Best Mattresses For Millennials: In Your Prime, Now’s The Time To Work On Sleep Fitness

If you were born between 1981-1996, you may want to learn more about the best mattresses for millennials. Whether or not you are buying your first mattress, upgrading your sleep game to next level, or just considering the options, knowing where to find a great mattress is the best investment you can make while still in your late twenties or thirties.

The biggest piece of the sleep fitness puzzle, now considered an important of your overall health, is choosing the right mattress for you, and understanding how to buy a mattress in the future, too. Getting restorative sleep for 7-9 hours is impacted by how quickly you fall asleep, your partner’s preferences if you have one, and how deeply you sleep as well.

We took into account these important parameters when selecting our curated list of millennial mattresses, designed to deliver the best sleep fitness, comfortable lounging benefits, family friendly features, and more:

• Comfort and initial mattress body contact surface features like euro-tops, pillow tops, smooth tops, and other near the surface elements that provide an inviting, sleep friendly sensation.
• Mattress components like memory foam, cooling gel foams, natural elements like latex, and textiles like organic cotton and latex, that add to overall comfort but are key in providing underlying support.
• Structural and support architecture used in mattress design such as pocket coil suspension, high density foam layers, and ventilation and breathability technology.
• Ease of delivery, setup, and installation. This might be bed in a box packaging, full in home setup service, as well as other factors.
• Warranty, trial periods, ease of returns and exchanges if necessary, and certified actual owner reviews.
• Overall lifestyle appeal. Our selection of mattresses includes options suitable for sleep, rest, work, and lounging, as well as considerations for athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

Comfort And Support: The Ideal Architecture Of A Mattress Made For Millennials

I’ve designed dozens of mattresses for my own web sites and retail stores in the past, and I’ve also done bespoke custom mattress designs for plenty of busy 30-somethings that realize the importance of getting quality sleep, but want added comfort and support so that they look forward to climbing into their mattress- at any time of day.

Generally, mattresses designed for millennial aged people are built with components that promote proper spine alignment, that is keeping your spine as straight as possible when lying on your side, back or belly.

Spine alignment is essential for restorative rest and deeper REM sleep, and if your spine is not straight and level during the night, muscle groups and connective tissue become strained and lactic acid can accumulate in muscle tissue and joints and you wake up and feel unrested and inflamed and in pain.

Chiropractors and massage therapists are quick to acknowledge that a poorly made mattress is a leading contributor to back pain and strain, muscle fatigue, and can even cause inflammation around discs and joints.

After reviewing hundreds of owner experiences that are in the millennial age category, I’ve found that most satisfied mattress owners generally prefer a medium to medium firm level of support with some extreme outliers that like either very plush and soft, to those choosing extremely firm options.

One factor to consider is whether you sleep along or not, and your weight. I always recommend that if your weight is over 225lbs, typical mattress descriptions and matching might not work best for you, and you may not to opt for a slightly firmer option than medium or soft.

If you and your partner are at a combined weight of 225 or more, I advise steering clear of an all foam mattress, too, and leaning towards a hybrid mattress option (you can read more here on my primer on basic mattress making and design page) that includes both a coil element and different layers of foam.

If you have difficulty staying asleep and are a known “tosser and turner”, opt for something that has a “smooth top” exterior fabric rather than a quilted “box top” or a euro-top, which might be a bit too immersive and prevent you from easily moving around. I’ll feature some options below in both of these categories.

Hybrid mattresses made using a pocketed coil systems which are typically tucked in underneath carefully selected foam and textile layers that create what’s called in the business a “cake recipe”, meaning the integration, layer by layer, of various densities or kinds of foam which provide the signature feel of a specific mattress design.

A hybrid mattress can provide greater support, can be much firmer, and can provide more localized lift and elevation of areas like hips and shoulders when sleeping on your side. It’s great for family applications, typically has great edge support for sitting or transfer, and often has a medium to medium firm feel.

Hybrid mattresses are typically shipped rolled and compressed, and easily unfurl from their vacuum packaged state easily and are extremely well protected with layers of protective plastic sheeting.

