Choosing the Right Firmness
As you’re contemplating your next mattress purchase, it’s important to remember that your choice of firmness will have a big impact on your overall level of comfort. There is no one right answer about how firm your mattress should be, and the best way to be sure is to test out a variety of options in your preferred sleeping position and see how they feel.
Here, the experts at Dreamwool Beds break down exactly what you need to think about when choosing your mattress firmness level, and how to select the best firmness for your individual needs and preferences.
Latex vs Pocketspring
Both latex and pocketspring mattresses can be made in a range of different firmness settings to suit your needs – one option is not inherently firmer or softer than the other. They do, however, have a slightly different feel, with latex providing a stable conformity and pocketsprings offering more resistance with a bit of movement.
How Firmness Levels are Achieved
In cheaper, synthetic mattresses, firmness is often increased by reducing the volume of materials and comfort layers or changing the quilting pattern, all of which can negatively impact your quality of sleep. At Dreamwool, we offer three firmness options for every mattress – soft, medium and firm – and these are achieved by changing the gauge of the springs or the density of the latex, or both.
Pocketspring Gauges
Depending on your firmness preference, we can make your pocketspring mattress with springs that are from 1.2mm up to 2mm in thickness each with a different pitch and diameter. Everything else – including the volume of luxurious Merino wool – is the same, but the density and type of spring changes the way it responds to your weight. Higher density equals a firmer fit, and lower density offers more plushness.
Latex Density
As with the pocketsprings, we don’t remove anything from our latex mattresses to make them feel firmer. On the contrary, we simply add more latex for a firmer fit – from 75kg per cubic metre up to 110kg per cubic metre – to meet your unique needs and preferences. A good way to think of it is like the comparison between a chocolate brownie and a piece of chocolate sponge cake. All the great stuff is still in there; it’s just a matter of personal preference.
Do firm mattresses get softer?
There’s a common misconception that a firm mattress will soften over time, meaning that consumers will sometimes buy a mattress that is too firm for their needs, thinking they’ll break it in and it will get softer and more comfortable with use. The truth is, if your mattress has been made with high-quality latex and/or pocketsprings, it shouldn’t deteriorate. If you bought it too firm, it’s likely to stay that way. And if you bought a firm mattress made with synthetic or insufficient fillings, it’s actually more likely that it will get firmer as the comfort layers wear down and compact over time.
Making the Right Firmness Choice
The main things to consider when you’re deciding on your ideal firmness level are weight and body shape, age, any physical injuries, partner comfort, and your preferred sleep position, as all of these factors will impact your decision. Smaller and older bodies tend to need a bit more softness along with side sleepers, as can partners who are easily disturbed, whereas larger bodies and back-sleepers might prefer a bit more resistance. The only way to know for sure is to talk about your unique sleep needs with your mattress retailer, test out a few options, and see for yourself.
We find that people often think they want a firm bed until they’ve spent some time sleeping on one. For most sleepers, a medium firmness is a good starting point. At Dreamwool, we recommend that you err on the side of slightly too soft rather than slightly too firm, as your mattress will always feel firmer after eight hours of sleep than it did after 10 minutes on the shop floor.Book a chat with us today so we can help you find your perfect fit.