Best Mattress 2024: Guarantee a good night’s sleep

The Simba Hybrid Pro goes beyond a typical memory foam mattress as it features clever design to eliminate overheating and provide extra support and comfort.

The Hybrid Pro is available in a variety of sizes to suit most bed types, from Single up to Super King. Regardless of the size, all mattresses are 28cm deep so make sure your fitted sheets are able to cover this.

The Simba Hybrid Pro is shipped wrapped up in a box and should be left to expand once it’s opened. You should give the mattress around six hours to expand so we found it best to unpack ours in the morning and give it the day to settle.

Simba offers a 200-night sleep trial which means if at any point during this period you decide against keeping the mattress then Simba will send a two-person team to collect it for free and refund you. Otherwise Simba offers a decent 10-year guarantee against defects for extra peace of mind.

The Hybrid Pro is made up of a whopping seven layers including the Simbatex foam layer which is infused with graphite and has an open-cell design to increase airflow to prevent overheating, and two layers of Aero Coil springs to support your body.

There’s also a harder edge support layer around the bed and multi zone foam base for extra depth and support.

The layers are topped off with wool which aids the mattress against heat build-up, which is a common issue with memory foam mattresses.

Overall we found the Simba Hybrid Pro to be a firm mattress that offers excellent support and comfort. We determined this by measuring how far we sank into the mattress in various sitting and sleeping positions.

We found the Hybrid Pro was able to insulate movement well, much better than pocket-sprung mattresses, which means a restless partner won’t interrupt your own circadian rhythm.

Although the Simba Hybrid Pro is an expensive mattress, it offers unparalleled support and excellent heat dissipation to help you get the best night’s sleep possible. If you prefer a softer mattress then we’d recommend the Nectar Sleep Premier instead.

A straightforward foam mattress, the Emma Original balances price, comfort and features neatly. One of the best things about this mattress is that its cover is washable.

Unzip the top, and it lifts off, ready to go in the washing machine, leaving the foam layers where they are. You can also remove the lower cover and wash that, although that’s a little trickier. We recommend flipping the mattress and removing the section that way.

The top cover is Emma’s UltraDry, which is moisture-wicking, removing sweat from your body. Inside are three foam layers: Airogell to regulate temperature, the memory foam layer which adapts to your body and offers support, and finally HRX Supreme Foam to give stability and support.

It generally works well, providing great levels of support when lying down. Edge support is decent, but the mattress did sink a little when we were sitting up (6cm), so those who read a lot or watch TV in bed may prefer a slightly harder pick.

Motion transference is minimal, with one person’s movements staying on their side of the bed. Heat dissipation is good, with most heat gone after three minutes and the bed returning to ambient temperatures a couple of minutes after that.

Overall, this is a great midrange mattress that’s easy to keep clean. If you want something with a more luxurious feel or a mattress that’s a bit firmer, check out the alternatives.

The Nectar Sleep Premier is the company’s top-of-the-range mattress-in-a-box, as you can probably tell by the relatively high price. A full 365-day trial period does mean that you get a long time to give it a go.

As with most premium mattresses, the Nectar Sleep Premier is chunky. Its 28cm depth means that you’ll want deep fitted sheets to go over it, and may need a hand getting it into position; fortunately, there are big handles on the side for this job.

There are six layers. On the outside is the quilted cooling cover, which feels nice and soft to the touch. There’s a zip, but the cover is not removable or machine washable. Next is the dynamic support layer, which is made of breathable foam; press-relieving memory foam is next; there’s a honeycomb layer built for spine alignment; and, finally, there’s the base material that keeps everything in place.

Edge support isn’t so good on this model, with the bed dipping 7.5cm with us sat on the side. Once in bed, things get better. There’s only a 4.5cm dip when sat up in bed, and support is excellent in all sleeping positions. That’s even though the mattress feels a bit softer to the touch than some rivals.

Movement isolation is very good. Even if you sleep with someone who’s quite restless, you shouldn’t be disturbed too much.

Heat dissipation is excellent, taking just three minutes for our outline to practically disappear in our thermal camera test.

If you like a softer-feel mattress, but one that still gives good support, then this premium example is a good choice.

The Emma Premium Mattress should suit anyone who wants a high-quality yet firm mattress. Firm shouldn’t be mistaken for uncomfortable, as this mattress provides a high level of support. Once we’d gotten used to it, we found it to be extremely comfortable to sleep on.

As with many premium mattresses, this one is very deep once it’s unwrapped and expanded to its full size. It’s likely you’ll need help unpacking this model. Help will also be needed when you turn this mattress regularly to prevent sagging.

There are six layers in this mattress. At the top is the breathable cover that gives comfort and acts a little like a mattress topper. This layer also helps regulate temperature and can be removed for washing.

Next is the Point Elastic Airgocell, which helps regulate temperature by absorbing and evaporating sweat. Then, there’s a memory foam layer that moulds to your body shape, followed by a foam layer that Emma says helps alleviate pressure. As this is a hybrid mattress, there’s a layer of springs, followed by a base foam layer.

We found that this mattress took a while to get used to, and we found it very firm at first. If you prefer a mattress with a softer feel, look elsewhere.

Edge support is excellent on this bed, with the mattress dipping just 4.5cm. There’s little dip from lying in sleeping positions either (enough to keep your spine aligned), but the mattress remains very firm.

Measuring the mattress with an accelerometer, we found that motion was quite well insulated, with little disturbance caused by one partner turning over. Getting out of bed proved even better: you probably wouldn’t even notice a partner waking up the morning.

Heat dissipation is very good. After three minutes, there was little trace of where we had been lying. This is a great mattress, but it’s better for those who like a firm-feel.

The Nectar Hybrid Mattress is a great-value hybrid mattress which is currently available for 60% less than its original price. As with most rivals, this mattress comes vacuum-packed and must be left to inflate back to full size before you can sleep on it.

Six layers are used to build up the Nectar Hybrid Mattress. First, there’s a quilted cooling cover, which can’t be removed, even though there’s a zip around the outside. It’s worth buying a mattress protector to use with it.

There’s a dynamic support layer, micro-spring layer, pressure-relieving memory foam, 7-zone supportive base and positioning base material.

Rated as a six on a firmness scale (out of 10), this mattress is about in the middle. We sat on the edge of this mattress, and it dipped 8cm, which is quite a lot. If you tend to sleep at the edge of the bed, then a firmer mattress would be better. Likewise, if you sit up and read in bed a lot, then another mattress may be better: this model dipped 6cm.

For sleep, the Nectar Hybrid Mattress is very good. It conforms to your body shape, keeping you and your spine well aligned, proving to be very comfortable.

Measuring motion isolation, we found that quite a lot of motion was transmitted from one side of the bed to another when getting in and out; the relatively soft edges are likely to blame. Once in bed, the Nectar Hybrid Mattress isolates one person from their partner’s movements.

Heat dissipation is good but not the best that we’ve seen: it took five minutes before our routine was hard to see in thermal camera photos.

This is a good mid-range choice for anyone who wants a medium-firm mattress.