The Difference Between Support and Comfort

When you're shopping for a mattress it's very important to understand the difference between support for your back, and comfort for your body. These are two completely different concepts that are not related to each other.

Support is delivered to your back through the innerspring’s ability to resist downward pressure, which is applied to it from your body’s weight. A good innerspring will sense the weight that is applied from various parts of your body, and respond with the proper upward resistance - thus support is achieved.

Comfort is delivered to your body through the use of comfort materials layered on top of the innerspring (the type of materials used achieve the comfort level of the mattress.) Through the use of firming pads, and harder, high density foam, varying levels of hardness (firmness) can be obtained. If an innerspring is layered with soft materials like convoluted foam, low density foam, and fiber materials like Dacron, wool, silk, or cashmere, then varying levels of softness (plush) are obtained

Most consumers make the mistake of thinking that a firm mattress will provide better support for their back than a plush or pillow top mattress. This is simply not the case. In fact, most manufacturers use the exact same innerspring in firm, plush, and pillow top mattresses. In other words, the hardest mattress would provide the exact same support for your back as the softest mattress.

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