5 Steps Guide: How to Pick a Comfortable Mattress for Your Bed

Buying a bed mattress is not an easy decision. It’s years of commitment to a single product, a significant investment of money and most often a needless investment of time. This is no “recipe” for a one-kind-fit-all bed. You work hard the entire day, you shouldn’t have to work even while you sleep. Let the mattress do the work for you!

In 5 easy but important steps, pick a comfortable mattress for yourself!

1. Understand what you need from a Comfortable Bed Mattress

   The first step is to ask yourself, why am I looking for a new bed mattress? There are many instances where you may find yourself in the need to change your bed mattress or buy a new one, sometimes even without realising it. While there are A LOT of such scenarios, here are a few common ones a lot of people resonate with:Your back hurts as soon as you wake up, you are irritable and grumpy when you wake up, you feel tired and lethargic no matter how much you sleep, your posture has worsened over time, you sweat a lot while sleeping despite the good temperature, you are continuously disturbed by the person you're sleeping next to. It could even be your bed mattress - if it is uneven and saggy, if you feel like you’re sinking into the mattress, if it is too hard or too soft, if you’re uncomfortable in general.

   It is necessary to pinpoint and understand what exactly the problems are. 

   Is your lower back hurting? Is your sleep broken and disturbed? Find the reason before you make a decision, it might make all the difference.

2. Understand what the mattress world has to offer

   There are a plethora of options in the market for this. You spend 1/3rd of your life sleeping, and this greatly impacts the other 2/3rd of your life. According to a study, India is the second most sleep deprived in the world, with an average downtime of 7 hours and 1 minute. Every minute of this time needs to be maximised and for that you need to find the best bed mattress for you. Some of the options available to you are:

   • Coir bed mattress

     A coir mattress is usually made from coconut fibre or coir. It is a natural material extracted from the outer husk of coconuts. The main portion of the mattress is made from coconut coir itself, but owing to the coarseness and hardness of the material multiple foam/latex layers are added to make it soft enough to sleep.
     It has a low bed mattress price, eco-friendly bed mattress and it has moisture-absorbing features with good air circulation. It keeps you cool in hot weather and has negligible partner disturbance and motion transfer. However, the low cost comes with a low durability of 5 years. Coir mattresses are infamous for sagging, losing firmness and getting very hard.

   • Cotton Gada/Cotton bed mattress

     Cotton mattresses have been one of the oldest types of mattresses that have become famous in the modern era. Though used widely, cotton mattresses have become somewhat outdated.
     They are one of the most affordable and cost-efficient types of double bed mattress, with a medium-low bed mattress price. They are also natural and odour free. It is breathable and does not trap body heat keeping you at a good temperature through the night. However, it gives improper and uneven back support as well as causes pain to the joints. A mattress should provide you with proper back support through the night to avoid back pain but this material does not provide this benefit, making it one of the less comfortable mattresses. Being cheap comes at the price of comfort and durability.

   • Spring bed mattress

     Made out of metal spring wrapped in fabric, this is a non-natural mattress. It is available in 2 variants: open coil and pocket spring.
     The open coil variety has interconnected coils with a longer life span. Compared to a Coir bed mattress, it has a cheaper bed mattress price but is more comfortable and durable. But they have a high level of motion transfer and suit people sleeping alone, not the best option for couples.
     The pocket spring variety has springs that are not interconnected and each pocket spring moves separately, thus distributing body weight according to the pressure different parts of your body puts on the mattress. This type of single bed mattress specifically helps to prevent and provide relief for neck and back pain issues. This has a low-medium bed mattress price and medium durability of 7-10 years life span. It also does not retain body heat. However, it is a very heavy mattress and not easy to shift. It is not ideal for someone who wants a soft mattress.
     The main difference between a coil spring and a pocket spring comfort bed mattress is that a pocket spring comfort mattress does not have any motion transfer like a coil spring comfort mattress.

