Buying a new mattress? Here’s a few things you should know
Contrary to popular belief, the softness or firmness of a mattress does not affect the support level since most quality innerspring systems are actually the same among different beds. A softer bed can provide just as much support as a firmer one, the only difference is the amount of plush material placed on top of the springs. With some manufacturers, the cost of the mattress does affect the support system by varying the coil count. The higher the cost, the more coils there are to support the body.
However, the coil count of a mattress should not be your only consideration. I used to have a Stearns and Foster brand mattress which had the same lower coil count in every mattress no matter the price. Sterns and Foster maintained that their coils were made with a heavier weight metal and so they were able to provide more support with fewer coils. Before you ask which mattresses use heavier weight metal for their springs, just know that name brand innerspring mattresses all use excellent support systems. I recommend that you choose your mattress based on the softness or firmness you prefer.
The aerobed provides comfort and support together through the use of air. The softness is changed by using more or less air in the chamber. In some models, the firmness can be set to different levels on the different sides of the bed. This allows sleep partners to choose their own comfort level. Sleep Number Beds by Select Comfort are marketed as having a unique air chamber design which allows each sleeper to adjust the mattress to the firmness or softness they prefer. A waterbed uses a similar system using water instead of air. The firmness of a waterbed mattress however, is created through the use of multiple baffles to reduce the motion and sag allowed by the older “water balloon” models. Most modern waterbed mattresses are designed to look like standard mattresses and fit standard bed frames. One of the nice features of a waterbed is that the temperature can be easily adjusted.