Top Mattresses For Comfort and Style
You may not be ready to buy a new mattress or your old one might have lost its comfort. The right top mattress can bring a new life to your bed.
Pillow top mattresses are padded mattresses with extra padding sewn on top of the mattress cover. They’re typically comfortable but not suited for every sleeping style.
Support
A mattress topper is an inexpensive way to give your bed a comfortable makeover. It sits right on top of your mattress, held in place by straps. They can range in thickness from an inch to eight inches. The thinner ones are not as supportive or cushioning but can hide lumps and bumps on your mattress.
Memory foam conforms with the body and relieves pressure points. It also provides good motion isolation, meaning partners won’t disturb each other as much when changing positions in bed.
This topper comes in six sizes and is made from sustainably cultivated natural latex in the U.S. It is breathable and helps to keep the sleeping surface cool and moist. It is encased with a cotton cover which looks and feels luxurious. It is hypoallergenic and washable, and resists mildew and mites. It is backed by a generous warranty.
Comfort
This mattress is made with foams which create a plush feeling and a medium amount of body contouring. It provides a solid support that can promote spinal alignment and relieve back pain. It’s great for those who sleep on their backs, stomachs, or sides.
It’s also flippable, so you can choose between a soft or firm side of the bed. It has a layer made of softer latex and a layer made of memory foam.
Comfort varies by person and can be hard to quantify, but this mattress has plenty of positive feedback from our team, including anecdotal evidence like waking up without back pain or never sweating through sheets. It is also affordable and comes a generous 30-day trial period. It doesn’t provide the same comfort as an all-foam mattress and tends towards compression around the edges. You’ll also need a deep fitted sheet to properly cover it.
Durability
A pillow top mattress has a thick layer of soft material that is glued or stitched to the mattress cover. It is usually between 2 and four inches thick and made from a variety of materials.
The cushioned topper helps reduce pressure on key points like the hips, shoulders and back. It also evenly distributes weight for a better sleep. This is particularly important for those with shoulder, back or hip pain.
Unfortunately, pillow top mattresses have a tendency to sag over time. This is often unavoidable, but rotating the mattress every few months can help prolong its life. Also, pillow top mattresses tend to be deeper than standard mattresses, so it’s important to select sheets that can accommodate the additional cushioning.
Value
The Allswell is the latest mattress-in-a-box from Walmart, and it offers great value at $699 for a queen. It’s a hybrid bed with layers of temperature-regulating foam and copper-gel-infused memory foam. It’s not as plush as top ten mattresses, but it is still comfortable for most people.
It also has a very good edge support for a foam mattress. It comes in a variety of sizes including California king, and a huge 80 by 76-inch King for heavyweight couples.
As Tom’s Guide’s mattress expert, Claire is responsible for all sleep product testing for the site. She has years of product-testing experience and is a certified sleep coach to help readers find the best beds for them. She has written for The Spruce and Apartment Therapy as well as Livingetc. She loves to help readers find solutions to their sleep issues and wind down at night. Her favorite mattress is Nest Bedding Alexander medium firm.