How to Decide – Hybrid or Memory Foam Mattress?
If you don’t get a good night’s sleep each night, your health will suffer for it, which is why a good mattress is the first thing you should look at when you’re not sleeping well. Different mattresses have different lifespans, but once it’s time to replace your mattress, it’s crucial that it be done immediately. Even one night spent on an “expired” mattress can cause aches and pains and restless sleep, but fortunately, you have a lot of choices available to you when you do decide to replace that lumpy or saggy mattress.
Different Types of Mattresses
There are three main types of mattresses: a standard mattress with covered coils/springs, a memory foam mattress, and a hybrid mattress, which is a combination of the first two. All of them have their own advantages and disadvantages, and all of them are available in different firmness levels, which means finding the right one to keep you comfortable is always a breeze. If you have a specialized need, such as a bad back, it’s even more important to find the right mattress, but once you determine what those needs are, it is easier to choose the right mattress.
Innerspring coil mattresses used to be the only ones available. With these mattresses, hundreds of innerspring coils are inside of the mattress to provide just the right amount of firmness so that you can move and be comfortable without experiencing too much bounce. Today’s mattresses are usually pocket springs, which means each coil/spring is wrapped individually so that you get a little more support. When they were not individually wrapped, some of these mattresses provided a little bit too much bounce and not enough support.
When memory foam mattresses came along, people were amazed that there was no transfer of motion, which meant the comfort level of one person was not directly affected by the movement of the other person. To some people, it sounded too stiff and rigid to be comfortable, but once they tried one of these mattresses out, they quickly realized that they were perfect. Indeed, memory foam is firm enough to allow for all types of sleepers to sleep comfortably without disturbing the other person in the bed, and without being so stiff that it causes back problems.
So, if you love the benefits of both the innerspring coil mattresses and the memory foam mattresses and you are therefore considering a hybrid mattress, which one should you choose? The first thing you need to do is learn more details about both the hybrid mattress and the memory foam mattress, which should make your decision a lot easier to make.
All About a Memory Foam Mattress
If you’re confused about what a memory foam mattress is, its design is a lot easier to understand than you think. These mattresses are made out of a special foam material designed by NASA, and their most unique characteristic is the fact that there is little to no transfer of motion. This means that if your partner tosses and turns all night, you won’t be kept awake by that tossing and turning but instead, you can sleep soundly as if you’re in the bed all by yourself.
This also means that the mattress adjusts to your individual needs because its foam conforms to the contours of your body. You don’t move around as much and you stay in place better, which eases your pressure points and eliminates pain. It can also help with snoring and other sleep disorders because your body stays aligned better than it would with another type of mattress, which can directly affect your breathing.
There are other advantages as well. For example, memory foam is dust-resistant and low-maintenance so it helps people with allergies and is easy to clean. It is also much more breathable than other types of mattresses and will keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. One thing to remember, however, not all memory foam mattresses have this particular feature, so if this is important to you, you’ll need to research a mattress thoroughly before deciding to purchase it. Memory foam mattresses with a thermo-regulation feature are usually made with some type of gel infusions, so this is what you should look for.
Memory Foam or Hybrid?
Deciding between a hybrid mattress and a memory foam mattress can be difficult when you learn how great both of these mattresses are, but there are things you can keep in mind to help you make the right decision in the end. To start with, let’s take a look at some of the main advantages of a hybrid mattress:
- They tend to be less expensive. Innerspring mattresses are the least expensive, while memory foam mattresses are usually the most expensive. Hybrid mattresses are somewhere in between but still affordable.
- They offer the best of both worlds – all of the advantages of an innerspring coil mattress with those of a memory foam mattress.
- Your overall quality of sleep can be greatly improved. This is because the mattresses do, in fact, provide the many advantages of two different types of mattresses, including advantages that directly affect how well you sleep.
- They are great for side sleepers. If you sleep on your side and want to make sure you remain comfortable as you sleep, hybrid mattresses are the best because of the way they support and conform to your body shape.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the biggest advantages of a standard memory foam mattress, which include:
- They offer practically no motion transfer, making it perfect for people with partners who toss and turn throughout the night.
- They mold to your body and therefore hug you in all the right places. This means you’ll be in the exact position you need to be in for extra comfort.
- They do a great job of relieving pain, mainly because they fit the contours of your body and keep you in the right position as you sleep.
- They are hypoallergenic and therefore perfect for people who suffer with allergy problems.
- They are very quiet mattresses.
Finally, let’s take a look at the many benefits of a hybrid mattress, which typically has the innerspring coils at the bottom part of the mattress and the memory foam covering the top of it. For this section, we’re going to take a look at both the pros and cons of the typical hybrid mattress, which include:
Pros:
- Fits the contours of your body for perfect support.
- Gives you the bounce and resilience you love.
- Offers the benefits of both innerspring coil mattresses and memory foam mattresses.
- Provides ventilation and temperature control.
- Reduced motion transfer.
- They may have edge protection to help the mattress last longer.
- You get a wide range of options when it comes to firmness, temperature regulation, contouring, and much more.
Cons:
- Some don’t have the longevity you expect because there are so many layers that can give out or become dysfunctional.
- They are sometimes the “jack of all trades and master of none.”
- They can be difficult to move from one location to another because they are usually quite heavy.
Who Should Consider Buying a Hybrid Mattress?
So, with all these pros and cons, just who is the hybrid mattress good for? Learning how to choose the best mattress means going over the pros and cons of each type so you can decide which one is right for you. We’ve already mentioned how good these mattresses are for side sleepers, but they are good for other sleepers as well, including those who:
● Are too warm or hot when they sleep.
● Sleep in many different positions throughout the night.
● Sleep on their sides or backs, because of their ability to fit the contours of your body and lend every body part the support it needs.
● Weigh 230 lbs or more because the mattresses always provide the support they need.
Conclusion
Regular innerspring coil mattresses, memory foam mattresses, and hybrid mattresses all offer advantages and disadvantages. If you need to decide how to choose the right mattress for your needs, you have to first determine what those needs are. Do you snore? Do you toss and turn a lot when you sleep? Do you sleep with a partner who does this? Do you have specific aches and pains you’d like to get rid of? All of these things make a difference when shopping for a mattress, and a few other aspects you might want to consider are the price, available sizes, and type of financing that is available. All of these things will make a difference in what you choose in the end, but at least you now have a good starting point.