Here’s Exactly How We Test Mattresses and Sleep Products

Creating the sleep environment of your dreams should be, well, dreamy. But with so many different mattresses, pillows, and sheets available that cater to so many needs, comparing options and choosing a winner to buy can be overwhelming.

That’s where SELF’s vetted experts and original data can help. We rigorously test hundreds of mattresses and sleep accessories to evaluate things like firmness, cooling ability, and durability (more on each of those below!) so you can rest easy knowing we’ve done our homework. Thanks to our comprehensive reviews, there’s only one nightmare you may still encounter in the process of shopping for all your bedroom needs: wondering why you didn’t use our intel sooner.

How our testing process works

• Independently source the best products and test everything we recommend
• Call in experts and peer-reviewed research to verify any medical claims
• Remain objective when reviewing products

• Get paid to include products or positive reviews
• Include products that we haven’t tried in our roundups
• Make any false claims about a product

Our full testing process is as long as a CVS receipt (in a good way), but it generally follows a two-pronged approach. First, our testers have at it, gathering data in our testing labs on a series of performance factors that are relevant to each product. We work with testers of many body types and sleeping positions in order to understand how the mattress might work for a range of experiences.

After we wrap the testing phase and choose the best items to include in our roundups, a medical professional reviews any health claims we make about the products. So, if we say sleeping on a particular mattress can help ease sciatica pain, you’ll be able to see that a qualified professional agrees. We also reference the most recent peer-reviewed medical studies.

Mattress performance factors

Sharpen your pencils, sleepers—it’s time to test! JK, we do that for you. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of all the factors we consider and how we score each on a scale of 1 to 5. To get an overall mattress rating, we average scores from the individual categories (except firmness, which gets its own score out of 10).

To get a better look at a mattress's materials—including memory foam, latex, innerspring, or a hybrid combination—we literally cut into it. This helps us understand how every layer contributes to the overall support, cooling, pressure relief, and more.

It’s super annoying when you’re minding your own business and sleeping soundly, only for a partner or child or pet to plop onto the bed, waking you up. This headache is called motion transfer, which is the measure of how well a mattress isolates movement. It’s especially important for people who share their bed. Here’s how we test it:

• The water test: Remember those old-school memory foam mattress commercials, where a glass of wine is placed on one side of the bed as someone jumps on the other? We actually do that (but in our version, we press down on the bed rather than jump). If the glass doesn’t move much, we assign a high score; if water (in our case—why waste a good red on this?) spills or the glass falls over, we’ll rank it on the lower end.
• The bed-disruption test: Two people climb into bed. One person stays still while the other tosses and turns to see how much doing so disrupts the entire mattress. This kind of testing helps us gauge real-life implications of bed-sharing, like whether or not you’ll be able to stay asleep while your active-sleeper partner is dreaming about completing their first triathlon.
• The “bounce test”: This involves dropping a 20-pound kettlebell from 4, 8, and 12 inches above the bed. We then use a seismograph machine to measure how much the mattress vibrates once the ball impacts it. The results tell us what it might feel like to be in that bed with a tossing-and-turning mate.

Responsiveness refers to how bouncy a mattress feels and how quickly it responds to your movements. Some people prefer a less-responsive, slow-moving, contouring mattress that cradles your body and allows you to sink into it—like falling into quicksand—and others may pick a bouncier-feeling option that’s easier to move around on.

We rank responsiveness by having our experts lie down on a bed and move through different sleeping positions. The easier it is to shift positions on a mattress, the higher the ranking.

When you think of how a mattress feels when you lie on it, firmness is probably what you’re considering. Firmness describes how hard or soft you’d call your mattress. Because it’s so important, we approach this category with extra care, rating it on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most solid—comparable to lying on the ground.

A diverse group of testers scores firmness by lying on the mattress and rating its feel. Generally, the more you weigh, the further you’ll sink into a mattress just due to gravity. Because of this, we’ve found that people who weigh less tend to prefer a softer mattress so they can sink in further for comfort, and those who weigh more might want something firmer so they don’t sink in too much.

Sleeping positions can also affect the kind of support a person needs, which plays into the level of firmness they’ll want. Our testers get this, so they cycle through different sleeping positions as part of their process.

Certain sleeping positions are associated with feeling stiffness in different spots on the body; side sleepers tend to feel it in their shoulders and hips, and back sleepers more so in their lumbar area. A mattress’s ability to relieve pressure is important for making sure that when you wake up, you’re not feeling more achy than when you went to sleep.

To assess this, our testers lie on top of a pressure-mapping device that covers the bed like a blanket. The device’s sensors connect to an app that shows an orange or red heat signal in areas where sleepers are really feeling extra force on their joints. We use the mapping device for all sleeping positions, and when we see those telltale colors on the screen, we rank that mattress lower for pressure relief.

Waking up in a pool of sweat is not fun. For the many folks who sleep hot, having a cooling mattress is nonnegotiable. We determine whether a mattress will be able to keep temps down in three ways:

• The “hot touch” test: This measures how warm a mattress feels after one of our experts lies on it for an extended period.
• The thermal imaging test: Using a thermal imaging camera, we literally see how quickly a mattress heats up after lying down on it—and by exactly how many degrees. Mattresses that heat up by 15°F or more get the lowest scores, while those that heat up by 5°F or fewer get the best scores.
• The cool-material eval: Certain mattresses, like innerspring, are naturally cooler because the springs allow air to travel throughout the mattress. Cooling materials—like gel, copper, and phase-change materials, which studies suggest can change temperatures within the mattress—can help keep things chill, too, in mattresses of any construction. That means even if you have a foam mattress, which is known to trap heat, you aren’t necessarily destined to feel like you just left the sauna whenever you get out of bed.

