Looking for the best mattress for college students?
TLDR;
Off to college? Leaving home? In all the excitement of this milestone, there is plenty to organize and consider.
One of the most important things you need to do as a college student is to buy a good quality mattress that will give you the best possible sleep recharging experience. After all, it will be your nightly refuge for the next few intense years in your college lifestyle.
Like any mattress purchase, there are loads of things you need to think about when choosing the best mattress for college students, but some of them are unique to your new status! For example, you will need to filter down to the mattresses that best suit your body size, preferred sleep position, firmness level, whether you are a warm or cool sleeper, and of course your budget. Plus, you need a mattress that can be delivered to wherever your college is located in a convenient “bed in a box” style, rather than having to bother transporting it yourself in your busy study schedule.
We’ve assessed the market and selected a few brands that offer the best mattress for college students. Check them out:
#1 Nectar- Best Mattress for College Students
Nectar mattresses are a popular choice for those looking for a high-quality mattress at an affordable cost. Nectar mattresses fall in the medium-firm range, making them a suitable firmness for many body types and sleeping positions in the middle of the spectrum.
Mattresses are memory-foam only construction, with a gel memory foam top for extra comfort. At 11-inch thickness, Nectar offers a supportive, contouring sleep experience, with good motion isolation, meaning that you won’t sense the movement in the mattress even when you toss and turn during the night. As an online-only mattress company, Nectar gives you free delivery and a 365-night sleep trial to make sure you’ve made the right mattress decision.
#2 Casper Mattress for Students
Casper mattresses come in three styles and three budget levels. The basic Casper Essential is an affordable memory foam-only mattress, suitable for those of smaller body size who don’t need a lot of heavy-duty support. For those who need more dense support, there are two other options that include coil springs and come at higher price points but still offer affordability for college students.
Casper mattresses are considered to provide a lower level of firmness, so they are great for those who prefer a more bouncy and softer feeling. The open cell structure of the memory foam layers promotes airflow and breathability for a cooling effect.
Delivery with the White Glove program means that the company will remove your old mattress when they deliver and set up your new one, a convenient prospect for college students who are replacing a used mattress. Plus you get the security of a 100-night sleep trial.
#3 Tuft & Needle for Students
Tuft & Needle offers two mattresses – the more basic, budget-priced T&N, and the higher-end Mint mattress with extra advanced features. The T&N mattress is popular with college students, due to its affordability and ranking as a comfortable medium firmness, which suits many different sleeping positions.
T&N is an all-foam mattress with a solid 7-inch support foam core, topped with a 3-inch comfort layer to give added responsiveness and a sense of plushness. Motion isolation rating is good, due to the dense foam construction that absorbs the impact of movement during the night.
Tuft& Needle mattress deliveries arrive in a large box right to your doorstep within 3 to 10 business days. Just open the box and let the foam mattress expand to its natural state.
#4 Purple Memory Foam Mattress for College Students
Purple Mattress offers two mattress collections – the Original Purple is a more basic foam only mattress while the New Purple offers three levels of firmness and pocketed springs for a more complex mattress construction and support system. All Purple mattresses include Smart Comfort Grid technology, which is an open cell constructed memory foam layer that provides targeted contouring where the body needs it while promoting airflow throughout the mattress for a cooler, more breathable mattress.
The advanced grid foam also provides a good motion isolation profile as the open cells help prevent the transfer of movement between the mattress layers. Nectar mattresses are delivered to your door with a 100-night trial period to help you feel comfortable with your college mattress choice.
#5 Leesa Memory Foam Mattress for Students
With Leesa Mattress, you get two mattress options: the foam-only Leesa and the advanced Sapira. The Leesa is an affordable yet quality choice for college students, constructed in three separate foam layers that each serves a different function – pressure relief, contouring, and the top layer promotes comfort and cooling. Leesa mattresses have a slight bounce and responsiveness, placing them in the category of medium-soft mattresses. This is a good firmness level for a variety of sleeping positions, including side, stomach and combinations sleepers. Delivery is free or you can opt for the White Glove service to have your old mattress removed for a fee. As a foam only mattress, the Leesa comes in a box and will arrive 3 to 6 days after you place your order.
What are the special needs when it comes to mattresses for college students?