There are variations in the hybrid category as well that contain natural and even organic elements such as natural latex layers, biofoams that contain soy based materials, and outer fabrics like bamboo, organic cotton, and organic wool. If you are interested in natural latex mattresses, you can checkout my latex mattress page here.

Finding A Really Great Mattress That Will Last Costs Less Than You Think

Surprisingly, to find a really well made mattress that will last the recommended lifespan of at least eight years, you’ll end up spending between $800-1500. Typically an all foam mattress will cost a bit less, since the coil system piece is left out.

An all foam mattress is often an ideal solution so long as it’s properly designed to support you. They are typically less costly, weigh less, and are easy to handle when you receive the shipping box. They are also for a less than long term situation, or for use in a guest room- though don’t get me wrong, they can make an outstanding choice for a permanent, primary bedding solution.

It’s essential that the underlying layers of foam on an all foam mattress are made with high density foam that has a fairly high density, and incorporate layers that get increasingly softer in varying degrees from the bottom to the top. At the body contact surface, you can opt for a simple smooth top piece that is not excessively soft, or a plusher initial feel that is more embracing and body hugging. We’ll provide options below.

Organic Natural Latex Mattresses Are Chemical Free And Made Using Sustainable Materials

The only consideration with a natural latex mattress is that a queen size will like run in the $1800-2000 range because of the rarity of the material and the slightly increased cost of shipping (which is never charged s an extra add-on, but to be fair, is built into the price).

Despite being a bit more jiggly, too, most manufacturers offer either a smooth top (thinner material but close body contact with the latex) or a more motion dampening pillow top option fo added cushiness.

You can jump below to my carefully reviewed selection of mattresses I recommend for millennials, based on support and comfort, improvements in sleep quality, durability, warranty benefits, freebies, and money back trial periods.

I also consider reviews posted online by actual owners, not just reviews pitched by review sites owned by the mattress retailers themselves.

All of these factors weigh into either being included in my list, or being left off. Generally, most options I’ve included are priced right under $1,000 for a queen, but a few are less expensive.

After spending 25 years in the mattress game, designing mattresses for major companies, I can help take the misery and mystery out of mattress shopping for you. Some of the best brands might not be names you’re familiar with, too!

Millennials Should Be Investing In A Mattress The Same Way They Would Be Looking At Buying Stocks: It’s The Long Term Sleep Benefits That Are Life Altering

If you are a student, or a professional in the workplace, and you are looking for a mattress online, the very first piece of advice I’m going to give you is this: be careful about falling prey to the big name mattress retailers whose social media presence is constantly poking you in the back.

Many of these companies that offer a mattress that sells for $595, or even less, have been squeezed hard by shipping issues caused by the pandemic, and the end result is that the quality of the ingredients used in a typical “bed in a box” online mattress has taken a major nose dive.

Also, the big mattress retailers have to spend so much to advertise that the only way to reduce costs to stay afloat is to use inferior materials. The typical lifespan of an all foam mattress purchased online, especially if you spend less than $500, is about 2 years.

Typically, indentations, mashing, rutting, and depressions begin to appear in most mattresses, especially where petrochemical based foams like memory foam, gel foam, and memory foam are used. That’s not to say that these materials are inferior all across the board, though.

I always recommend to at least consider a mattress that is built with a combination of various components, including a thicker layer of memory foam that is of higher density so that it resists compression, a pocketed coil system, and even natural latex, which is the most durable ingredient you can find in any mattress. Natural latex is also anti-microbial, resists dust mites, does not dry out and pill like many other foam materials, and maintains its flexibility for decades. Check out our natural latex mattress page for some great options.

The earlier in life you begin investing in building a good sleep hygiene framework, which starts with a good mattress, the better you will perform in both work and life. Being able to work for 7-9 hours a day and remain energized and refreshed is a direct function of the quality of sleep you experience and the kind of mattress you invest in.

Mattresses We Recommend For Millennials That Help Improve Sleep Hygiene, Offer Comfort And Support, And Fit Your Lifestyle