This article was produced in partnership with Serta
We believe in obsessing over sleep. We all know seven to nine hours a night for most adults keeps our brains happy, helps bring our A game to the gym, and supports all-around physical and mental health. But we don’t always know what’s best for optimizing sleep hygiene. One of the best ways to fast-track sleep success is resting your weary head on a new mattress. We’ve culled the best mattresses of the bunch from budget finds to big-ticket splurges to help you get your best night’s sleep every night.
Budget Buys: Best Mattresses Under $500
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Best Overall: Serta EZ Tote
Serta’s first mattress in a box will have you blasting off to dreamland in no time. A unique gel memory foam cradles your body without trapping heat (some memory foams can be stiflingly hot). The standard mattress has 8 inches of medium-firm foam, but athletes should consider the 10-inch Sheep Retreat™ EZ Tote, which offers more transitional support foam to better distribute body weight and alleviate tight hips and low back pain. You’ve never experienced durability and plushness like this for such an affordable price tag.
If you’re a combination sleeper (i.e. you roll from your back to stomach), it can be tough to find a bed with the right balance. This 10-inch semi-firm mattress features an ice yarn cover to keep you comfortable no matter the season. The cooling gel memory foam doesn’t have that sinking sensation; it actually helps relieve pressure points. If you don’t notice a difference after the 100-night trial, you can get refunded. Bonus: Sleepenvie donates a percentage of sales to SKETCH, which helps marginalized youth through the arts.
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Best Overall: Molecule 2 AirTEC Mattress With Microban
You know a mattress is good when it’s the preferred choice of elite athletes (the likes of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson). It packs standout features like temperature regulation, antimicrobial technology (bacteria is attracted to the coating’s positive charge and eliminated), and eco-friendly manufacturing. The brand is known for its recovery-focused products, so the active set may also want to check out its sheets, pillows, mattress toppers, and more.
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Runner-up: Agility by Therapedic, Agility Hybrid Mattress
Mini micro-coils and specialty foams might not mean much to you, but believe us when we say they mean serious comfort and support for your back and body as a whole no matter your sleep position. This mattress uses natural latex and other premium materials to keep you cool and cradled all night long with the added bonus of pressure point relief. The brand makes its products entirely in the U.S., and all mattresses are made “fresh” to order.
Luxury Picks: The Best High-End Mattresses if Money Is No Object for Sleep
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Best Overall (tie): DUX Dynamic
Yes, $9,000 to $20,000 isn’t exactly chump change, but for a personalized system that provides full-body elevation capabilities, so you can read or eat in bed to your heart’s content, it’s well worth the sticker shock. The press of a button lets you customize each side of the mattress thanks to a Bluetooth controller. Enjoy superb ergonomic support tailored to you and your partner’s preferences. Need more convincing this is a splurge worth making? DUX’s High Performance Sleep System has nine decades of research and testing under its belt. These mattress perfectionists known exactly how to calibrate and configure spring components to accommodate every body.
If you find yourself with $20,000 (Twin XL) to $39,695 (California King) to blow on a bed, A) we hope you’ll put one in your guest room for us; B) Make it a Hästens Herlewing (Herlewing means “waking up” in Afrikaans). These sustainably produced mattresses comprise 35 hand-made layers of natural materials (including horsehair, cotton, wool, flax, pine, etc.) and a spring system in which each individually responds to pressure for optimal give. You’ll be feeling more swaddled and spoiled than ever before. The Swedish company dates back to 1852, and its signature blue checkered pattern isn’t just for aesthetics; it doubles as an alignment tool for the craftspeople as they fashion each mattress.
Advanced temperature balancing comes in the form of 3D fabric that keeps you cool. But that’s not all the bells and whistles: This bed digitally senses your movements and automatically adjusts the firmness to keep you counting sheep. It even tracks circadian insights, sleep wellness reports, heart rate variability (HRV), and more. Sleep Number works with a Scientific Advisory Board of scientists, physicians, clinicians, and researchers with expertise in sleep science and health to promote evidence-based sleep and health expertise to its robust technology and design.
Hook, line, and sinker: This mattress has cooling and heating controls on either side (you can easily program within the Eight Sleep app), and GentleRise Wake Up Technology that combines vibration and gradual cooling or warming before your designated wake time. Aside from the app’s daily health check and HRV monitoring, the bed senses the room’s climate via ambient sensors and makes adjustments accordingly.
Shangri-La for hot sleepers awaits. This best-in-class mattress boasts cooling power that’s 15 times better than other models, seamlessly pulling heat away from your body and into the mattress like magic. As you slumber, you’ll appreciate three types of memory foam, a superior micro-coil system, and a Serta Foam Core for edge-to-edge support. Choose from plush foam or medium hybrid support, or opt for the Arctic Premier with a firm foam or plush hybrid option. Once you go Arctic, you’ll never go back.
Hot sleepers, rejoice. This mattress boasts cooling ceramic gel and graphite in the top layer of foam to draw body heat away from you. An extra layer of the brand’s patented Adaptive® foam and reinforced support edges lend better support for you and your partner (read: minimal motion transfer). Better yet, the mattress is treated with microsilver technology, which provides antimicrobial protection to help lengthen its lifespan.
