I'm a Sleep Editor and these are the 18 mattresses I'd actually recommend

• Firmness: Medium firm
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

Suffering from cold sweats has made me pretty sensitive to how much a mattress can actually impact my sleep, and it’s safe to say Emma’s NextGen Cooling might be the first time I’ve felt like one has made a difference to how I feel overnight, something which it still does after multiple months spent sleeping on it. Thanks to Emma’s Thermosync technology, the mattress helps to keep your temperature consistent, preventing the weather and conditions outside of your bed from overheating you or making you feel too cold. And given the changeable situation with the London weather, it has helped me from being too hot in the summer or from shivering even more on a cold winter night.

In terms of firmness, this mattress feels slightly softer than most hybrids, coming in at a medium rating. The sturdy base offers enough full-body support while maintaining a degree of snug cosiness so that you don’t feel like you’re sinking deeper and deeper into bed the second you climb in. My favourite feature is that it's also designed to absorb motion and isolate any movements to ensure deep and uninterrupted sleep throughout the night, which is ideal if you’re sharing a bed.

Having long believed that a mattress couldn’t be comfortable without a mattress topper, this is the first time I’ve bid farewell to it in years. The mattress is actually better without it, and we’d say that’s a pretty good sign this mattress has got it covered. Tested by Zinya Salfiti, GQ Research Associate.

Read GQ's Emma NextGen Cooling in-depth review

• Firmness: Medium firm
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, small double, EU double, EU queen, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

Simba's range of hybrid mattresses extends from the most basic Hybrid Essential all the way to the Hybrid Luxe, each benefitting from the brand's expertise in crafting high-quality, premium mattresses, while also adding in increasingly more luxurious features as you work your way between them. The Luxe is the most enhanced of them all, but here at GQ we're big fans of the Hybrid Pro (the brand's second-generation Hybrid) which goes above and beyond the classic iteration for the ideal balance between price points and what you're getting in return.

Having now spent more than a year sleeping on this mattress, we've consistently had better sleep, probably than ever before, and we'd have to say it's hands down one of the best premium mattresses available. All the usual cliches apply: it cradles us in the right places, makes us feel light and cool during the hotter months, and has just the right balance of springiness and firmness to help us drift off quicker.

How does it do this? It’s actually quite a complex mattress, with two layers of aluminium springs that support your body while allowing air to escape beneath you to keep you cool, working in tandem with a graphite-infused layer of memory foam to coax heat away from your body. Oh, and it’s 100 per cent recyclable and a bonafide British-made mattress to boot, making it just as kind to the environment as it is to your sleep schedule. Tested by Owen Gough, GQ Senior Commerce Writer.

Read GQ's Simba Hybrid Pro review

• Firmness: Medium firm
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 365 nights
• Guarantee: Forever warranty

As much as we'd love to tell you a thousand-pound mattress is the kind of extravagance no person of sound mind could ever justify, we're afraid to report that Nectar's Premier Hybrid is that most dangerous of luxuries. Like stepping down to prosecco after a night spent caning the Veuve Cliquot, it's the kind of decadence that ruins all inferior rivals by way of comparison. We've now slept on it for over a year, and everything we'd hoped for from a mattress has been proved true.

What's so good about it? As a hybrid mattress, it combines both springs and memory foam for the utmost comfort and performance. So you get that initial, glorious sinking feeling when you first lay down without the fear that you're about to be moulded to your bed for the next millennium. If you're the type to typically roll over at least four times before finding the right position to doze off in, multiple support layers do their best to allay that faff so that you can skip straight to a restive state. Those who've doubled down on duvets to escape the winter chill (and alternatively resort to the opposite when summer hits) will find the expertly curated airflow here an absolute blessing too.

Of course, other mattresses – especially those from Simba and Emma – can provide better value for money if you don't have the funds to simply spend your way to serenity. Those who have no such qualms will quickly find Nectar's Premier Hybrid offers a rarefied calibre of refinement they simply can't do without. Tested by Robert Leedham, GQ Senior Commerce Editor.

