Simba Hybrid
This award-winning and five-star-rated original mattress by Simba Sleep is a unique hybrid mattress that combines polyfoam, memory foam, high-definition foam, and pocket springs.
The Simba Hybrid is an award-winning hybrid pocket sprung foam mattress by Simba Sleep. 🏆
It features four layers, including:
- A comfort layer of graphite-infused, open-cell Simbatex foam
- A core of up to 2000 Aerocoil mini pocket springs across 13 zones
- A CertiPur stability layer
- A base layer of no roll-off SupportCore with up to 1000 barrel springs
This is a medium-firm mattress that's an excellent choice for a wide range of sleepers, regardless of body size or preferred sleeping position.
The Simba mattress is supportive enough to prevent a build-up of tension, but also soft enough to allow your body to sink in where necessary.
This allows for optimal spinal alignment. 🦴
The Simba Hybrid mattress comes with an antibacterial hypoallergenic cover designed to maximise airflow.
The cover is also removable and machine-washable - but we'd always recommend making use of a mattress protector to safeguard your mattress. 🧼
The Simba comes with free delivery, a 200-day risk-free trial period, and a 10-year guarantee.
| Simba Hybrid | |
| Composition: | Hybrid mattress with foams, mini pocket springs, and full-size pocket springs. |
| Firmness level: | Medium-firm |
| Height: | 25 cm (10 inches) |
| Trial period: | 200 days |
| Guarantee: | 10 years |
| What makes this mattress special: | A unique combination of materials; very comfortable for average-weight back and side sleepers; cooling properties |
Nectar Premier Hybrid
Enjoy 8 layers of premium comfort with Nectar's Premier Hybrid mattress.
The Nectar Premier Hybrid mattress is one of Nectar's best-selling medium-firm mattresses, designed for superior comfort and support for all body types.
The mattress is made up of 8 layers:
- Quilted cooling cover for moisture-wicking comfort
- Dynamic support layer for enhanced temperature regulation
- Micro-springs layer for additional air circulation
- Pressure-relieving memory foam layer for body-hugging comfort
- Engineered transition layer for optimal spinal alignment
- Up to 832 full-size pocket springs (12 cm / 4.7 inches) for overall support and enhanced edge support
- Firmer support base foam for extra support and stability
- Positioning base material to keep your mattress in place on the bed
This mattress has been designed with enhanced cooling in mind, wicking away moisture more effectively and allowing for greater air circulation. ❄️
This helps keep the mattress cooler and more comfortable, making it better suited to hot sleepers or those who sweat easily.
The combination of up to 2,462 micro springs and full-size pocket springs also aids support and gives you a more stable sleeping surface, in contrast to the "sink-into-the-foams" feel you may get from standard memory foam mattresses.
Like all Nectar mattresses, the Nectar Premier Hybrid comes with quick delivery times and free named-day delivery. 🤩
It also comes with a risk-free 365-day trial, giving you the chance to try the product in the comfort of your own home.
The Nectar Premier Hybrid comes with a lifetime warranty.
| Nectar Premier Hybrid mattress | |
| Composition: | Memory foam, micro springs, full-size pocket springs |
| Firmness level: | Medium-firm |
| Height: | 28 cm (11 inches) |
| Trial period: | 365 days |
| Guarantee: | Lifetime warranty |
| What makes this mattress special: | Designed for exceptional support and enhanced cooling. |
Otty Hybrid
Designed in Yorkshire and made in the UK, this is a proudly British mattress.
The Otty Hybrid is a four-layer hybrid mattress and one of the most affordable hybrids in the UK.
It combines 16 cm pocket springs with Cool Blue Gel memory foam, a unique combination to allow for superior comfort, body-hugging support, and stability.
It's classified as a medium-firm mattress, but rates much firmer than many other hybrid models.
This is great for anyone looking for extra support and back pain relief.
The mattress's unique airflow system also allows for excellent breathability to keep you cool and comfortable all night long. ❄️
The Otty Hybrid features firm side support panels for superior edge support, making this a great choice for couples or anyone who enjoys sitting on the side of the bed.
This mattress is available in a wide range of European and British mattress sizes and is one of the very few bed-in-a-box mattresses available in the emperor bed size. 👑
Otty mattresses come with free delivery & returns, a 100-night trial period, and a 10-year guarantee.
| Otty Hybrid | |
| Composition: | Temperature-regulating memory foam & pocket springs |
| Firmness level: | Medium-firm |
| Height: | 25 cm (10 inches) |
| Trial period: | 100 days |
| Guarantee: | 10 years |
| What makes this mattress special? | Best budget hybrid, excellent back support; only bed-in-a-box available in the emperor size. |
Emma Original Plus
This bestselling mattress by Emma Sleep offers 3 layers of premium foam and soft comfort with sufficient support and stability.
The Emma Original is a best-selling memory foam mattress and one of the UK's number-one mattresses. 🏆
It is made up of three different layers of foam, including pressure-relieving memory foam.
Memory foam offers great orthopaedic support, making it a good choice for people prone to back pain.
The Emma Original is rated as a medium-firm mattress, though we think it falls on the softer end of the scale.
This makes it an excellent choice for lighter-weight people and side sleepers, but we wouldn't necessarily recommend it to people looking for a firmer feel. 🧱
Conveniently, the mattress comes with a removable mattress cover that can be machine-washed at up to 60℃.
The Emma Original is delivered free of charge and comes with a risk-free 200-night trial period.
