Choosing the right mattress is one of the most important things you can do to ensure a good night's sleep. But with so many options available, how do you find one that is right for you? The first thing you will want to do is to research the various types available and test them out. You will also want to stick to a reputable brand like Serta to ensure you are getting a quality product that will last for many years.

When you start your mattress research you will find that the most common types available are innerspring mattresses. Consisting of a spring zone and a comfort layer, the innerspring provides support and proper spinal alignment. Underneath the mattress' ticking are the comfort layers which consist of various fibers and foams. Mattresses with pillow tops have an additional layer of softness at the surface for added comfort.

With innerspring mattresses there are four main types defined by the type of coils used. Open coil mattresses have hourglass shaped coils which are great for isolating motion transfer. The downside to this type is they tend to wear out faster than other types of coil mattresses.

Similar in construction to the open coil mattress are offset coil versions. The main difference between these two is that offset coil mattresses have coils with square heads that enables them to contour better. An example of this type of mattress is Serta's Verticoil Premiere Innerspring which is part of their Sertapedic® collection.

Another type of innerspring mattress is the individually wrapped or Marshall coil mattress. These cylindrical coils are individually wrapped and contained within separate fabric pockets. The advantage of separate coils is so that the rest of the bed is not affected by the movement of the coils surrounding it.

The final type of innerspring mattress is the continuous coil mattress. These mattresses have rows of advanced coils made of a single continuous wire allowing for a more even distribution of weight. Stronger and more supportive than other innerspring mattresses, Serta's Continuous Support® Innerspring and Free Flex® Innerspring are two models of continuous coil mattresses.

Another type of mattress that has been gaining in popularity over the years is the latex foam mattress. Forgoing the innerspring system entirely, latex foam mattresses are resilient, breathable, naturally antimicrobial, dust mite resistant and hypoallergenic. They are also incredibly body responsive for both comfort and support. Latex foam used for these mattresses come is two types: Dunlop or Talalay. Dunlop's foam is supportive, responsive and comfortable but its firmness is limited. Talalay, by comparison is a higher quality, more resilient foam. Serta uses the Talalay foam in its Vera Wang and Pure Response® Specialty collections.

A similar type of mattress that is gaining in popularity is the memory foam mattress. Like latex foam, Memory foam mattresses don't rely on an innerspring system for support. Instead, they have cores of visco-elastic memory foam which contours to your body by responding to body temperature. This is great for a cradling, support system that helps relieve pressure points and reduces motion transfer.

Memory foam comes in a variety of densities. The higher the density the more resilient the foam is. The one disadvantage to memory foam is that it retains heat but Serta's KoolComfort™ memory foam in their Perfect Day line helps combat this issue.

Now that you know about the various types of mattresses available, how do you piece it all together and find one that will give you a good night's sleep? You can start by asking yourself a few questions. Has your lifestyle or your physical needs changed since you bought your last mattress? Do your needs match those of your partner? Also, how much space do you have? What is your budget? To help you answer these questions, Serta has a nifty little comparison tool on their website. This will help you narrow the playing field down so that you are not hopping on every mattress in sight when you head to the store to try them out.

Now comes the fun part. When you begin your mattress testing adventures the best way to truly see if the bed works for you is to try it out. First, take off your shoes and lie down, making sure to move into all of the various positions you sleep in. Pay attention to how your lower back, shoulders and hips feel and then choose the most comfortable option in your price range. Make sure you select a mattress made by a reputable company such as Serta to ensure that you get a quality product that will last. After all, being a smart, educated consumer when shopping for a mattress will provide the best reward you could ask for in a good night's sleep.