Foam, Spring, Hybrid Mattresses – What’s The Difference?
With so many different types of mattresses on the market - and new “innovative, groundbreaking” technologies being released every year, how do you make a decision? Soft? Firm? Plush? Pillow-top or memory foam? Cooling gel-infused? Smartphone-enabled? The sheer number of options can be daunting, but what it really boils down to is: Does it help you sleep better? In general, most mattresses on the market these days can be broadly categorized as innerspring, foam or hybrid (some combination thereof). And while within each category, mattress size and firmness profiles can differ quite dramatically, each of these mattress types has some unique characteristics of which you should be aware before you make your next big purchase.
What Is A Spring Mattress?
A spring or innerspring mattress is the most traditional mattress of the lot. It’s likely what your parents had, and their parents had, etc. The support system of a spring mattress typically is made up of an interconnected system of steel spring coils. The coils are usually crafted with steel wire of different gauges, or thicknesses, and lined up in rows designed to adjust to support as you adjust your body weight through the night. A note about coil gauge: the lower the gauge number, the firmer the coil spring. The steel used in mattress coils varies typically from 12- to 15-gauge varieties. So a mattress with 15-gauge coils will have a softer feel than the firm 12-gauge coil mattress.
What Are ‘Pocket Springs?’
More recently, “pocket spring” technology has emerged in the mattress space. With pocket springs, the coils are individually wrapped within their own fabric housing (rather than interconnected) to promote more responsiveness, freedom of movement and enhanced support. The coils are housed in a padded shell and encased with various quilted, padded and fabric layers. Leesa’s luxury hybrid mattress contains 1,000 premium-grade steel springs that are engineered from about 20-feet of recycled steel billet.
What Is A Foam Mattress?
Today’s foam mattresses are typically constructed of multiple types of foam layered to maximize sleep quality, provide superior support and facilitate maximum recovery during the sleep cycle. If you’ve landed here at Leesa, you’ve probably been researching memory foam mattresses and want to discover the differences, the benefits and the level of quality found in today’s advanced and elegantly designed Leesa mattress. Foam mattresses consist of multiple layers, a foundation or base layer, a middle layer of body contouring memory foam and a top layer to provide support and airflow. The exciting thing about the advances in memory foam technology found in the Leesa mattress is that you can order it exclusively online, have it made for you to order and have it shipped to your door within a week to ten days.
What Is A Hybrid Mattress?
The hybrid mattress is trending as an option for those who like the best attributes of both memory foam and innerspring mattresses. Essentially the hybrid is an innerspring core encased by a high-density foam, and is topped with multiple layers of the same high-support memory and polyurethane foams used in trending memory foam mattresses. For those who enjoy a blend of spring support but insist on the quality and contouring of memory foam, a hybrid may be just the choice.