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Is an expensive mattress worth it?
Back to some frequently asked questions, and first up, ‘is an expensive mattress worth it’?
Based on my testing experience, yes, you do tend to get what you pay for. You can get a decent mattress, like the Simba Hybrid Original mattress for around £800 at full price, but, most of the best mattresses we’ve tested have been between £1000-£2000 for a double.
All of our sleep needs are different, so whilst a more expensive mattress doesn’t automatically guarantee better comfort, it does tend to mean better materials – for example, breathable natural fillings such as wool, hemp or flax, or added technologies such as more breathable open-cell or graphite-infused memory foam – and more choice in tension options to tailor the mattress’ comfort levels to your body.
Thankfully, Black Friday discounts can mean reductions of between 20% and 50% on bestselling mattresses, so you can snap up a little luxury for less.
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The Little Green Sheep Natural Junior Mattress | was £345.95 now £275.00 at The Little Green Sheep
If you’re looking for a children’s mattress that’s chemical-free and made from all-natural materials, then this Little Green Sheep option is a great buy.
Our reviewer Jen and her 3-year-old daughter tested it out for our The Little Green Sheep Natural Junior Mattress review and found it firm (and not without some delivery problems), but, its eco-friendly and synthetic-free construction is hard to beat. Add one of Woolroom’s Deluxe Mattress Toppers for extra (all-natural) cushioning and you’re sorted.
This mattress isn’t cheap, but there’s currently a very welcome 20% off in The Little Green Sheep’s Black Friday sale.
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Emma Original Hybrid Mattress | was £499.00 now £399.20 at Emma
Emma’s Original mattress is now virtually out of stock thanks to the Black Friday sales, but, if you’re looking for an affordable alternative, the Emma Original Hybrid Mattress could be a budget-friendly alternative.
We haven’t tested this model yet, but it sports a similar design to the Emma Original just with spring support added under the memory foam top layer. I think it’s likely to become another bestseller.
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Simba deals
There are also plenty of bedding deals to be snapped up at Simba today. We’ve tried and tested most of the brand’s range at Ideal Home and have been impressed by the quality of all of the sleep retailer’s products.
My top recommendations are the Simba Hybrid Pillow – a pillow with adjustable filling that makes it suitable for side, back or front sleepers, and the Simba Hybrid Duvet – a synthetic duvet that offers cooling technology.
Plus, the brand has recently launched a Simba slipper range, which is perfect for Christmas gifting. We can testify that they’re both toasty and comfortable!
It’s not all about the mattress
Black Friday is one of the best times to snap up a mattress for a reduced price, but that isn’t the only saving to consider.
Black Friday discounts also offer a great opportunity to assess your whole sleep set-up, whether that means investing in one of the best mattress toppers on the market, finding a bargain on a new mattress protector, or upgrading to the best duvet and pillows your budget allows.
These are my top recommendations for where to shop good quality bedding for less this Black Friday.
Simba Hybrid Original mattress | double was £799 now £599.25 at Simba
Simba’s Hybrid Original mattress is my top recommendation if you’re looking for an affordable mattress to shop in the Black Friday sales. And I’m not the only one impressed by its comfort levels.
Our Content Director, Lucy Searle, has owned the Hybrid Original mattress for five years and puts the reduction in her back pain down to its supportive surface.
‘I can, without exaggeration, say that my Simba Hybrid Original mattress transformed my life – improving my sleep patterns, eliminating my joint pain, and reducing my physio bills overnight (my physio even asked my friend, who’s also a client, where I had gone!)’.
‘I bought The Simba Original Hybrid around five years ago to replace my old sprung mattress plus foam topper that I’d been sleeping on. Hybrids were pretty new to the market back then, but I was persuaded by reports I’d heard about the back pain relief that side sleepers reported’.
‘As I hit my 40s, my joint pain had become worse, so that I spent much of the night tossing and turning, and woke with sore shoulders and hips. That pain disappeared overnight – helped, I think, by matching the mattress with the adjustable Simba Hybrid pillow, which meant my spine’s improved alignment went right up to the top of my neck’.
‘I’m looking to replace my mattress again within the next year or two – and I’ll be buying another’.
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What’s the best month to buy a mattress?
As Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor, I’ve been keeping track of mattress prices for the last four years and I definitely think November is the best month to buy a mattress.