20% OFF EMMA ORIGINAL PLUS + 5% OFF W/ "SLEEPHEROUK5"
| Emma Original | |
| Composition: | Memory foam with a base layer of HRX cold foam |
| Firmness level: | Soft |
| Height: | 25 cm (9.8 inches) |
| Trial period: | 200 nights |
| Guarantee: | 10 years |
| What makes this mattress special? | One of the UK's bestselling mattresses with excellent body contouring and a soft feel. |
How we test products
Our mission is to take the guesswork out of finding the perfect sleep products.
We've dedicated hundreds of hours to testing mattresses and sleep accessories, and rely on a team of testers of differing weights, temperature preferences, and sleeping positions to evaluate each product.
Tested products are granted the Sleep Hero tested stamp of approval, a mark of our review's reliability.
If we haven't personally tested a product, please be assured that we invest significant time and energy into scouring the UK market and researching the best recommendations, and we work with a team of sleep experts who review our articles, ensuring that the insights we provide are not only relatable but also reliable.
Characteristics of sleep in seniors
Sleep can be broken down into different stages or phases. To begin with, there is the falling asleep stage, which places us into an in-between where we’re not quite awake and not quite asleep. Gradually, we’ll plunge into light sleep and then into deep sleep. Thereafter, we go into a phase called REM sleep, where brain activity is very intense. This is also the phase where we experience dreams. This cycle is repeated 4 to 6 times throughout the night.
Many seniors struggle with sleep. They either fail to reach REM sleep or wake up more frequently throughout the night. This may be due to a disruption of the sleep cycle or due to pain that’s felt at night, likely to be caused by joint problems or aches and pains.
Seniors also often sleep for fewer hours every night. With a shortened night rest, they’re likely to have to compensate for this lack of sleep with one or more shorter naps during the day.
The ideal mattress for seniors, then, will need to help relieve tension and pressure to ease aches and pains and it will also need to be suitable for napping throughout the day.
Criteria for choosing a good mattress for seniors
You’ll need to take special consideration when selecting a good mattress for seniors. The primary objective is to improve the quality of sleep by limiting night-time awakenings. To do this, you need to focus on comfort, firmness, size, and mattress materials. The overall aim is to find a mattress that relieves aches and pains and can provide sufficient support and comfort for a good night’s sleep.
Of course, we highly recommend choosing a high-quality mattress as these offer the best support for the longest possible time. You wouldn’t want to have to change your mattress frequently, so investing in a quality mattress that lasts 10 - 15 years is definitely worth it.
Comfort is a matter of preference and largely affected by mattress materials. Some will opt for a memory foam mattress, which hugs the body, but others won’t enjoy this support and prefer the sensation of a spring or a latex mattress. Latex and memory foam are particularly good in terms of adapting to the body but pocket-sprung mattresses are more advisable for people of a larger stature as they are more resistant.
The best brands on the market make sure that their products are comfortable, breathable, and hypoallergenic, ensuring that they regulate body temperature and provide for a neutral and comfortable sleeping environment. You’re more likely to wake up at night if you’re feeling too hot or too cold, so finding a temperature neutral mattress is vitally important for seniors.
The desired level of firmness will largely depend on the build of the sleeper. If you’re slender or light-weight, a softer mattress may be adequate but if you’re of a larger build, then you might require a firmer mattress. Overall though, you’d need a mattress that’s soft enough to be comfortable but one that’s stable and supportive enough to keep the spine in a healthy alignment and relieve pressure points, thereby eliminating unnecessary aches and pains.
A larger mattress will provide more space to sleep and thus be more comfortable but mattress size really is a matter of preference. You can sleep just as well on a high-quality 90 x 190 cm single mattress as you can on a 200 x 200 cm emperor bed. That said, see our note on couples and bed choices below.
Many seniors may also want to invest in an electric box spring or medical bed, which can be adjusted for lying down and sitting up for sleeping, naps, reading, or watching television.
Choosing a mattress for senior couples
Senior couples need to choose a mattress to meet their needs just like any other couple would. Even though the above-listed criteria in terms of comfort, firmness, and support still apply, senior couples also need to ensure that they have a mattress with low or no motion transfer.
A mattress with low motion transfer does not carry movement across the mattress, meaning that you won’t be disturbed by your partner’s movements at night. This ensures that both you and your partner get a good night’s sleep.
Couples will also need a mattress with more bounce and that supports movements well, making it suitable for sexual activity.
Finally, couples will need to decide if they prefer a larger size mattress or if they’d prefer to join two single mattresses. Much discomfort is caused by not having enough space to sleep, which can easily be solved by choosing a mattress that’s large enough. But seniors will often benefit from choosing individual mattresses to suit their specific needs. These can then be joined through a bed bridge to form one large bed.
Conclusion
Although firmness and the composition of a mattress is a matter of preference, we’ll always advise seniors to prioritise comfort and quality to improve their sleep.
We recommend that seniors invest in a large-size mattress or two individual mattresses that can be joined together to ensure that both partners have adequate space and that all individual needs and preferences are met.
Why trust us?
We understand the importance of trust and reliability when it comes to product reviews - but why trust us?
- Dedicated testing facility: We've tested over 180 products globally and now operate our own testing facility equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to analyse product performance.
- Approved by sleep experts: We collaborate with international sleep experts who train our team, review our articles, and provide invaluable insights on sleep health.
- Industry connections: We maintain close relationships with manufacturers and brands, giving us a head start in the latest trends, upcoming products, and the technology that drives them.
- European market leader: We are proud to be the #1 review site in Europe, part of an expansive network that continues to grow across the globe.
With millions of visitors each year, our global reach isn't just about numbers - it's about making better choices more accessible to everyone.
>180 products tested
>19,836 hours of research
>6 million people trust us
7 experts
#1 on the European market