Read GQ's Nectar Premier Hybrid review

• Firmness: Medium firm (around a 6-7/10)
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, small double, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Fifteen-year guarantee

Value for money really is one of the most important factors when it comes to how we decide with mattress we’d recommend, and if we had to shine the spotlight on one brand doing an amazing job at it right now, it would have to land on Origin. A newly freshened up version of the Origin Hybrid mattress, with six layers and a combination of both pocket springs, a HexaGrid design, a Snow Tencel Pillowtop cover and bamboo-infused wool, it’s really quite hard to fault, yet currently only £300.

To get a bit more into the details of the mattress design, essentially it combines 3,000 steel springs (all of which help to support spinal alignment), with a 3cm HexaGrid design. The HexaGrid adapts to your body due to its unique construction, the hypoallergenic surface is kind to your skin and allergies, and the SnowTencel creates a plush and soft surface that balances out the firmer feel of the support system beneath it. Since the first iteration of this mattress, the edge support and cooling systems have both been ramped up too, now infused with cooling particles to help maintain the optimal sleep temperature for your body (that would be 18.3 degrees Celsius if you’re wondering).

There are plenty of things worth really splashing out for, and many of the mattresses in this guide are worth that extra bit more money if you want an ultra-luxury experience. But if you just want a great mattress that’s got all of the essentials ticked off, look no further. Your bank balance will thank you for it. **Tested by Emily Peck, GQ Contributing Writer. **

Read GQ's Origin Hybrid review

• Firmness: 5 out of 10
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: UK Single, UK Small Double, UK Double, EU Double, UK King, EU Queen, UK Super King
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: 10 years

If I had to admit one thing about my journey with the Emma Luxe Cooling Mattress, it’s that I initially only intended to use it in my guest bedroom. My own mattress has done the job for the past few years, and I thought I might as well pop the newest one in my spare room. How much better could it be than what I had, after all? You can probably guess that it only took me a matter of days before I made the swap. After just one sleep, I can confirm it’s everything it claims to be. From the comfort to the support, the benefits were instant and the combination of micro springs and foam really paid off.

The biggest selling point of this specific Emma mattress is its cooling benefits, which are by no means a letdown. Being the kind of person who spends a good hour or so in bed before settling down, it keeps me at a comfortable temperature throughout, and prevents overheating during the night. And in the summer heatwaves, it kept me far cooler than I had anticipated. Pair this with that comfortable feel it's mastered and all in all, it’s a win. Luke Kiley, Art Production Manager

• Firmness: Multiple choices
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Double, king, super king
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year warranty

At first glance, the main selling point of Eve Sleep’s Wunderflip seems to be its verging-on-gimmicky flippable nature: one side is soft, one side is medium-firm, meaning you can choose between them. In reality, it doubles your chance of online shopping success, with its main benefits coming from the actual design.

As with all hybrids, pressure relief is a crucial part of what makes the Wunderflip such a solid choice. The structure spans 28cm of depth (meaning there’s a combination of latex layers to help mould around your body), memory foam, a dual spring system and a reactive spring system, all of which take the stress off your muscles while you sleep. What we really benefited from was the edge support, keeping us firmly in place overnight, and we also really liked the extra breathability you get from the memory foam thanks to its open-cell structure.

If you are a bit concerned about how well you can choose firmness online, or just hate making decisions and want an extra option, the Wunderflip takes the stress out of online shopping, and offers oh so much more. Tested by Emily Peck, GQ Contributing Writer and Mattress writer.

Read GQ's full review of the Eve Wunderflip Ultimate Hybrid

• Firmness: Medium
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

Have you ever classed yourself as sceptical about how life-changing a good mattress can be? We've been there. A few more springs here and there, a few extra layers of memory foam… what difference could it really make? After trying out Emma’s top-of-the-line mattress the Elite, though, it's safe to say we’re now converts. Finally giving into the fact a new mattress is almost definitely the right call when you can literally feel the bed frame through the old one, we came to the conclusion that going all out was better than just dabbling. We were right.

