Testing a mattress in a showroom certainly gives you a great idea of how comfortable, soft or firm your options are. In a showroom you can also see firsthand how the mattresses are constructed and what they look like, but if you know what to look for you don't have to be there in person to know you're getting a good quality mattress that will greatly improve your quality of sleep.

Mattresses are offered in two major styles: innerspring and foam. Innerspring mattresses feature coiled metal springs layered between sheets of foam and padding. Foam mattresses do not contain the spring layer, but instead substitute higher-density foams for springs to provide back support at a lower cost or quality.

Important Mattress Attributes

Softness: To keep you well-rested and ache-free, a mattress must be soft at all contact points. When a mattress softly cushions every bone in your body, your sleep will be best.

Support: Mattresses should be firm enough to align your body correctly while you sleep; if the mattress is too soft, it will not support your neck and back and you will be sore when you wake.

Size: The five standard mattress sizes that you can choose from are:

• Twin: 39 x 75 inches
• Full/Double: 53 x 75
• Queen: 60 x 80
• King: 78 x 80
• California King: 72 x 84

If you're sleeping with a partner and need more room, buy larger mattress that will give you personal space and rolling room. If your bedroom is not large enough to accommodate a big bed, buy a smaller twin or full size bed.

Once you've determined what size and firmness you need, the next step in choosing a quality mattress is evaluating the construction and components of the mattress's support.

Mattress Components

• Ticking: The outermost layer of mattresses are made usually with a cotton-polyester blend. Gold Bond mattresses feature cotton damask fabric or pillowtops for enhanced comfort. Sleep and Comfort mattresses offer revolutionary allergen-blocking deluxe cover material.
• Quilting and Top Padding: Mattresses have a few layers of padding underneath the ticking. Most mattresses have quilting made of foam or batting. Batting provides uniform softness. Our high-quality mattresses are made with luxurious blends of silk and natural wool fiber batting that provide twice the cushioning and breathability of normal quilting.
• Middle Padding: Middle padding usually starts with convoluted foam, which feels softer than a flat slab of the same foam type. Convoluted foam spreads weight over a wider surface area, and the result is enhanced comfort. Other padding options include garnetted cotton (thick wads of batting that provide loft but compress quickly), and more foam layers of varied thickness and density. In our mattresses we offer great combinations of high-resiliency foam, latex core, and latex topper. The different layers of foam provide support and cushioning to give you the best sleep possible.
• Insulated Padding: Insulated padding lies right on top of the springs to prevent them from being felt while you sleep. Common insulated fabric materials include matted fabric, plastic fibers, and coco padding (made from coconut husk fibers). Coco padding makes mattresses feel stiffer. Alternatives include plastic webbing and metal grids that may lie directly on top of springs to prevent them from destroying the pad above.
• Extra Support: At the edges of the mattress extra dense foam adds extra support to the mattress, giving you a good place to sit and put on your slippers in the morning.
• Coils: Premium full size mattresses offer over 400 coils, while lower end mattresses offer closer to 312 coils. Coils are configured in a number of different ways; possible coil configurations include hourglass, individual pockets and sense and respond coils. Some high-end innerspring mattresses feature superior support from their helical and alternating coil technology that equally balances weight impact from head to toe of the mattress.
• Box Spring: The box spring can provide extra softness and comfort. As simply a wooden frame covered with boards, a wooden frame with springs or a metal frame with springs, box springs generally work better when purchased as a set since the sets are designed to work together. Our boxspring and mattress sets provide the ultimate combination of support and cushioning, engineered to compliment each other for the best sleeping experience you'll ever have.