Soft, Medium or Firm – Which Mattress Do You Need? Part One

Using firmness as a guide is a popular way of identifying a suitable mattress. However, this method is not always fool proof and can even on occasion prove problematic.

In this post, the first of two, we will explain the flaws in this particular selection process.

Poorly Defined Terms

The first pitfall of selecting your mattress by its firmness is that the term itself is quite poorly defined when used in the context beds. Firmness is often used interchangeably with the word support. While certainly related, the two, when we talk about mattresses at least, have quite disparate meanings (this is a topic we cover further here).

Firmness relates to the feel of a bed. This is a factor that is defined by the materials used to upholster it, whether this be wool, cotton, foam or any other filling. Support, on the other hand, describes the force that is required to compress or extend the springs of a given mattress; this is a metric known as weight tolerance. Support is a factor that is influenced by both the weight tolerance of the springs inside the mattress as well as the number of springs the mattress has relative to its size.

Personal Preference

Another significant drawback of selecting a mattress based on it whether it is soft, medium or firm is that this can be all a matter of opinion. In a previous post we have considered the issue of “alignment” and how the bed aligns to you as a user.  For instance, one mattress may feel firm in the extreme to a customer but to the salesperson with whom they are conversing this same bed feels akin to sleeping on a marshmallow.

In addition to personal preference, the perceived firmness of a mattress can be heavily influenced by the weight of a person. So with all this in mind, what is the best method of selecting a mattress? This is a topic we will discuss in the second part of this post. Spoiler alert – You should always go into a specialist bed retailer and try the beds before you purchase.

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