Designed with new sleep innovation AirGrid technology — which uses a grid-like structure (bet you didn’t see that one coming) to encourage airflow — one of the biggest takeaways here is that the mattress is not just comfortable, not just supportive, but also temperature-regulating. Comfort is of course taken care of too with a seven-zone infinity spring base, which really helped us feel supported overnight as it actively works to reduce pressure on the body. It might be quite a big investment at just under a grand, but if you’re ready to finally accept a good mattress is indeed an adult life essential, we’d say go all out. Tested by Lela London, GQ Contributing Writer and Editor.

Read GQ's Emma Elite Mattress review

• Firmness: Medium-firm but feels firm
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, small double, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: 15-year guarantee

One of the best mattresses for pressure relief, Origin’s Hybrid has near-revolutionised our sleep experience, creating one of the most comfortable environments we’ve found to date through a combination of natural latex, memory foam and pocket springs. The key here is Origin’s Hexagrid structure, an orthopaedic layer that focuses support in the centre third of the mattress (where body weight is most concentrated) and combines it with a soft top to make sure these pressure points are relaxed. In fact, it’s so good for support that it was even a real winner for a family member who’s had two hips replaced and found it to be a perfect fit. Do keep in mind though, it does have a particular firm feel that might be too much for certain types of sleepers.

Origin’s mattress also keeps up with the more innovative brands on the market with regards to temperature regulation, something that’s near-essential with any mattresses that include memory foam, with cooling particles that work to keep your body temperature at 18.3 degrees Celsius (an optimal number for sleep). Pair all of this with a sustainable mindset (as many of the materials as possible here are sourced in an eco-friendly way), and the fact you can have a 200-day trial to make sure the mattress is exactly what you need, and we’d say this is a winner. Tested by Michael Christensen, European Lifestyle Editor.

• Firmness: Soft, Medium, Medium-Firm or Firm
• Type of mattress: Tempur fabric
• Sizes available: Single, Double, King, Super-King
• Trial period: 100-night trial
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

Back pain and sleeping on too-soft mattresses have long gone hand in hand, but does that mean if you have back pain your only choice is to sleep on something rock-hard? Struggling from this exact dilemma ourselves, Tempur posed a rare opportunity to escape our endless back-pain-laden qualms while still falling asleep cradled by a cloud-like surface as the Pro Plus Smartcool mattress is orthopaedic (AKA one that can help with back pain) and soft, promising plenty of support to help alleviate pressure on your joints overnight. Of course, you can still opt for a firmer choice of the same mattress if you prefer, but for me, soft was finally an option.

But how did it actually fare? Well, truth be told, since the Tempur mattress landed on my doorstep around 3 months ago (or bed frame, if you will), I’ve finally been able to start bidding farewell to my fortnightly physio trips, while still being able to drift off easily every night. There can be plenty of reasons for back pain (and we’d recommend you always get it checked out by a medical professional) but for me, it seems pretty clear that my old mattress was to blame. This aside, the cooling features of the mattress managed to prevent any overheating and the removable and washable cover means you’ll always have that extra-clean feel. Tested by Rebecca Dolan, GQ Editorial Associate.

Read GQ's Tempur Pro Air Smart Cool Mattress review

• Firmness: Medium-firm
• Type of mattress: Pocket spring
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king, super king zip & link
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Not stated

Why is it that we almost always sleep better when we're away? It could be the hearty, treat-yourself dinner and likely few drinks you have before heading off to the land of nod…or it could be the cotton-fresh scent of fresh sheets and the promise of a pillow chocolate in the morning…or, more simply, we'd put it down to the undeniable quality of a good hotel mattress – and that's where Sleepeezee's 'Hotel Edwardian 2000' comes into play.

