The best mattress toppers in the US, for every sleeper

Photograph: Courtesy PhotoView image in fullscreen Photograph: Courtesy PhotoThe best mattress toppers in the US, for every sleeper A topper can make a good mattress great, or change the feel of a mattress to your comfort level. After many nights of testing, we’ve found the best of the best

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If you make your bed, you’ve gotta lie in it, but a mattress topper can help make it a more pleasant experience. These pads sit on top of the mattress, adding an extra layer that can fundamentally change the feel, making it firmer, softer or just helping to smooth out bumps and lumps. None of these products can fix an old and broken mattress: if the springs are shot or there is a dip in the mattress the shape of a long-dead relative, you may need a new mattress. But if you are stuck with a mattress that is too hard or too soft, adding a mattress topper can make it juuusssst right.

Best overall mattress topper in the USHelix ErgoalignRead more$349Buy at HelixBest budget mattress topper in the USViscosoft Restore hdRead more$170Buy at ViscosoftBest mattress topper to make a firm mattress softerCoop RetreatRead more$263Buy at CoopBest mattress topper to make a soft mattress firmerNaturepedic AdagioRead more$599Buy at AmazonBest for: Organic materialsBrooklyn Bedding 3” latexRead more$587Buy at Brooklyn BeddingWhy you should trust meI’ve had nearly sixty years of experience in sleeping, and for over half of that, I’ve been testing consumer products ranging from automatic coffee makers to xBox peripherals for publications including PC World, Reviewed.com, CNET and many others. For all of those publications, I bring an objective scientific eye to testing products and helping consumers make better buying decisions.

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The GuardianHow I tested mattress toppersMy wife and I tested eight mattress toppers designed to make an existing mattress more comfortable. We tested each topper on two mattresses: a newer,very firm one and an aging,rather lumpy and squishy older mattress, assessing how easy the toppers were to install, how well they stayed in place and their build quality. Our tests took place over the course of several nights, evaluating how the topper improved our sleep. I also tested to see how each handled differing body weights using weights, how they regulated temperature using an iButton temperature & humidity logger under my back and if they improved the motion transfer of the mattress. For all of these criteria, we considered the improvement over the old mattress that they were tested with.

After this review was completed, I donated all of the mattress toppers to furniture banks in Massachusetts that provide household goods to families in need.

For more, check out our guides to getting a better night’s rest with the best pillow, sleep mask, and comfy PJs.

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The GuardianThe best Mattress Toppers in the USAll of the mattress toppers fundamentally change the feel and comfort of the tested mattresses: after all, they are the first layer of contact with your body. Stuck with a plank-like dorm mattress? A soft topper can turn your prison-esque dorm experience into a stay in paradise. Stuck in corporate housing with a mattress that feels like it is stuffed with the lumpy woes of your co-workers? A mattress topper can smooth that out, and is an easy way to make a stay away from home feel more like home.

HelixErgoalignfrom $349$349 at Helix$349 at AmazonView image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The Guardian$349 at Helix $349 at AmazonThe Helix Ergoalign is a 3-inch thick mattress topper made of memory foam and cooling fabric finished in the company’s signature helix embroidery. It comes in sizes from twin to a California King, but only offers one firmness option, which the company describes as medium firm. At $349, it is one of the most expensive toppers we tested , but it’s worth it: the combination of two different densities of memory foam provided an improved experience on both of our test mattresses, giving more yield to the firm one and rejuvenating the older, softer one.

The Ergoalign has a near-perfect balance of firm support and a slight yield to the touch that allows the topper to shape to the lumpy bits of the human body. Thanks to the corner straps, it was easy to install, and more importantly, stayed in place in use with no sliding or slipping. The overall feel is medium firm, but the area under your butt uses denser foam that provides extra support. It’s a small difference, but I found it surprisingly effective in helping with my bad back when sleeping on both my back and my side. Memory foam toppers tend to leave your back or side rather hot and sweaty, but the Glacotex cooling top layer does an effective job of conducting away the heat and allowing some air flow: I found that my back remained cool and un-sweaty on even humid nights.

