Over our years of mattress testing, we have established tests that we use to rate mattresses on key factors.
Firmness and feel
You can think of firmness as how hard or soft a mattress feels when you lie on it. We’ve tested hundreds of mattresses and have an extensive catalog to compare with every new bed we test.
When assessing sensation, we become familiar with the bed. By pressing on the bed we observe what the material does. Does it take a second to bounce back like traditional memory foam, or is it quick and bouncy like latex foam?
Sustainability
Mattresses don’t last forever and you want to buy one that does. Based on its construction, we hypothesize how well a mattress will hold up to nighttime use. Beds with steel springs as a base will generally last longer than all-foam mattresses.
Motion isolation
Motion isolation is how well a mattress cushions movement across the surface. This is a big problem for people who sleep with a partner or a pet that moves around at night. We jump and bounce on the mattress to isolate movement and see how much movement is detected. We also place a glass of water on the edge of the bed and roll and bounce next to it. If it does not tip over, a mattress offers good movement isolation.
Peripheral support
The edge support of a mattress is the strength of the perimeter of the bed. We lie down and sit on the edge of the mattress and assess its strength. If we feel like we’re going to fall, then a bed doesn’t have good edge support.
Temperature
Hot sleepers should look for mattresses with cooling technology. Many mattresses claim to have this, but we know the difference between marketing and cooling construction that will actually keep you cool.
Our CNET Sleep editors have selected the beds and other products we write about based on their editorial merit. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about how we test mattresses.