Despite sounding a bit like the type of retro-futuristic, anachronistic invention you might have seen in a 1980's time-travel film, this is a mattress that we at GQ can really get behind. Not too firm (but still firm), and not too soft (but still soft), the 'Hotel Edwardian' absolutely delivers on mass appeal, where its squishy, malleable initial feel is supported by a firm layer of those eponymous 2,000 springs of support. But, what is it like to sleep on? Like a marshmallow with a layer of firm, rock candy at its base; like a cloud grounded on a foundation of rubber. While I struggle to describe its duality without turning to absurd imagery, this mattress is simply very comfortable and pretty fuss-free. For the sleeper that loves fluffy pillows and lightweight cosiness, you can hardly go wrong. Plus, with a name like 'Hotel Edwardian', you're bound to feel a little bit posh, a la the hotel suite that it conjures in your mind's eye. This is the mattress move that'll help you get that coveted hotel-night sleep every single night. Tested by Heidi Quill, GQ Senior Commerce Writer.

Read GQ's Sleepeezee Hotel Edwardian mattress review

• Firmness: Medium firm
• Type of mattress: Pocket spring
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

If you’re someone who follows the latest mattress drops as closely as we do, you might be familiar with Simba’s Go mattresses, a now-discontinued range that focused on sustainable resources and production processes. While sadly the Go is no longer with us, what we do now have is a newly-launched range of even more thoughtfully designed and produced mattresses; the Simba Earth collection. Taking quite a different approach to the rest of the Simba Hybrids, the Earth range of three mattresses feels far more traditional. Instead of arriving rolled in a box, the mattress comes ready to sleep on, ditching the classic Simba foam construction for one that is instead made with layers of varying spring formations and soft wool. The base includes up to 750 high carbon steel springs, followed by 2,500 more on top of that for stability, 2,500 conical Aerocoil springs that work to respond to your body weight and relieve pressure, a plush mohair layer for cushioning, contouring hemp and flax to help control moisture and a wool layer on the top for extra breathability. It’s totally different for Simba, but it really works.

So far, we’ve had the mattress for around two months and found it far easier to adapt to than a hybrid. While firm, the wool feels more cushioning than foams do, and we found it supportive and great for relieving pressure. The other key here is the care taken in the design process, with Simba opting for farms rather than factories, including more natural materials and sourcing from Yorkshire to reduce carbon footprint. This is a definite winner: especially if pocket springs are your thing. Tested by Daphne Bugler, Senior Commerce Writer.

• Firmness: 5 out of 10
• Type of mattress: Spring foam hybrid
• Sizes available: UK Single, UK Small Double, UK Double, EU Double, UK King, EU Queen, UK Super King
• Trial period: 200-night trial
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

An upgrade on the soon-to-be discontinued Emma Premium Mattress, the Emma NextGen comes with improved features to make it even more breathable and supportive. Both mattresses have six layers of foam and springs but there are subtle, yet effective, enhancements on the new NextGen design. While both offer targeted support zones for the body including the head, shoulders, lumbar, lower leg and pelvic area, the NextGen gives you extra support around the knees and feet area too, for example. This may not sound much, but I found that those extra zones did make a difference – particularly when laying on my back and sides.

Having tried both mattresses, we think that the NextGen has a more luxurious finish to it, due to the layer of Halo Memory Foam that sits just under the Emma UltraDry cover, which itself is smooth to touch and gives the mattress a streamlined feel. When laying on the NextGen, our body felt suitably supported and we found that the mattress did well to offer pressure relief in all the key areas such as the back and lumbar area. While it's a medium firm mattress, it is marginally softer than the Emma Premium - the Emma NextGen Premium is 5 out of 10 on the firmness scale, while the Emma Premium is 6.5 out of 10. The NextGen also has a little more ‘give’ to it, which is perhaps enhanced by the extra tall 18cm pocket springs inside. The edge support could be improved, but it's worth noting that in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint, Emma has created the NextGen with 79 per cent less foam. So if you’re keen on sourcing eco-conscious homewares, this info alone may just make you sleep sounder. Tested by Emily Peck, Contributing Writer.

