How to Buy a Mattress -- Steps to Buying a Mattress Without Too Much Stress

Wondering how to buy a mattress with the least amount of hassle and pain? This guide will take you from the first research to the final decision making process. It will show you how to make the process as smooth and easy as possible without losing focus on your goal -- finding the best mattress for your sleep comfort and your wallet.

Buying a mattress requires a lot of patience and some discipline. It's not a one shot deal. Although you may want to get it over with quick, don't let yourself off the hook. This is a big investment and deserves the time and effort you put into it. Your sleep, health, comfort and wallet are all at stake here.

Before you set foot into a mattress store or bedroom furniture department of your local mall store, know ahead of time which mattress brands and types you're going to be testing. Make a decision to test no more than three or four (five maximum) in one visit. You'll just confuse yourself if you test more than that, and you won't remember the experience.

• Take a small notebook with you so you can take notes.
• It's best to leave your wallet, checkbook, credit cards at home the first time. If this sounds strange in a "how to buy a mattress" guide, so be it. You need to give yourself the opportunity to just test models and avoid the temptation of buying a mattress on impulse, or to get it over with, or because you succumb to sales pressure.
• Lie down on each mattress for at least five minutes in your normal sleeping positions. That means on your back, your sides, and your stomach or in all three positions (for a total of 15 minutes) if you change from one to the other, as many people do.
• Pay close attention to how you're feeling in the lie-down test. Don't let the salesperson distract you with too much talk -- it's important to tune into your body at this time. After all, you'll be spending a lot of time on whatever mattress you buy, and it needs to be quality time!

How to Buy a Mattress by Model Testing

There are two ways to approach the testing phase of the mattress buying process.

You can first test similar models across brands. In this case, try a Simmons, a Sealy and a Serta which are all in a similar price range. This is the way to go if you are on a budget and only want to spend a certain amount.

The second way is to test mattresses by product lines. So you can try a Sealy 1, a Sealy 2, and a Sealy 3, comparing the features of each step up in the product hierarchy of "good, better, better still, even better, and best." This is the way to go if your health is top priority and you must find the most therapeutic mattress you can even if it costs more than you would like.

For more info on why shopping for beds is more difficult than for any other household item, check out this article.

For mattress-buying tips that can help you stay cool under sales pressure, click here...

Before you take out your wallet, do some comparison shopping, here's how...