough to pull us out of a deep slumber as the body senses danger.

Edge support is also important if you're someone with reduced mobility who can find getting out of bed a little trickier. In this case good edge support provides a firmer surface to push against, and makes standing up from a seated position on the edge of the bed easier.

We test edge support by lying near the edge of the mattress to see how much resistance the mattress offers in this area. We also sit on the edge of the mattress to note how much it sinks or dips.

A woman sat on the edge of the Dreams Workshop Follows Traditional Spring Mattress wearing a black denim jumpsuit. The edge of the mattress has sunk considerably

(Image credit: Future / Rachel Tompkins)

Other factors

As previously mentioned, we also make sure to assess additional factors that may impact a mattress purchase, such as its delivery process. This includes whether the manufacturer offers to deliver the mattress to the room of your choice, or only to your doorstep, and whether there's the option to have your old mattress removed and recycled responsibly at the same time.

We make note of whether the mattress is delivered rolled, boxed, or flat as this can affect how easy delivery is for those with awkward access requirements. We note any strong odours or off-gassing when the mattress is removed from its packaging (off-gassing is a strong chemical smell that can sometimes take a while to dissipate from new synthetic mattresses, especially those that use memory foam), and detail whether the mattress has handles to make for easier mattress flipping or mattress rotation.

We also consider whether the manufacturer offers a sleep trial so that you can test out the mattress for a certain number of nights in your own home, and we might note how to clean the mattress, especially if it comes with a removable cover.

And, of course, we factor in price and whether the mattress offers good value for money in comparison to its competition when we consider what score to award the mattress.

Only our top-rated mattresses will achieve full marks, and be awarded 5 out of 5 stars.

A mattress on a bed with a white bed frame in a room with pink walls and black and white striped feature wall

(Image credit: Future/ Heather Young)

Our Consumer Experts

Our Consumer Experts are members of the team who have developed specialist knowledge in their subject area. They have hands-on, practical experience with industry-leading products, regularly conduct product testing, and have conducted research into each product category they review.

Each Consumer Expert must complete a five-stage process to gain this accreditation, involving the following stages:

1. Testing Our Consumer Experts have hands-on experience testing the bestselling and highest-rated products on the market. This then becomes the benchmark against which other products are reviewed and judged.

2. Product research Our experts immerse themselves in each product category, learning everything there is to know about the product, from how it's made, to its biggest pros and cons.

3. Behind the scenes As well as hands-on product testing in a home environment, our Consumer Experts have also gained insider knowledge on the products they test. This might be through factory visits, showroom tours, or comparison testing days at our testing facility.

4. Industry knowledge Our experts know the nitty-gritty of each product category. They regularly speak with industry experts such as product developers and retailers, they know the market leaders and the growing trends within the industry. They are non-biased and able to formulate an honest judgement about the USPs offered by different products on the market.

5. Wider opinions Our experts don't just rely on their own knowledge, they also seek input from the wider team and carefully research customer product reviews to gauge wider product satisfaction, noting and investigating any regularly occurring customer feedback.

amy lockwood
Amy Lockwood

Amy is the Ideal Home team's Sleep Editor and our Consumer Expert for all things sleep-related. She regularly tests out the market-leading mattresses, and commissions reviews of the latest mattress launches. She knows her pocket spring from her memory foam, and everything in between, as well as putting the best duvets through their paces, sourcing the best pillows for a good night's sleep, and rounding up the best cooling mattress toppers, amongst many more night time essentials.

DUSK Cool Gel Foam Hybrid mattress in Annie's bedroom on her bed frame, rolled inside plastic vacuum seal wrap

(Image credit: Annie Collyer)

Our mattress reviews

Looking for a review on a particular mattress? Here are the mattresses that come highly recommended by the Ideal Home team.

Otty bamboo and charcoal mattress in box

(Image credit: Future PLC)

You'll find full details of the Ideal Home review process on our how we test page, including how we put air fryers, vacuum cleaners, BBQs, pizza ovens, and a whole host more products through their paces to bring you our top recommendations.

Amy Lockwood
Amy Lockwood
Sleep Editor

Amy is Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor. She’s spent the last three years researching and testing all things sleep for our audiences whether that’s sorting the wheat from the chaff in our hunt for the best mattress or learning about materials to uncover the best duvet for various sleep needs. She also lends her expertise to our furniture guides, sharing her design knowledge with our readers to help them choose the right sofa for their interior or the best garden furniture for their outside space.

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