Read GQ's Emma Premium NextGen review

• Firmness: Medium firm
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, small double, EU double, EU queen, double, king, super king, Emporer
• Trial period: 100 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

Memory foam and hybrid mattresses are pretty damn comfortable, but despite their ability to adapt to your body shape, they have a bit of a reputation for being too firm. And most of them are. Which makes the softer feel of Panda's Hybrid mattress so exciting.

While still being highly supportive, we'd say Panda's mattress feels more on the medium end of the firmness spectrum than any other memory foam-incorporating mattress we've tried. Its structure comprises six layers - a zip-off bamboo cover, two foam layers, a spring layer, and two base layers, making for a motion-transfer-free, pressure point targeting and airflow-optimising mattress that has orthopaedic grade support.

What Panda also does well, and what the brand is really known for, is its use of bamboo and sustainable materials to make the mattress more environmentally conscious. Vegan-friendly and combined with foams that can all be recycled, Panda also takes care with its packaging, with boxes that are made from 80 per cent recyclable materials. It’s a refreshing release for an industry that’s often considered to be quite wasteful. Tested by Daphne Bugler, Senior Commerce Writer

Read GQ's Panda Hybrid Bamboo review

• Firmness: Medium firm
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king, small double, EU double, EU king, emperor
• Trial period: 100-night trial
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

This well-crafted and luxurious Otty design is the UK’s first bamboo memory foam mattress with charcoal-infused layers. Unique in structure, the combination of sustainable bamboo and hypoallergenic charcoal-infused layers in this mattress are designed to wick away moisture as you sleep and eliminate odours. As well as being suited to those with allergies such as asthma and sensitive skin, the small perforations throughout the mattress layers allow fresh air to circulate through the mattress, which also makes it a good option for those who have a tendency to overheat at night.

Over the course of a month, I slept on the Otty Hybrid mattress to see just how well it could improve my sleep and regulate my temperature. I found sleeping on the Otty very comfortable and even though the mattress is firmer than what I have been used to in the past, my body felt at ease. It kept me feeling relaxed and cool at night too – not too hot and not too cold. I could feel the mattress gently mould to support my body as I moved in the night yet it retained its shape. It is, in fact, designed with materials that ensure there’s hardly any movement transfer between sleeping partners during the night and, snoring aside, I could barely tell my other half was there.

Like many luxury mattresses – such as the Simba Hybrid Luxe – the Otty has a sumptuous 25cm thickness to it. The only downside? Combine this with its medium firmness and I found lifting the corners of the mattress to ensure a fitted sheet encompassed the underside a bit tricky. Tested by Emily Peck, GQ Contributing Writer

Read GQ's Otty Pure+ Hybrid Mattress review

• Firmness: 7 out of 10
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: UK Single, UK Small Double, UK Double, EU Double, UK King
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

Simba’s latest addition to its Hybrid range of mattresses combines the latest in sleep tech and sustainability, boasting an impressive 13 layers of natural materials, 8,500 springs and a staggering depth of 34 centimetres. Every detail has been considered, from the blend of Kapok, wool and bamboo for a thermoregulating top layer to the brand’s highest-ever spring count to mould to each individual, offering ergonomic support and pressure relief, with a double layer of performance foam to optimise airflow and provide cushioning. It might seem OTT, which it definitely is if you’re on a tighter budget and not looking for the most premium, luxurious option on the market, but if you are looking for something that’s really above and beyond everything else you can find, it fits the bill nicely.

The luxury feel of the mattress extends to the VIP delivery service, so you won’t even need to worry about unpacking it yourself, (Plus, it comes with a free mattress protector) while Simba will also remove your old mattress free of charge for recycling. It’s really a hard piece to go wrong with, and if you have the money to spare, it’s worth the investment. When we say our sleep has never been better (think hotel quality and then times it by 100), we mean it. Tested by Jennifer Barton, GQ Contributing Writer.

