Getting a good night’s sleep is hard enough without having to worry about snoozy topics like foam density and coil tension. With that in mind, our product testing team has toiled over 4,000 sleep products (including 1,934 mattresses) in our Seattle-based Test Lab over the past eight years so sleepers like you can rest easier.
What we’ve learned by going under covers has dictated how and why we test what we do, what we look for in a bed and a bed company, and which tools and products can ultimately lead to better sleep.
As product experts and self-proclaimed sleep nerds who find tactile joy in feeling fabric between our fingers, monitoring real-time sleep data, and (yes!) jumping on beds, we stay up-to-date on the science of sleep and sleep-tech trends to provide data-backed recommendations that can change minds and make sweet dreams.
In our Test Lab you’ll find tech to monitor things like heat retention, motion isolation, and pressure mapping, and you’ll also see the occasional sleep-health expert drop by to adjust a firmness rating and offer pro tips on syncing the sleep environment with sleep hygiene.
We know sleep is highly subjective, but our goal at the Test Lab is to help take the guesswork out of your sleep journey to lull you into your best-slept self.
I guess you could say we’re just that bed-icated to high-quality sleep.
Jump to: Welcome to the Test Lab | How We Test | Meet Our Product Testing Team | How We Rate Other Sleep Products
Located in Sleep Foundation HQ, the Test Lab is stocked with hundreds of sleep products and state-of-the-art testing equipment. We evaluate each product using the same set of performance criteria, using a scale of 1-10 to rate mattress performance.
Our overall ratings factor in qualitative insights from sleepers of different sizes and sleep positions, manufacturer specifications like firmness, price, and durability, and quantitative measurements across the six performance categories illustrated below.
First, a few notes regarding manufacturer specifications. We reference firmness ratings from mattress companies, but designate our own ratings given performance criteria. We measure firmness on a scale of 1 (softest) to 10 (firmest). We generally don’t recommend beds that rank below a 2 or above an 8, as they aren’t great options for most sleepers. Learn more in our guide to mattress firmness.
When it comes to durability, the average lifespan of a mattress is 6-8 years. While we don’t keep mattresses in the Test Lab for that long (we do bring them home for monthlong stretches, however), we do look closely at the quality of materials used in the construction of the bed to make general assumptions about its longevity. You can read more about how long a mattress should last on this page.
The products featured on our site have MSRPs that fall within ranges we would expect to see across similar categories and models. Actual pricing may fluctuate based on deals and sales.
Over the years, we’ve heard tons of different things from sleepers about what they look for in a bed, and the majority of it boils down to feel. Is it supportive? Does it sleep hot? Can I easily get in and out of it? Since not everyone can or wants to hop down to their local mattress retailer to lay on beds, we created the below criteria to test and quantify how a bed feels.
For each of the tests, our foremost considerations are sleeping position and body weight, as the amount and distribution of weight on a mattress can affect how the mattress feels. Most individuals who weigh more than 230 pounds will have similar needs for a mattress in terms of firmness, thickness, and comfort layers. This holds true for sleepers under 130 and those who fall between that range.
Learn More: How We Determine Body Weight Ratings
We rate each mattress we review for all sleeping positions (back, side, and stomach) on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent). If you are a combination sleeper, assume that you need a mattress that scores highly in each position you sleep in.
Motion isolation refers to how much movement you can feel from the other side of the bed. A mattress that rates highly in this category allows you to keep sleeping when your partner is moving around or gets up before you do. We measure motion isolation with a vibrometer. This measures the intensity of vibrations across a mattress as a tester moves between sleeping positions.
Learn More: How We Determine Motion Isolation Ratings
While some luxury and high-tech beds offer active cooling or heating features, this test measures how well the materials inside the mattress stay temperature neutral throughout the night. This is especially important for sleepers who tend to wake up sweating. We measure this by placing a heating element on the mattress for an extended period of time, and then using a heat gun to measure how much heat the mattress retains after 5 minutes.
Learn More: How We Determine Temperature Control Ratings
Your body creates natural pressure points, like your hips and shoulders, where your weight is more concentrated. When you lay on a mattress, one that relieves pressure well will conform (contour) to your body, which helps to reduce pain and promote restful sleep. We test for pressure relief by placing a pressure pad on top of the mattress, having a tester lie on it, and measuring the amount of pressure on their hips and shoulders.
Learn More: How We Determine Pressure Relief Ratings
Most new mattresses emit chemical odors after unboxing. Most of these odors come from the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in synthetic foam. After unboxing each mattress, we use a VOC meter to measure the concentration of these compounds in the room at intervals of 10 minutes, one hour, three hours, and 24 hours, relative to a room with normal VOC levels.
Learn More: How We Determine Odor Emissions Ratings
Getting in and out of bed should be easy. If a bed rates poorly in this category, it generally means it’s not a good choice for people with chronic pain or those who toss and turn a lot. We measure ease of movement through a number of subjective tests, and we also look at a mattress’s response to pressure changes by placing a 15-pound kettlebell on its surface for a set amount of time and measuring how quickly the bed regains its original shape.