Edge support measures how strong the mattress is around its perimeter. Whether you sleep near the edge of the bed or simply sit there while putting on your socks, this metric can mean the difference between staying put or rolling onto the floor.

To rate this category, our testers lie close to the bed’s edges. Mattresses that are just as supportive toward the sides as they are in the middle earn high scores, whereas those that feel less stable get lower numbers.

To get the full, real-deal experience of buying a new mattress, our testers personally order and unbox them, which means they can speak to shipping, delivery, assembly, and off-gassing smells firsthand. To rate a brand’s customer service, we get in touch in every way it offers: email, phone, and online-chat. In addition to this type of “secret-shopper” research, we interview people who have had each mattress for longer than six months to get their long-term thoughts on these points:

• Whether a company offers white-glove delivery, which offers in-home delivery and mattress removal
• How easy a mattress is to set up, and how many people setup requires
• Any off-gassing smells after unboxing
• Trial periods and warranties
• Shipping costs and times
• Whether the company will remove your old mattress
• Our testers’ experience with customer service

Other factors we consider beyond scoring

While not part of our official testing process, other product details factor into our reviews and recommendations—because they impact your sleeping experience the same way a restaurant’s vibe (and not just the food) can make or break your night out.

• Price
• Value
• Sustainability and business practices
• Allergen- and eco-friendly materials

How we test sleep accessories

Having a stellar mattress is just one component of securing a great night’s sleep. You deserve world-class pillows, sheets, bedding, and sleep devices like trackers and apps, too.

We evaluate five relevant factors of each sleep product and give most a score between 1 and 5. These values are based on our initial impression, and also how the product holds up over an extended testing period of 30 days.

Here are the specifics on what we test for each type of product—and the key questions each test aims to answer:

You deserve to rest your head on something awesome, so we test pillows to help us understand their cooling ability, support they offer for different sleeping positions, how long they should last, and their materials.

• Temperature regulation: Can the pillow stay cool throughout the night, or will you need to constantly flip it to prevent overheating?
• Support: How well does the pillow support the neck and head in all sleeping positions?
• Responsiveness: Can the pillow contour to the shape of the head and neck? Can it withstand tossing and turning?
• Durability: How long do we estimate the pillow should last?
• Construction: What are the pillow’s materials? Is it allergen- and toxin-free?

Our tests of sheets and blankets help us determine how cozy you’ll feel when using them and whether they generally live up to their claims (for example, if the brand says a blanket will keep you toasty—will it?).

• Temperature regulation: What materials are the sheets or blankets made from, and how does that factor into their cooling or warming capabilities?
• Softness: What does the texture of a sheet or blanket feel like? How cozy is it?
• Washing capabilities: How easy are the sheets and blankets to clean, and can they be machine-washed?
• Durability: How high-quality are the sheets and blankets? For instance, what’s the thread count, the style of weave, and what fabric are they made from?
• Breathability: Are the sheets and blankets moisture-wicking? Better yet, can they prevent hot sleepers from overheating and sweating in the first place?

For mattress toppers and pads, we consider many sleeping positions and body types in our scoring.

• Responsiveness: How easily can we move around on a mattress pad or topper?
• Support: How well does it relieve pressure, keep the spine in alignment, and support different body shapes and sizes?
• Motion transfer: How much can a person move around without waking their bedmate?
• Durability: Based on its materials and construction, how long do we estimate the topper or pad to last?
• Breathability: How much air moves through the topper or pad, and how cool can it keep sleepers overnight?

Much like insurance, mattress protectors are very smart to have because, well, you just never know. To help us understand things like how effective a protector is and how annoying it might be to get atop your mattress, we test the five categories below.

• Protection: How well does it protect the mattress from odors, dander, stains, sweat, and other liquids? Does it actually stay on the mattress or pop off when you shift around?
• Responsiveness: Can a person move around on a mattress protector without it getting weirdly squeaky or otherwise noisy?
• Washing capabilities: Is it machine-washable and easy to clean?
• Durability: How long should the mattress protector last, based on factors like materials and construction?
• Fit: Does the protector come in a variety of sizes and work on a wide range of mattresses?

Mattress foundations, platforms, and frames aren’t just design accessories that (literally) elevate your bed’s aesthetic. They can also help reinforce the mattress, which in turn, supports you.

• Assembly: How easy is it for the average user to assemble the foundation?
• Support: Does the foundation feel stable or wobbly? Does it move or shake when someone sleeps on it?
• Compatibility: Do many mattress models pair with the foundation?
• Durability: What materials make up the foundation, and will it hold up over a long period
• Weight limit: How many pounds can the foundation support? How does this number compare to similar models?

We’re all in on the latest sleep tech; we test apps, trackers, and even sunrise alarm clocks. Our testers review each item by using it at home for a period of time (the testing window varies by device).

Sleep-tech products have a lot of variability, so for this category, we open up our testing framework to consider any factors we think you might find important and relevant. Across the board, though, we examine how easy they are to use and what they’ll cost you.