That’s because in November Black Friday mattress deals are in full swing. It used to be that Black Friday itself offered the best deals – this year that’s Friday 29th November – but in the past few years I’ve seen deals start earlier and earlier.
It’s also now rare that retailers hold the best deals back for Black Friday itself, instead, they’re all competing to get the sale first, so most brand’s go in strong offering their biggest discounts as soon as their Black Friday sales start.
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What’s the best mattress for a side sleeper?
According to Laura Burnett, bed expert at Feather & Black, ‘research shows that over 60% of the nation are side sleepers’. No wonder ‘what’s the best mattress for side sleepers’ is one of the questions I’m most frequently asked.
The answer? Side sleepers generally need a mattress that isn’t too firm. A medium or medium-firm mattress should offer enough give to allow the hip and shoulder to sink into the mattress surface. This then means that the spine can rest relatively straight.
A memory foam or memory foam hybrid mattress is another popular choice. The memory foam layer adds cushioning so that there isn’t too much pressure building on the hip and shoulder overnight.
During our testing, the Simba Hybrid Original mattress and Simba Hybrid Pro mattress (which is a little firmer and a little more breathable than the Original) have both been popular with side sleepers.
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Hi, I’m Amy, Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor and Certified Expert in all things sleep-related. I have four years of experience in testing the best mattresses on the market, I’m here today to share my top tips for shopping for a mattress in the Black Friday sales.
As part of my job, I track the prices of multiple bestselling mattresses to monitor when the best deals land, and, in my experience, Black Friday reliably sees the biggest discounts of the year.
You can find today’s best mattress deals here, and I’ll kicking off today’s blog with answers to some of the most frequently asked mattress-related questions I receive.
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Silentnight Lift Replenish Hybrid 2000 Mattress | double was £709 now £496.30 at Dunelm
A mattress that’s firm but isn’t hard can be difficult to find. The Sealy Newton Posturepedic mattress is by far my top recommendation, but even with a 20% discount at Bensons for Beds today, it’s still expensive, reduced from £1,399.99 to £1,119.99 for a double.
An alternative is the Silentnight Lift Replenish Hybrid 2000 Mattress. This hybrid mattress with a latex top layer is available in medium-soft or medium-firm, and our reviewer, Gin, found the medium-firm option much firmer than expected in her Silentnight Lift Replenish Hybrid review making it a good option for back or front sleepers.
Plus, it’s very affordable this Black Friday. The best price I’ve found today is at Dunelm, where a double in the Silentnight Lift Replenish Hybrid 2000 Mattress is currently reduced from £709 to £496.30.
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*Deal Alert*
Having spent four years testing mattresses, I really rate Silentnight’s mattress collection. I’ve always found the brand’s mattresses to offer good value for money and deliver reliable quality at reasonable price points.
The best prices I’ve found so far this week are now at Dunelm, where the retailer’s newly launched Black Friday sale is currently offering 30% off all Silentnight mattresses.
What’s the best mattress for back pain?
Wondering, what the best mattress for back pain is? You’re not alone as it’s one of the questions I’m most frequently asked.
So, what’s the answer? ‘Research generally suggests that a medium-firm mattress is best for alleviating lower back pain’, explains Dave Gibson, registered osteopath, sleep expert, and founder of The Sleep Site.
This is backed up by research research published in the Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology that states ‘a medium-firm mattress promotes comfort, sleep quality and rachis alignment’ (that means good spinal alignment).
For this reason, we’ve found the Brook + Wilde Ultima mattress to be one of the best choices for back pain. It comes in three tension options so you can tailor the feel to find ‘medium-firm’ for your body, and a 200-night sleep trial lets you test it out at home before you commit.
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How often should you change your mattress?
Wondering how often you should change your mattress? I’ve asked multiple mattress experts and the consensus is in line with the Better Sleep Council’s advice that, ‘While there is no hard and fast rule about how long a mattress lasts… most have a life span of around seven years’.
However, The Better Sleep Council’s research also shows that ‘people tend to consistently keep their mattresses for 10 years on average’. That’s potentially three years of sleeping on a mattress that may no longer be offering the support we need.
If your mattress is due an upgrade, there’s no better time than today to shop. You’ll find today’s best mattress deals here.
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Next up, I thought I’d take on some of the questions I’m most frequently asked about mattresses.
