Choosing the best Silentnight mattress isn’t an easy task.
They’ve got a much bigger range of mattresses than most companies and are probably the most famous mattress brand in the UK.
Their range includes some very good value cheap foam and sprung mattresses and some more luxurious mattresses.
Overall, Silentnight scores 4.1/5 on TrustPilot, which is very respectable.
The Silentnight range
The Silentnight range is large. It can also be quite confusing as they use a fair amount of jargon and the occasional made up word! You’ll see plenty of references to things like ‘eco comfort’ and ‘geltex’ models. These terms both refer to the type of material used for the upper layers of the mattresses – but they aren’t the only factors to consider.
The best way to think of it is splitting Silentnight mattresses into four categories:
1. Silentnight ‘Mirapocket’ mattresses
This is a fancy term for a pocket spring mattress, which is what most of us sleep on. A pocket spring mattress provides a good level of support and feels familiar. Some are straightforward pocket spring mattresses whilst others have a top layer of memory foam or latex to give it a bit more cushioning. Generally speaking, pocket sprung mattresses have better stability then cheaper open coil mattresses.
Research by Shen, Chen et al in 2012 found that stability has a notable impact on how well you sleep. I’d say it’s worth upgrading if you can afford it. They found ‘The percentage of deep sleep and sleep efficiency were low when subjects slept on mattresses with poor stability’ (Shen, Chen et al, 2012).
If you want a traditional style of mattress and are working to a mid-range budget then Mirapocket is your best bet.
2. Silentnight ‘Miracoil’ mattresses
These are the cheaper alternative to a pocket spring mattress. I’d avoid these and upgrade to ‘Mirapocket’ if you can afford it, unless you’re just looking for a cheap mattress for the spare room.
Besides price, the other good reason that you might choose an open coil sprung mattress is that it’s much easier to recycle it once you are finished with it. A report by the National Bed Federation in 2019 found that only 19% of mattress materials are currently recycled. It explained that the huge rise in popularity of pocket sprung mattresses in the last 10-15 years has created a bit of a problem for the recycling industry.
An open coil mattress uses one piece of metal which is twisted into several spring shapes. It can be removed and recycled pretty easily. Meanwhile, pocket sprung mattresses are often made of 1000-2000 tiny springs which are encased in fabric. Recycling companies have to somehow remove the tiny springs. That either involves getting a special machine or removing them by hand.
In summary, Miracoil is your best bet if you want a traditional style of mattress and are on a tight budget.
3. Silentnight’s cheap memory foam mattresses
These provide consistent all-over support and are a good budget option. They’re sometimes called the ‘Mattress Now’ range.
These are your best option if you want a more modern style of mattress and are on a tight budget.
4. Silentnight’s posher memory foam mattresses
These are called Just Sleep and are their ‘bed in a box’ mattresses which uses different types of foam. They are similar to the Nectar Sleep and Emma mattresses. As far as I can tell, they are a replacement for the Silentnight Studio range (you can still buy the Studio mattresses but they aren’t as widely available).
These are your best choice if you want a modern style of mattress and have a mid-range budget.
Within these four categories, there are multiple variations. Some Silentnight Mirapocket mattresses are ‘pillow top’ mattresses, which have a soft topper and ‘eco’ mattresses which use recycled plastic bottles. However, those are the main categories of Silentnight mattresses.
For anyone who doesn’t religiously read Furniture News magazine, you might like to know that the Silentnight Eco Comfort range was runner up in the mattresses and divans category at the Furniture Awards 2019.
Before we move onto our top 5, here are the good and bad points about buying a Silentnight mattress.
Pros and cons of buying the best Silentnight mattress
Pros:
- Biggest name in the UK mattress market
- Huge range, including cheaper and mid-priced mattresses
- Several award winners in the range, including accolades from Which? and Good Housekeeping
- Choice of pocket sprung, foam mattresses or hybrids
- The Just Sleep range has a very long trial period and a long warranty
Cons:
- Most don’t come with a trial period.
- Warranties tend to be 1-5 years, which is shorter than similarly priced foam mattresses
- Cheaper foam models are quite thin
We’ve picked out five of the best Silentnight mattresses based on specifications, customer reviews, value for money and awards. Prices are for double mattresses and are correct at the time of typing.
1. Silentnight 3 Zone Memory Foam Mattress – soft/medium tension – £202
If you’re after a budget Silentnight mattress with good reviews then you might like the Silentnight 3 Zone Memory Foam mattress. It arrives rolled up and then unfurls at home. The mattress is constructed from different types of foam, with a thin layer of memory foam on top. It scores 4.2/5 on Amazon from 11000+ reviews.