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The GuardianIt’s a shame that … it is so expensive, and the topper has a slight chemical smell when you first unpack it. This dissipated over a few days, but the cover is not washable if it lingers or you are sensitive. The 1-year warranty is also on the short side: most toppers have a 5 or 7 year warranty.Key specs:

Thickness: 3 in Inner Material: Memory Foam Cover Material: Polyester and polyethylene Washable cover: No Corner straps: Yes Return window (days, min to max): 30 to 120 days Warranty: 1 Year

HelixErgoalignfrom $349$349 at Helix$349 at AmazonBest budget mattress topper in the US: Viscosoft Restore hdViscosoftResetore hd$170$170 at ViscosoftView image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The Guardian$170 at Viscosoft The Viscosoft Restore hd is a memory foam mattress topper that is available in three thicknesses (2,3 and 4-inches) and sizes from Twin to a California King. It’s priced at $139.95 and up, depending on size and thickness. I tested the 3-inch queen size.

The Viscosoft Restore hd is a great value for your money: $179.95 gets you a mattress topper with a firm feel that can do a lot to help a bad mattress (and you) feel a little better. The foam feels comfortable, with a slightly more plush feel than the Helix. That’s not a bad thing, though: the underlying support is definitely still here. The elastic straps held the mattress tightly in place, and the textured base meant no sliding or slipping. The feel of the dense memory foam was pleasantly firm, but with three options for thickness from two to four inches, you have options to choose how firm you want it to be. A word for the hot sleepers among us: It does have a tendency to trap heat.

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The GuardianIt’s a shame that … The high-density foam trapped some heat and humidity, and the textured cover did little to diffuse them, leading to a sweaty back and butt on warm nights.

Thickness: 3 in Inner Material: Density Core Memory Foam; Cover Material: CottonWashable cover: Yes Corner straps: Yes Return window (days, min to max): 90 daysWarranty: 5 Years

ViscosoftResetore hd$170$170 at ViscosoftBest mattress topper to make a firm mattress softer: Coop RetreatCoopRetreat$263$263 at CoopView image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The Guardian$263 at Coop Why we love it

If your dream is to doze off on a giant fluffy pillow but your reality is a hard, lumpy mattress, then the Coop retreat can help. This luxurious-feeling topper is filled with a combination of cut up strips of memory foam and microfiber that gives it an incredibly soft, cuddly feel. It’s rather like sleeping on top of a big, fluffy comforter, except the baffle-box design of the retreat stops the filler from bunching up in one corner and the wide, very elastic straps are easy to put on and hold it nicely in place.

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The GuardianIt’s a shame that … it adds so much to the height of the mattress that some fitted sheets might no longer fit. I also nearly lost one of my cats in the fluff while testing.

Thickness: 5 in Inner Material: Cross-cut memory foam & microfiber Cover Material: Polyester Machine Washable cover: No Corner straps: Yes Return window : 100 days Warranty: 1 year

CoopRetreat$263$263 at CoopBest mattress topper to make a soft mattress firmer: Naturepedic AdagioNaturepedicAdagiofrom $599$599 at Amazon$599 at NaturepedicView image in fullscreen$599 at Amazon$599 at Naturepedic Why we love it

If your mattress is just a bit too soft, the Naturepedia Adagio is a perfect way to add a firm touch. At 2 inches thick, it probably isn’t going to smooth out lumps or dips in a mattress, but it is perfect for adding an extra layer that stops your bits from sinking too deeply into a soft mattress and putting your back, butt or legs out of alignment. The organic materials have a pleasant, non-chemical smell when you take it out of the bag, and it expands quickly –it was ready to lie on in just a couple of hours, much less time than most of the toppers we tested here.