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If you’re a fan of memory foam, then this REM-Fit Black Friday deal is a potential alternative to our top-rated Simba Hybrid Original mattress deal.
A double in the Simba Hybrid Original is currently reduced from £799 to £599.25, but a whopping 60% off today means that a double in the REM-Fit 600 Lux Hybrid Mattress is now slightly cheaper, reduced from £1,299 to £519.60 for the double.
We rated the REM-Fit 600 highly in our REM-Fit 600 Lux Hybrid Mattress review, just docking points compared to the Simba Original Hybrid because of the awkward positioning of its handles which made rotation and manouevre tricky, the fact there’s no ‘white glove’ delivery option, and the lack of recycled materials compared to Simba’s ranges.
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Top Tip #5: Getting rid of your old mattress
My fifth and final tip is to consider what will happen to your old mattress when the new one arrives.
It can be tricky to get rid of a mattress if you don’t have a van you can take it to the recycling centre in, and, sadly, even if you do get your mattress to the tip, there’s no guarantee it will then be recycled.
Instead, it’s well worth investigating if the retailer you’re buying your new mattress from also offers a collection service for your old mattress on delivery day. You will usually have to pay around £50 for collection, but your mattress will then be responsibly disposed of, which will save you having to figure out how to recycle a mattress yourself.
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Top Tip #4: Mattress size
My fourth top tip is to make sure you’ve considered what the best mattress size for you is before you shop.
If you share your bed with your other half then you would be forgiven for thinking a double mattress is your best bet. However, when it comes to mattress size bigger is (usually) always best. As long as you have the floor space in your bedroom, that is.
Opting for a king-size rather than a double mattress will be more expensive (especially if it means you need to upgrade your bed at the same time – our guide to where to buy a bed can help with that), but more space usually means better sleep if you co-sleep as there’s less chance of you disturbing each other during the night.
Luckily, Black Friday discounts are the perfect time to upgrade your sleeping area for less.
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Top Tip #3: Mattress-in-a-box
Speaking of deliveries, I’d also recommend checking out how your mattress will be delivered.
If you opt for an all-foam or hybrid mattress there’s a good chance it will be delivered as a mattress-in-a-box. This means that the mattress is folded, rolled, and vacuum-packed into a compact cardboard box for delivery. If you have awkward access or a twisting flight of stairs to navigate, a mattress-in-a-box can be a lot easier than a flat mattress to get into your bedroom on delivery day.
Alternatively, most pocket-sprung mattresses will be delivered flat. This can make delivery a little trickier, especially if you opt for a king or super king mattress. In this case, it can be worth looking for a zip-and-link mattress which comes in two sections that are then zipped together on the bed.
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Top Tip #2: Delivery
Next up, I’d thoroughly recommend checking the delivery process for the mattress you’re considering purchasing because not all mattress deliveries are created equal.
Some mattress retailers, like Emma, will only deliver your new mattress to your doorstep. Others, like Simba, will deliver to your room of choice as standard, and yet more, such as Brook +Wilde, will offer premium or white glove delivery as standard. This means that your mattress is carried into your room of choice, unpackaged, and lifted onto your bedframe for you. Often retailers will also provide this service for an additional cost.
Checking the delivery process before you shop can save you a lot of heavy lifting on delivery day, not to mention saving you the stress and expense of a delivery that doesn’t fit.
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Top Tip #1: Sleep Trials
My first tip is to investigate whether the brand or retailer offers a sleep trial before you shop.
A sleep trial allows you to sleep on a mattress in your own home for a specified amount of time before you commit to keeping it. You still need to pay for the mattress upfront, but this is a really useful benefit as so many factors – such as the type of bedframe you have, your weight, and your preferred sleeping position – can impact which mattress is most comfortable for you.
Sleep trials will differ in length, and many come with slightly different terms and conditions so just make sure to read the small print before you shop.
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Hi, I’m Amy, Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor and Certified Expert in all things sleep-related.
I have four years of experience in testing the best mattresses on the market, I’m here today to share my top tips for shopping for a mattress in the Black Friday sales.
As part of my job, I track the prices of multiple bestselling mattresses to monitor when the best deals land, and, in my experience, Black Friday reliably sees the biggest discounts of the year.
You can find today’s best mattress deals here, and in this live blog I’ll be posting my top tips for ensuring you don’t make any expensive mattress-buying mistakes this Black Friday.
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