If your mattress is keeping you up at night, you can find some decent fall discounts. And the good news, if you’re not ready to buy right now, is you’ll probably find discounts whenever you need a new mattress.
Mattress sales happen almost constantly, so you should always aim to knock some money off of the full retail price no matter when or where you’re buying. For online retailers, look for discount codes. And always negotiate, especially in a store.
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More important is which mattress you buy. That’s where CR’s battery of tests comes in. Will the mattress support back and side sleepers of all different sizes? Is it durable? Will it hold its shape and support after a simulated eight years of use, and is it stable, meaning will you feel your partner’s movements with every toss and turn?
Testers also use special equipment that assesses and calculates how firm a mattress really is. Each manufacturer has a different idea of firmness, so CR’s testers assign a number from 1 to 10, where 1 is very soft and 10 is very firm. That way you can compare firmness from mattress to mattress.
CR’s latest tests revealed consistent top performers like the Avocado Green innerspring mattress for $1,500 and the Casper Original foam mattress for $1,100. Both offer at least very good support for a variety of sleepers and are on the firmer side of CR’s scale.
On the softer side and new to the recommended list is the Denver Mattress Doctor’s Choice innerspring mattress, a CR Best Buy at $750. It receives an Excellent score in CR’s durability tests, as well as Excellent ratings for back sleepers, whether you’re tall or petite. It earns Very Good scores for side sleepers, too.
And for budget-minded back sleepers, consider the newly recommended Leesa Studio foam mattress for about $500. It also offers a softer level of firmness and earns an Excellent score for durability.
And since one person’s comfiest mattress might be another’s worst nightmare, CR says your best bet is to try a mattress out before you buy it. CR encourages people to look for a mattress with at least a three-month or 90-day trial period. That gives you plenty of time to work out any kinks that could come up and still get a full refund.