This is the 3 Zone model which is 18cm deep, or you can get a 7 Zone version which is 20cm deep and a little bit firmer. Most luxury mattresses are about 25-30cm, but this should do the job as long as you aren’t particularly heavy.
Memory foam gives you more of a ‘hugging’ and ‘sinking’ feeling than you’d get with a sprung mattress. Some people find that memory foam feels a bit warm, but that it offers more consistent support than springs.
This model was given an award from expert testers back in 2012. It comes with a 3 year warranty which is quite short for a mattress. But then again, it’s a double mattress for £200 from a brand you’ve actually heard of…
The benefits of a zoned mattress
There is some interesting science behind a mattress using ‘zones’. It was explored in some depth by a team of researchers in Iran in a paper called ‘Spine alignment in men during lateral sleep position: experimental study and modeling’ (Leilnahari, Fatouraee et al, 2011).
The research looked at ‘sleep surfaces with different zonal elasticity’ and suggested they are ‘a more appropriate choice for heavier men with pronounced body contour’. The participants were all men, hence the recommendation being gender specific.
They also add that ‘Observing the amount of required stiffness obtained for the sleep surface, can have a significant effect on keeping the spine healthy’.
The theory is that ‘Soft surfaces cause the increase in low back pain due to incorrect support of vertebral column…Thereagainst, mattresses with high stiffness lead to shoulder pain, and cause the decrease in sleep quality and improper distribution of body loads’. A mattress with varying ‘zones’ aims to overcome this.
2. Silentnight Classic 1200 Pocket Deluxe/Sofia – medium to firm tension – £449
Much like Puff Daddy, this Silentnight mattress goes by a few different names including Sofia and Classic 1200. It’s a solid mid-priced choice if you want the familiar feel of a pocket spring mattress.
It’s won a couple of big awards and customer reviews are very positive, averaging 9/10 from 1000+ reviews.
The 1200 number refers to the number of pocket springs on a king size model. That’s a perfectly decent number which will provide a good level of support for an average sized person. If you are much heavier than average then you may be better going for a mattress with a number closer to 2000 such as the Silentnight London Stratus mattress (£564).
It’s nice and deep at 28cm and it is double sided. That means that it should last longer if you remember to flip it over regularly.
It comes with a 5 year warranty which is good for a pocket spring mattress, though not spectacular. Pocket spring mattresses tend to come with a guarantee of between 1 and 10 years (with the exception of Vispring which offers 30 years) whilst ‘bed in a box’ mattresses usually come with between 5 years and ‘forever’ (in the case of the Nectar Sleep mattress).
Silentnight’s Classic 1200 is a mid-priced mattress with great reviews
3. Just Sleep by Silentnight – range of firmness levels available – £300 – £850
Just Sleep is the company’s answer to the large number of trendy ‘bed in a box’ mattresses which have arrived in the UK mattress market in recent years. You’ve probably seen names like Nectar Sleep, Simba and OTTY promoting their mattresses with slick adverts and websites.
The idea is that you buy it online and get a home trial period. In the case of the Just Sleep range, you get 365 nights to try it out and a 10 year warranty. That compares very well to the competition (Nectar also offer 365 days).
They’ll post the mattress to you squashed up in a box and you can try it out at home once it’s expanded.
All of the Just Sleep mattresses are primarily foam mattresses rather than ‘natural mattresses‘, but some also use springs which makes them a ‘hybrid’.
Which Silentnight Just Sleep mattress is best?
There are seven mattresses within the Silentnight Just Sleep range. The highest rated based on customer reviews is the Just Serene mattress, but that’s based on relatively few reviews (and it’s also the most expensive).
You can split the collection into three categories
- The cheapest Silentnight Just Sleep model is called Just Relax (medium firmness). This model is quite similar to the cheaper Silentnight 3 Zone Mattress featured earlier. It is thin and has a basic design, but it’s an upgrade on the standard 3 Zone model because of the longer warranty and trial period.
- The mid-priced Silentnight Just Sleep mattresses are called Just Breathe (medium/firm), Just Snug (medium/firm) and Just Bliss (medium). They are all quite similar and cost about the same.
Each of them has a layer of 1000 pocket springs along with a top layer made of something else. This makes them hybrid mattresses. They are all 24cm or 25cm deep, which is about average for a mattress. The difference is what the layer above the springs is made of.
Just Breathe uses ‘breathable fibres’ whilst Just Snug uses memory foam and Just Bliss uses a foam mixed with gel.
I would go for Just Snug if you like feeling warm in bed, as memory foam does tend to make you feel a little warmer. I would make your mind up between the other two depending on whether you prefer a medium firmness mattress (Just Bliss) or a medium/firm mattress (Just Breathe). - The most expensive Silentnight Just Sleep mattresses are called Just Calm (medium firmness), Just Dream (medium/soft) and Just Serene (medium/soft).