The latex and cotton cover also seemed to solve the problem of trapping heat and moisture; I stayed cool on warm and humid nights. I did find that this topper was better suited to back sleepers rather than side sleepers: the 2-inch thickness is just not enough to provide enough support for the more concentrated weight of side snoozers.

It’s a shame that The price is a little high: at $599 it’s double the cost of our top pick. The 30-night trial is also a little short for a premium topper like this.

Thickness: 2 in Inner Material: Organic latex foam Cover Material: Organic cotton Machine Washable cover: No Corner straps: NoReturn window: 30 days Warranty: 10 years

NaturepedicAdagiofrom $599$599 at Amazon$599 at Naturepedic The best of the restBest for: Organic materials Brooklyn Bedding 3” latexBrooklyn Bedding3” latex$587$587 at Brooklyn BeddingView image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The Guardian$587 at Brooklyn Bedding This high-end topper made of organic materials does not have any straps or other way to fix it in place, but the rough texture of the washable cotton cover holds it in place without sliding. I liked the feel of the organic talalay latex, which has a nice balance of moderate give with an underlying firmness.

It didn’t make the final cut because … at $629, it is nearly twice the cost of our top pick, but not twice as comfortable.

Key specs Thickness: 3 in Inner Material: Talalay Latex Cover Material: Organic cotton Machine Washable Cover?: Yes Corner Straps: No Return Window: 30 days Warranty: 3 years

Brooklyn Bedding3” latex$587$587 at Brooklyn BeddingWhat other products did The Guardian test? TempurPedic TEMPUR-Adapt: The Tempur-Adapt memory foam is comfortable, but has a little too much give for side sleepers or heavier users.

SaatvaGraphite Memory Foam: This topper has a comfortably firm feel, but the cooling graphite memory foam didn’t work well, leading to a hot, sweaty sleep experience.

NolahMattress Topper: The higher density polyurethane foam is pleasantly firm to the touch and the wide straps held the topper in place well, but trapped heat and humidity

Silk & Snow Organic Latex Dunlop Plush: While this organic model and its machine-washable organicl cotton cover are comfortable, this topper tended to slide and slip on the mattress over time, despite its straps.

Casper3-inch Topper: The memory foam has an unpleasant waxy smell, and you have to put the cover on yourself, which is like putting a cover onto a malevolent comforter that wants to kill you.

Most are made of memory foam, a dense synthetic material that absorbs motion, but does not transmit this motion onwards. It is pretty impermeable to heat, though, so it does tend to trap heat between the surface and flesh.

Others are made of latex, a form of the same rubber used to make tires. Obtained from the sap of rubber trees, the latex is mixed with air to create a lighter, less dense material that has similar properties to memory foam, but with a biological origin. Talalay latex is vacuum packed and flash frozen to create a different, more open texture with larger air bubbles.

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Richard Baguley/The GuardianWill any of these toppers fix an old and broken mattress?None of these toppers will fix a mattress where the springs have stopped springing, the foam has stopped foaming or the cat has thrown up on it. Instead, they will help ameliorate issues with an older mattress such as small dips, grooves or lumpy bits. They can also tweak the feel of a mattress towards your comfort level, making them firmer, softer or more luxurious. If your mattress is really uncomfortable, save your cash and buy a new one: we have a list of recommendations here. But if your mattress is just okay, a mattress topper can make it great.

Yes. The majority of the mattress toppers we tested are not washable, and all exclude liquid damage from their warranties. Even the washable ones only allow you to remove the cover and wash it, not the foam or latex inside. A decent mattress protector will keep the mattress dry and cosy if you spill your hot chocolate on a cold winter morning, and you can take them off and throw them in the washing machine.

Before you buy a mattress protector, though, make sure that it can handle the extra height that many of these toppers add to your mattress. While writing this article, I used a protector from Naturepedic that was deep enough to handle all of the tested toppers.

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