Mattress Buying Guide

The Sleep Council recommends that you change your mattress at least every 10 years. To work out if it is time for a new mattress, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you wake up with back or neck pain?

2. Can you feel springs or ridges? Does the mattress creak or crunch?

3. Do you roll towards your partner unintentionally?

4. Is the bed base uneven or sagging? Are the castors or legs worn?

If the answer is yes to any of the above it is time to start looking for a new mattress.

The only way to test a mattress is to lie on it, both on your back and side, and with your partner.

To test how well the mattress supports the spine, lie face up on the mattress and place your hand under the small of your back. A tight fit and the mattress is too soft; too loose and it is too hard. A snug fit means the support is just right.

When selecting a mattress the way you sleep is significant. If you sleep on your back or front a firmer mattress may be the best option; if you sleep on your side a softer mattress may relieve the pressure of all your body weight being focused on a relatively small surface area.

Please ask one of our trained mattress consultants at any of the Heal's stores, who can help you make the right choice.

Heal’s began trading 200 years ago as a feather dressing company. The founder, John Harris Heal, realised there was an opportunity to use feathers to create French-style mattresses; something rather revolutionary to the British public accustomed to sleeping on straw palliasses. Heal’s quickly became known as the destination for luxury beds and mattresses found “At the Sign of the Fourposter”, the iconic signage once displayed at our Tottenham Court Road store.

Heal's offers 3 ranges of mattresses for different requirements and budgets alongside a range of Tempur mattresses. Reassuringly, all Heal's mattresses are made in the UK exclusively for us.

Handmade Sleep: Our hand-crafted mattresses are the ultimate sleep solution. They combine the purest of luxury hand-teased fillings with a double layer of hand-nested pocketed springs to ensure the best possible nights sleep.

Natural Sleep: Traditionally manufactured mattresses created using blends of natural materials. Designed to absorb changes in weight distribution for a supportive sleep surface.

Heal's House: A collection of classic mattresses that offer lasting support. This affordable range offers contemporary style without compromising on quality.

Tempur: The unique pressure relieving properties of Tempur Mattresses help alleviate and prevent back pain and aching joints. Tempur mattresses mold to the contours of the body giving the neck, back, shoulders, and legs the correct support.

Think about the size of mattress you are buying. If you are 6ft tall or over, the smallest mattress you should go for is a kingsize. Most people sleep better if they are not too crowded. If you have a partner you should invest in the largest mattress you can afford, bearing in mind that it will need to fit into your bedroom and of course on the bed.

Single: 90 x 190cm

Double: 135 x 190cm

Kingsize: 150 x 200cm

Continental Kingsize: 160 x 200cm

Superking: 180 x 200cm

Heal's mattresses use various combinations of fillings to give different types of support and feel. Please refer to each mattress description and label for the specific combination.

Pocketed Springs: The springs shape to the body providing superb resilience and optimum comfort and support for a good night's sleep.

Cotton Felt: White cotton felt is natural and truly soft for the best possible feel. It is often used as a surface filling so it has a fire retardancy treatment for safety.

Lambswool: Lambswool is a natural insulator that provides warmth in winter and keeps you cool in summer. It also contains excellent properties that allow body moisture to evaporate while offering luxurious and sumptuous support.

Loose White Hair: Provides loft and resilience allowing the mattress to breathe and giving a truly luxurious feel.

Hand Tufted: This ensures all upholstery fillings are evenly spread and held in place with string tufts to eradicate filling migration.

Supersoft Reflex Foam: This foam has been especially designed to produce the softest possible feel. It is highly resilient and has been treated for fire retardancy.

Rebound Cotton Padding: A combination of white fibre and cotton with special rebound properties for the most comfortable feel.

Belgium Damask Ticking: This fabric is often used to cover quality mattresses. Intrinsically soft, colourfast, breathable and fire retardant.

Amicor Ticking: Amicor is a fibre, woven into the fabric (ticking) and into the white fibre directly underneath the ticking. It prevents dust mites and other allergens from living in the mattress, providing a fresh and clean sleeping surface.

Traditional Hand Side Stitching: Prolongs the life of a mattress, providing support to the mattress walls and extending the sleeping area right to the side of the mattress.

Upholstered Mattress Handles: To allow the mattress to be moved easily. Ventilation holes are often incorporated into the handles to allow the mattress to breathe.

For a good night's sleep it is important that you choose a quality mattress that correctly supports your body. A Heal's mattress is developed to provide the optimum support at medium tension. However, for a smaller/lighter person a softer tension may provide all the support needed, whereas a slightly larger/heavier person may require more support, so a firmer tension would be more suitable.

Our pocketed spring mattresses are available in a choice of 3 tensions: soft, medium and firm. The tension of a mattress can be altered by changing the gauge (thickness) of the wire the springs are made of – the thicker the gauge, the firmer the tension. The effect is not drastic but it enhances the feel, making it softer or firmer.

Please Note:The feel of a mattress is different to its tension. For example, our Heritage mattress is soft in its feel, but it can be made firmer by changing the tension to firm. Our Natural Sleep Mohair, meanwhile, has a firmer feel than the Heritage, but it can be made firmer or softer by altering the tension. Even with a soft tension the Mohair may still feel firmer than the Heritage.

Mattresses will also feel different on different bed bases. For example, a mattress placed on our Sprung Edge Divan will feel softer than the same mattress placed on our Low Padded Top Divan, Ottoman Padded Top Divan, or Bed Frame with Sprung Slats. We will always recommend that you try a mattress with your chosen bed base.

Visit a Heal’s store and see how well each mattress supports your spine, using the testing method recommended above. But remember, when it comes to mattress tension there isn’t really a wrong or right answer, it’s more about your personal preference and what feels best for you.

Mattress protectors are a great way of adding extra comfort and protecting your mattress from dust mites and staining. Online we have a selection of Heal's mattress protectors including the luxury quilted mattress protector range and the anti-allergy mattress protector range.

Mattress Toppers offer an extra luxurious layer to your mattress, providing extra comfort and support.

Please note: we are unable to refund or offer an exchange on mattresses that have been taken out of their packaging, for hygiene reasons.

To see our full our range of Mattresses Click Here.

Do you have a question? Why not email our Product Advisor at productadvisor@heals.co.uk