Read GQ's Simba Hybrid Ultra review

• Firmness: Medium/ medium-firm
• Type of mattress: Pocket spring
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king
• Trial period: Not stated
• Guarantee: Five-year guarantee

While we’ve spent a good few years writing about the likes of Emma, Simba and Nectar, we have to admit that we hadn’t actually heard of The Little Green Sheep… until an email arrived in our inbox asking us if we wanted to review its latest release. Unless you have children, chances are you haven’t heard of it either, because until now, this brand has been a major player in the world of kids' mattresses and kids' mattresses only.

Besides the fact you can’t really customise the firmness of this mattress, we have to say we’ve been nothing but impressed by The Little Green Sheep's adult edition since we started testing it in early August. We slept on it through heatwaves and found it stayed cool with plenty of airflow, we’ve found our backs and necks felt less painful and cranky when we woke up, and in general, we’ve just been sleeping better. If you’re after good pressure relief and a pocket spring design, this is your ticket to sleeping like a baby. Tested by Aaron Toumazou, GQ Contributing Writer.

Read GQ's full review of The Little Green Sheep adult mattress

• Firmness: Medium firm
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 100 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

First things first: don’t panic if your Zoma Hybrid initially looks like a desiccated grey prune sitting on your bed frame. Like many memory foam mattresses, it arrives in a very heavy, vacuum-packed tight plastic package that requires opening with a knife or scissors, and will expand over the course of about 24 hours. This involves an alarming sucking sound, and it can emit an odd “new mattress” smell while unfurling – but ignore these and sit tight safe in the knowledge that 30 centimetres of bliss are inflating in front of your very eyes.

Those 30 centimetres, as with any hybrid mattress, are divided into several layers. The top is five centimetres deep and made of form-shaping memory foam that fixed problems with our backs we had long assumed were simply a painful fact of adulthood. Beneath that lies an open-celled “Reactiv” structure which promotes airflow through the mattress, designed to wick moisture and take heat out of the top layer (by extension, to keep the body cool – which it does). The springs come next, spreading the weight of the sleeper’s body evenly across the mattress, and then the final layer, a foam base.

The Zoma looks and feels very solid on the bed – it’s not a mattress you’ll wake to find half-hanging off a divan base – but is perfectly soft to lie on, giving good support to a side-sleeping person of about 70kg. After three weeks of testing, I honestly can’t come up with any real faults; you’ll be shouting about it from the rooftops, assuming you can ever be bothered to get out of bed again. Tested by Thomas Barrie, GQ Contributing Writer.

Read GQ's Zoma Hybrid mattress review

• Firmness: Medium-firm
• Type of mattress: Hybrid
• Sizes available: Single, double, king, super king
• Trial period: 200 nights
• Guarantee: Ten-year guarantee

While the Hybrid Pro took Simba's mattress design to new heights, the brand didn't stop there in its quest to make one of the most luxuriously crafted mattresses on the market. And the result? A game-changing, new-generation mattress that harnesses state-of-the-art technology to encourage deeper and more restorative sleep. Dynamically designed to adjust to every body type, the Luxe has ten layers of ultimate support and cooling comfort, from the soft, breathable, cloud-like surface all the way to the 40mm high carbon-steel springs on top of the base, which guarantee real longevity. We've now slept on it for two years and have found not only does it hold up, but it's one of the most comfortable mattresses we've ever slept on.

The Luxe is the brand's most intelligent offering yet and pays impressive attention to detail, including the sustainable and thermoregulating bamboo wool top layer and the open-cell Simba-Pure foam layer, specially developed to encourage airflow through the mattress while using graphite particles to filter heat away from the body. All these special features make this sound complicated, but GQ has put the Luxe to the test and can confirm that from the moment you slide on, you're carried comfortably off to sleep without a care in the world. Luxe by name, luxe by nature – this is an investment that really packs a punch. Kathleen Johnston, Contributing Writer