Buying a mattress as a college student is not quite the same as a regular mattress purchase. As a student, affordability is a top priority, You want to get the highest possible quality in a mattress at a suitable cost to meet your student budget. Also, as a student, you are hard-pressed for time and transport. You have a busy study and social schedule, and you need to be able to choose, order and have your mattress delivered to your college dorm or apartment, in between lectures and other commitments. That’s one of the reasons why the “bed in a box” mattress concept is perfect for college students. You don’t need to spend precious time going from store to store to choose a mattress, nor do you have to worry about how to transport your purchase or any extra costs of getting the mattress to your college. You can research and purchase your mattress completely online, and all “bed in a box” brands will ship the mattress anywhere in the US for free. If you need to remove your old mattress, many companies offer a White Glove service at an extra fee.
What to look at when choosing a mattress for college students?
When choosing a mattress for college students, you’ll need to take the following into consideration:
Firmness level
People have varying preferences when it comes to the firmness level of the mattress. Some like a very firm mattress without much ‘give’ or responsiveness. Others like the soft, sinking feeling of a bouncier mattress. For many people, somewhere in the middle of these two extremes is just right. Most brands offer a range of firmness levels, so make sure to look carefully at the firmness ratings of each mattress type.
Sleep type
There are four main sleep positions: back, stomach, side, and combination. For people who like to sleep on their backs, a firmer mattress is ideal as it provides the spinal support to keep the spine as straight and aligned as possible. For stomach and side sleepers, a softer contoured mattress is best, as it will adjust to the high-pressure points of the body, such as hips, shoulders, and knees. For combination sleepers, it is recommended to go for a medium-firm mattress, so you can have the firmness necessary for when you sleep on your back, and the responsiveness you need for the other positions.
Body shape and weight
This is an important factor in choosing a mattress. Larger and heavier individuals will naturally need a mattress with a denser construction to provide the proper support, particularly when you move around during the night. In this case, it is necessary to choose a mattress with a very dense foam core or innerspring coils for added strength. For lighter, smaller individuals, the more basic foam only mattresses will probably suffice in terms of appropriate support.
Mattress construction
There are two types of mattress construction: foam only, and a hybrid construction that combines foam with innersprings. The foams used in mattress construction today are highly advanced memory foams that provide excellent support. Various new technologies have created different foam structures, such as grid foams and gel foams, which all contribute to improved levels of support and comfort. For many people, especially those who prefer a firmer feel, a memory foam only mattress is ideal.
Some people prefer the more responsive bounce you get from hybrid innerspring and foam constructions. This also may suit larger-bodied individuals as it ramps up the support and contouring profile of the mattress.
Temperature
Are you a hot sleeper or a cool sleeper? For those who tend to warm up during the night, or if you are attending college in a warmer southern state, you might want to consider a mattress that offers cooling features. There are different ways to keep a mattress cool. Open-cell foam layers promote airflow through the mattress, helping to make it more breathable and cool. Other brands offer features like cooling gel toppers or copper-infused materials inside the mattress that help to cool the mattress during the night.
Motion isolation
Motion isolation is a measure of how much the mattress absorbs the impact of movement during the night. If a mattress has a high motion isolation profile, then the mattress will not respond as much to movement and will give you a smoother, undisturbed sleep experience. Mattresses with high motion isolation don’t have that responsive bounciness you get in older or less supportive mattresses. If you toss and turn a lot during the night, or are a restless or light sleeper, this is definitely a feature you should focus on.
Why use our review?
If you are looking for the best mattress for college students, and you are researching and purchasing online, you want to make sure you are getting accurate, reliable information about the various mattress brands and types. Well, you’ve come to the right place! At The Mattress Reviews, we are a professional team of mattress experts who are constantly researching every aspect of mattresses in depth. We assess and examine new mattresses and new features as soon as they hit the market, so we are well informed about the latest trends. We know mattresses inside out, and we know how to separate the hype from the facts. It’s all about bringing you the expert information to help you choose the best mattress for college students, at whatever firmness level or budget suits you.
Lee Levy
Lee is an experienced reviewer and passionate about trying new products. She is a side sleeper and always looking to ways to avoid back pains in her sleep. Lee is a mom for two little princesses and a devoted wife, living in Brooklyn, NYC.