Often the first thing people consider when shopping for a mattress is the material it will be made of. This is certainly important, but shouldn’t be the first thing evaluated. The size of a mattress can play just as much of a role in your enjoyment as the materials it is made of. In nearly every case, the most basic rule of thumb is that people should get the largest bed they have the space for and can afford, but there are a handful of other factors that contribute to deciding what size bed you want, whether it’s a traditional bed, an air bed, or a memory foam mattress.
The first way to consolidate your size options is to consider if you’ll have one or two people sleeping in the bed. If you aren’t sharing a bed, you still have the full range of mattress sizes to consider. But if you do plan to share a mattress, this reduces your selection by shaving off some of the smaller sizes. It’s obvious that twin bed size dimensions won’t provide enough space for two people, but one of the mistakes new couples often make is thinking a double or full mattress offers sufficient space. Alone, a full mattress can feel spacious, offering plenty of room to spread out. But with standard widths of 54 inches, full mattresses only offer 27 inches of personal space to each person on it. Think about that; will you be able to stay comfortable sleeping in a space barely over two feet in width? Probably not. It’s suggested for most couples to use queen mattresses at the very least, to offer enough space for both people to comfortably sleep.
Families with children who like to crawl into bed with their parents first thing Saturday morning, or people with large pets who commandeer a significant amount of bed space often choose to have a king size mattress. This provides even more space for sleep, whether it’s for two people who require extra room, or to accommodate that extra addition a child or dog presents. And of course, some people who sleep alone may just want to have that much space.
More frequently, teens are using full size mattresses, instead of the traditional twin, to accommodate growing bodies. XL varieties of twin and full mattresses also exist to provide extra length for taller people, and “California” varieties of queen and king size mattresses give extra length on larger sizes as well. You can even attach headboard furniture to the bed, customizing it to your preferences. As you can see, a lot goes into picking a mattress before you even give it the test-run in the store.