Learn More: How We Determine Ease of Movement Ratings
Many people like to sleep close to the edge of their bed or use it as a place to sit to get ready in the morning, so it’s important that a mattress can hold your weight and doesn’t collapse around the edges. To test for edge support, testers sit and lay around the perimeter of the bed to see if compression increases over time. Then we place weights around the edges and measure the distance that the edge compresses downwards.
Learn More: How We Determine Edge Support Ratings
Sit in on one of our spirited roundtable discussions about our favorite sheets, and you’ll see that we mean it when we say we’re sleep nerds. Members of our team have been on the research, design, and manufacturing sides of mattresses, pillows, and copious other sleep products for many years, so we know what to look for when it comes to value and quality. In addition to in-house product testing, we seek out sleeper and industry-expert feedback to confirm our impressions and ultimately decide our ratings.
Tom Ryan
Director of Product Testing
Tom spent a decade working in higher education and brings the same rigor for research to sleep products. He works with the product testing team to gather feedback and data that are reflected in testing outcomes in Sleep Foundation’s written and video reviews. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the University of Denver.
Expertise: Sleep Tech
Sleeping Position: Side
Chronotype: Bear
Sleep Quirk:
Hates mornings. Use multiple alarms.
Lauren Fountain
Senior Product Editor
Lauren is a Certified Sleep Science Coach with experience testing a wide variety of sleep products, from everyday staples like pillows, sheets, and mattresses to more obscure items like night guards. When not testing sleep products, Lauren enjoys hiking, sewing, and watching movies under a weighted blanket.
Expertise: Textile
Sleeping Position: Side
Chronotype: Dolphin
Sleep Quirk:
Has been writing down dreams for a decade
Colin Simpson
Product Research Manager
Colin is a product research manager and video producer with a passion for translating complicated topics into fun and digestible content.
Expertise: Mattress
Sleeping Position: Side
Chronotype: Bear
Sleep Quirk:
Talks in sleep (like a lot)
Logan Foley
Editorial Director
Logan is a Certified Sleep Science Coach with a deep understanding of what it means to struggle with sleep. As a chronic insomniac, she aims to to help anyone struggling with getting adequate rest. Her years of experience researching and testing sleep products has lent to her creation of informative, trustworthy, and useful health content.
Expertise: Mattress
Sleeping Position: Side
Chronotype: Bear
Sleep Quirk:
Has too many dogs in the bed
Jeremy Klein
Senior Product Testing Manager
Jeremy is a sleep product tester with a passion for methodology and data collection. He’s spent the last three years at Sleep Foundation testing nearly every mattress, pillow, and sheet on the market, and has gained a holistic understanding of how to get the most accurate and universal results possible. When he’s not working, Jeremy likes to play guitar, climb rocks, and watch old movies.
Expertise: Mattress
Sleeping Position: Side
Chronotype: Wolf
Sleep Quirk:
Nightly melatonin user
Daniel Noyed
Senior Product Editor
Danny is a Certified Sleep Science Coach with a deep understanding of sleep and the body’s needs. Danny has personally tested hundreds of sleep products, with an expertise in mattresses and pillows. Outside of the world of sleep, his interests include cooking, gaming, and old myths and legends.
Expertise: Pillow
Sleeping Position: Back
Chronotype: Wolf
Sleep Quirk:
Likes to dunk head in bowl of ice water in the morning
Jackson Lindeke
Executive Product Director
Jackson leads editorial product recommendations at Sleep Foundation, transforming data into real world takeaways for consumers. He has spent over half a decade developing protocol to evaluate and measure the impacts of products on sleep quality to help guide millions of shoppers to find personalized recommendations.
Expertise: Mattress
Sleeping Position: Side
Chronotype: Bear
Sleep Quirk:
Showers before bed
Mary Fenton
Head of Product Content
Mary is a product-content marketer who applies a pedigree in journalism, human-centered design, and cultural trends to inform strategy. Prior to Sleep Doctor, Mary led editorial and creative at ESPN and Rad Power Bikes. She likes to build and grow things, and break and fix things, and only sometimes in that order.
Expertise: Sheets
Sleeping Position: Combination
Chronotype: Bear
Sleep Quirk:
Sleeps with noise machine
Mina Hochberg
Product Writer
Mina is a product writer who always feels sleep-deprived and is constantly thinking of ways to improve her sleep. She has over a decade of experience writing lifestyle content for various publications and brands.
Expertise: Mattress, Pillow
Sleeping Position: Combination
Chronotype: Dolphin
Sleep Quirk:
Light sleeper, needs white noise wherever she goes
Brad Nehring
Senior Product Manager
Brad has tested and written about various sleep products for more than 10 years. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Western Washington University. After living abroad in Africa and Asia, he has settled in western Washington with his partner and small menagerie of pets. When not working, he enjoys hiking, golfing, traveling, and reading.
Expertise: All
Sleeping Position: Combination
Chronotype: Dolphin
Sleep Quirk:
Sleeps with a weighted blanket
Our testing team stays busy. In order for us to be objective and consistent across products, we maintain a strict methodology that is unique to each product type. To learn more about how we test and evaluate other sleep products, read through our various methodology pages below.
Weighted Blankets
Pillows
Mattress Toppers
