Spring mattresses
These pretty much do what they say on the tin, and are the most common type of mattress. The general idea is that steel springs in the mattress work to support the sleepers body. As mentioned above these can create a softer or firmer feel depending on the thickness of the coils, with connections between the springs ensuring that they stay in place. Often these mattresses contain foam or cotton padding to fill out the bed – however the more luxury spring mattresses feature springs each in an individual pocket, allowing them to move independently of each other to provide greater comfort. These type of mattresses generally feature a foam or fabric topping to cushion the springs below. Spring mattresses vary widely in price, with more luxurious models featuring blends of cashmere and silk with over 3000 springs.
Foam mattresses
A comparatively recent trend, these type of mattresses are gaining ever increasing popularity. Memory foam is possibly the most commonly known type of foam mattress, as this actually moulds around the body as it warms up. This fantastic innovation originally developed by NASA virtually guarantees a good nights sleep as weight is always evenly distributed and pressure points are reduced.
There are of course standard foam mattresses also which are cheaper than memory foam mattresses, and whilst these work in loosely the same way – they will not mould to your body like memory foam.