   • Foam bed mattress

     Foam comfort mattresses come in a variety of options.
     - The polyfoam variant is high-density polyurethane foam or PU foam. It is the most common type of foam used in foam comfort bed mattresses.
     - The memory foam variant is a polyurethane material-based comfort mattress that is sensitive to pressure and temperature, where it moulds to the shape of your body and pressure points.
     - Latex Rubber Foam is a natural latex obtained from tapping rubber in trees as opposed to engineered latex. It is available in Dunlop, as well as Talalay variants.
     In the case of the Flo Ortho™ comfort mattress, we use high-resilience PU foam as it provides additional back support. It is typically a super soft sleeping experience. It also has the Flo Responsive™ foam as the base layer that creates a strong foundation. It is highly durable, with orthopedic properties like relief from back or neck pain. It also has the PainRelease™ technology designed to help with back pain/problems by providing extra support.
     The Flo Ergo™ is a comfort bed mattress with a memory foam top layer which takes the shape of your body and gives you a cradled-sink-in feeling that helps you sleep like a baby. The middle layer is a super soft transition foam layer and the Flo Responsive™ foam is the base layer. Its MotionIsolation™ technology enables zero partner disturbance and uninterrupted sleep through the night.
     The Flo Anti-Gravity™ Latex Mattress’ top layer is made from 100% natural pin-core latex. This layer is anti-allergenic and provides support as well as softness as well as support. It has a super soft foam transition layer and then the base is made up of the Flo Responsive™ foam.
     Our mattresses fall under a few of the best bed mattress categories, with additional features 3D Air-Flo™ technology which helps you sleep up to 5° cooler - which pulls heat away from your body and pushes it out through the sides of the mattress and the anti-sag ShapeShield™ feature that enables no bending/sagging for years.

3. Match what you have/want to what you need

   Every single bed mattress has different functionalities and some are made for specific problems. But the use of the bed is not the only factor that comes into play when you want to make a purchase. It is very important to know what shape or size of the mattress suits you best. If you buy a mattress from the traditional route/make a custom made mattress in accordance with your bed frame, you often have to measure the dimensions or wait for someone to come and do it for you. To make the process easier you can refer to a video guide here.
   Additionally, the best bed mattress for you should also be affordable and within your budget. While you may have a large range of options in the traditional market, bed mattress prices are also much higher.

   

   
   In terms of the mattresses discussed above, there is a great variation in the bed mattress price across companies and modes of purchase. Always make sure to get the best possible quality even if it is limited.

   This table will help you quickly match what mattress type will suit you best:

   MATTRESS TYPE	FUNCTION/BENEFIT
   Foam Mattress (orthopedic)/Spring mattress	Helps back/Joint problems, aches and pains, for 60+ year-old parents
   Foam Mattress (Memory)	Pressure relief
   Foam Mattress	Sink-in feeling
   Spring Mattress	Bounciness
   Foam Mattress (Latex)	Support+Softness
   Cotton gadda	Very low cost
   Foam Mattress (Memory)	Pressure relief
   Foam mattress (Latex)/Coir/Cotton Foam mattress (Latex)	Natural+Eco Friendly
   Foam mattress (Latex)	Anti-allergenic
   Cotton Gadda	Odour free and breathable
   Spring mattress	Sleeping alone

4. Make an informed decision

   Be a smart customer! A mattress is a long-term investment. It is always better to do research and get the best possible alternative and gather as much information about the products you have in mind. Some key aspects to keep in mind: Features, price, maintenance, life span, warranty, experience. If you are planning to buy in-store at a traditional multi-brand/flagship store, make sure you get a good feel of the mattress, see how comfortable it is, and verify the specifics. If you are offered a warranty, check how long it is and what it covers. If it’s a custom-made bed, verify the return or exchange policy. Flo bed mattresses can currently be purchased exclusively online, but we offer a 10-year warranty and a 100-night risk free-trial!

5. Once you make the purchase, never worry about your sleep again!

   If your mattress purchase is not serving its purpose, or worse, increasing the problems you are already facing. It is not a good fit and you should fix your sleeping situation immediately. We recommend trying out a mattress for 14-21 days first and seeing if you are able to adapt to it. Often, customers jump to conclusions about the mattress on the first or second night. Understand that might not be the correct approach since the body also takes time to adapt to changes. Carefully test out what’s working for you and be prompt in action in case something isn’t! Happy Shopping!