We are extremly hands-on when testing the firmness and feel of each mattress.
Our nine mattress experts have been testing and reviewing mattresses for years. From beds to travel pillows to sleeping headphones, we’ve got experience across the board. At this point, our team has collectively tested around three hundred mattresses. Along the way, we’ve established a testing methodology that each mattress undergoes in our Reno testing facility.
Read more: Here’s How We Test Mattresses
Our team of experts includes people of different genders, body types and sleeping positions, which helps us ensure that we represent all types of people.
Firmness
Firmness is one of the most important factors we need to make mattress reviews for you. When testing, we rate and record two firmness scores: Subjective and objective. The subjective firmness is our team’s experience with the bed. When I lie on a bed, I test it in every sleeping position and note how it feels against my back, hips and stomach. The whole team does this, and we rate the bed.
After the team has tested and found the subjective mattress rating, CNET uses the Mattress Smasher 9000 for an objective score. This impressively orange machine objectively measures how firm a bed is based on the force of a 160-pound person.
Motion isolation
Testing the motion isolation with a glass of water on the end and flopping around. It passed.
Motion isolation describes how well a bed dampens movement across the surface. If you sleep with another person who moves around a lot or have a furry friend who jumps on and off the bed, you know how important motion isolation is.
We test motion isolation in two ways. First, I lie on a bed and close my eyes. Then, a teammate moves around on the bed beside me, varying the degree of movement to get the full picture. Second, we perform the water test, which involves rolling toward and away from a glass of water on the edge of the bed. We note how much the water moves and whether the glass tips over.
Edge support
Edge support is the strength of the bed’s perimeter. This is a huge factor if you’re like me and tend to sleep on the edge of the bed. To test edge support, we sit and lie on the edge of every bed and test and rate how much it caves in. If it feels like I might fall off, it doesn’t have good edge support.
Temperature
How well a bed regulates temperature is particularly important for hot sleepers. To ensure consistency, all of CNET’s mattress testing takes place in a temperature-controlled room. In addition to rating our first-hand experience with the bed, we also examined its construction to determine whether any cooling properties were included.
