We should be sleeping for 8 hours (on average) every night, which means, we spend one-third of our lives on our beds. Therefore, when getting a mattress for yourself, you need to be very particular and extra careful.

This is where we step in. We help you choose the best mattress for yourself by providing reviews and comparisons between various mattress types.

Today’s post discusses the basic differences between a memory foam mattress and a hybrid mattress. Let us look at their features one by one to get a better idea as to which one you should go for.

Memory foam mattress

Motion isolation: When sleeping with a partner on a memory foam mattress, you need not worry about any disturbance due to movement. If your partner gets up multiple times during the night, then too, the memory foam mattress will absorb their motion and isolate it completely. If you tend to toss and turn throughout the night, then the memory foam mattress will ensure your partner is not disturbed in their sleep. This makes memory foam an ideal mattress for couples.

Temperature neutrality: To overcome the criticism against traditional memory foam mattresses, mattress brands today have started incorporating cooling technologies into their designs in order to ensure that their mattresses do not heat up during the night.

While some companies go for gel memory foam, others have open cell structure for their memory foam layer that allows the mattress to absorb the heat and offer it ventilation instead of trapping the same. There are other mattresses that have introduced cooling crystals into their mattresses for temperature control.

Spinal alignment: Memory foam mattresses ensure that the sleeper’s spine is not bent in an unnatural way during sleep. As a result, the natural alignment of the cord is maintained, and the mattress thus ensures that no postural defects are caused.

Body conformity: Saving the best feature for the last, a memory foam mattress can adapt to the body shape of the sleeper flawlessly, which enables it to make sure no pressure points are created in the sleeper. This helps prevent blood clots as well as any restlessness in the sleeper.

The mattress also distributes the bodyweight of the sleeper uniformly. Especially when you use a medium-firm memory foam mattress, you can expect your heavier parts to get more firmness while the lighter parts are given the cloud-like feeling and adequate support they need.

Hybrid mattresses

A hybrid mattress is a mixed breed mattress. It tries to give the sleeper the goodness of both an innerspring mattress and latex or a memory foam mattress. These mattresses typically have a layer of foam or latex that covers the metal coils.

Hybrid mattresses offer more comfort than a traditional innerspring mattress. However, this depends on the quality of latex or foam used by the hybrid mattress brand.

Sleeping positions: Due to the foam or latex, a hybrid mattress can accommodate more sleeping positions than a traditional innerspring mattress. However, when compared to a memory foam mattress that accommodates side sleepers, stomach sleepers, back sleepers, and mixed sleepers, hybrid mattresses are not that versatile.

Comfort: Hybrid mattress is definitely more comfortable than traditional innerspring mattresses. Due to the layer of memory foam or latex, these mattresses can, to a certain extent, conform to the body shape of the sleeper and prevent pressure points in the neck, shoulders, and the hips of the sleeper. However, when the same is compared with a memory foam mattress, the latter excels at body conformity, and hence, comfort.

Memory foam vs hybrid mattress

Though a hybrid mattress offers some of the features of memory foam mattress, when comparing the two, memory foam mattresses exceed in quality of both comfort and support

The biggest problem with hybrid mattresses is that, over a period of use, they too start making screechy and squeaky noises like a traditional innerspring mattress. Because of this, a hybrid mattress causes interrupted sleep, which causes sleep deprivation in the sleeper.

Though the motion isolation offered by hybrid mattresses is quite good, this disadvantage of noise makes them inconvenient for couples using the bed.

Since the metal coils start deteriorating, hybrid mattresses begin to sag way before memory foam mattresses. This means memory foam mattresses are more durable than hybrid mattresses.

Which one do you prefer – a memory foam mattress or a hybrid mattress?