They have a similar spring design as the three mid-priced mattresses. However, there are a couple of apparent upgrades from the three mid-price mattresses.
The first is a type of foam that Silentnight claims is better at keeping you cool (ReVo foam). The second is a ‘Vitalize’ sleep surface which Silentnight claims ‘absorbs body heat and reflects this lost energy back into your body’.
The notable difference between Just Calm and Just Dream is the firmness rating. Other than that, they are very similar. Just Serene is deeper than the the others in the range because it also has a layer of 1000 mini springs as well as the larger pocket springs.
Good reviews and a more established name than its rivals
Just Sleep by Silentnight gets positive reviews of somewhere between 3.8/5 and 4.8/5 from customers on Silentnight’s website and Mattress Online. Three of the Just Sleep mattresses have won Which? Best Buy Awards (Just Calm, Just Snug and Just Bliss).
The major advantage of Just Sleep is that Silentnight is a more established mattress brand than others offering this type of mattress. In the last few years, we’ve seen some Bed in a Box brands come and go in the UK, such as Leesa. There isn’t much value in a long warranty if the company is no longer trading!
A few years ago, Silentnight Studio mattresses came with a five year warranty and a 60 day trial. The Just Sleep range is much more generous and stands up alongside the likes of Nectar Sleep, OTTY and Emma. There is an important difference worth mentioning. If you send back your Silentnight Just Sleep mattress then you have the option of exchanging it for another Silentnight mattress. Several bed in a box brands will give you a refund instead.
Are foam mattresses any good?
All of these Just Sleep mattresses use foam, and some use memory foam.
You’ll find that a lot of people suggest memory foam mattresses like this are a good choice if you suffer from an allergy to dust mites. For example, foam mattress brand Dormeo says that because foam mattresses are made from ‘inorganic fibres’ they don’t provide ‘life sustaining food‘ for dust mites and so they ‘will therefore avoid them’.
However, an academic study in Norway found that dust mite feces was much more commonly found on foam mattresses than it was on sprung mattresses (‘House-dust mites and mattresses’ by Schei et al in 2002).
You’ll find plenty of foam mattresses are approved by the charity Allergy UK, who say that the key is to find a mattress which says the key is to use an ‘allergen proof barrier cover’.
4. Silentnight London Stratus 2000 – medium firmness – £589
We’ve picked this Silentnight London Stratus mattress for those who like a mattress which offers both pocket springs and memory foam (sometimes called a hybrid mattress).
This particular one has a high pocket spring count which will offer a very good level of support. A thin layer of memory foam on top adds a bit of cushioning and all-over support.
The downside of having a topper layer of something like memory foam or latex is that you can’t turn the mattress over, as the topper is only on one side. That can lead to dips and sags over time. However, you can still rotate it round.
This one gets very good reviews of 4.6/5 from 500+ customers so it’s obviously doing something right.
It comes with a five year warranty.
5. Silentnight Geltex Ultra 3000 Mirapocket Mattress – firm – £809
Finally, we’ve picked out one of the more expensive Silentnight mattresses – the Geltex Ultra 3000, which sounds a bit like a pair of flashy running trainers.
So, what do you get for your money compared to a cheap Silentnight mattress?
For a start, this is a huge mattress at 37cm deep. If Rob Brydon bought this mattress he’d probably need to take a run at it. You’ll need extra deep fitted sheets or you’ll end up injuring yourself whilst changing them. The thickness is because it’s got two layers of springs and a layer of ‘Geltex’ which is a sort of fancy foam (‘an innovative combination of extremely elastic gel and air-permeable foam’ if you want to be technical).
As you’d expect for this price, it uses pocket springs which are far superior to open coil springs. In all there are 3000 springs, with 2000 on one layer and 1000 on another. In case you’re interested, the number of pocket springs you see on a mattress description is the number that you get on the king size version – you get far less on a single. Be honest, you’re not really interested are you?
Too firm for some?
It’s worth noting that this is a firm mattress. The general advice is that heavier people need firmer mattresses than lighter people if they’re to get the right level of support.
Also, if you sleep on your side you’ll get better support from a softer mattress than if you sleep on your back. This is because side sleepers need a slightly softer mattress so there isn’t too much pressure on their hips and shoulders. The idea is that you take both factors into account when deciding on what firmness you need from a mattress.
Is this the best silentnight mattress according to customers?
When we checked, reviews were amongst the best of all the Silentnight mattresses with an average of 4.7/5 on Mattress Online after more than 400 reviews.
