Best Mattress for Adjustable Beds in 2024

CNET editors choose the products and services we write about based on editorial merit. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission.

Firmness: How firm a bed feels is highly subjective and depends on how much pressure you apply to the bed. In addition to hands-on testing, CNET recently developed a way to measure the true firmness of a mattress: a machine called the Mattress Smasher 9000. This patented device and accompanying software were developed in-house by our lab technicians. It presses into the center of the mattress, scoring each bed on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being firmest and 1 being softest. While we also personally test each bed for perceived firmness and feel, we have data from the MS9000 to back up our conclusions.

Feeling: We physically handle the mattress and see how the material feels. This is different from firmness. Depending on the foam and materials of a mattress, we see if the bed is springy, slow to react, pressure relieving or soft and fluffy.

Sustainability: It is difficult to say exactly how long each bed will last, because we do not test it for years. However, we can make a hypothesis about the firmness of a bed by looking at its construction. Hybrid or innerspring beds are more durable and last longer than foam mattresses.

Best body type: Based on a person’s body weight, we determine how comfortable a mattress is. We test the beds with different sized sleepers and focus primarily on the construction of a bed.

Best sleeping position: We test the mattress in every sleeping position with different sleepers: on the side, on the back and on the stomach.

Motion isolation: We test with two people how well the motion transmission is dampened across the bed, or we place a glass of water on the edge of the bed to see how much it moves when we bounce on it.

Edge support: We analyze the construction and physically lie on the sides of the mattress to get a sense of how supportive the mattress feels.

Temperature: Instead of trying to dress it up, we rely on our own sleep experience on the bed and a temperature gun. We can tell if a bed is cooling, breathable or warm by sleeping on it for a few nights.

Scent: Mattresses in a box give off an odor as soon as they are unpacked, just like a new car. Don’t worry, it doesn’t linger. The odor dissipates after 24 to 48 hours. However, some beds give off less odor than others.

Read more about how we test mattresses.