Mattress Buying Guide

Full Mattress

Double, or full, mattresses have long been the standard for couples sleeping together or for single sleepers who'd like a little more room. The average double mattress is large enough for a good night's sleep for two people, but not as heavily and cumbersome as a queen size or king size mattress. It's also a little less expensive to buy than these larger mattresses, and takes up less room in cramped apartments. Let's take a look at some of the basic facts you ought to know before you decide to buy a full mattress.

Full size mattresses vary in size, depending on the country they're made in. In North America, a full mattress is fifty-four inches wide by seventy-five inches long, while a full XL mattress is eighty inches long. UK mattress manufacturers use the same sizing, but call the shorter mattress a small double, and the longer mattress simply a double. In contintental Europe, a full mattress is one hundred forty by two hundred centimeters, or a little more than fifty-five by seventy-eight inches. In Thailand and much of Asia, the standard size for a full mattress is forty-eight inches by seventy-eight inches.

Full mattresses are traditionally about eight inches thick, but pillow tops and other luxury features have increased their height over the years. This means that if you buy a new mattress, your old sheets may not fit. Special extra-deep sheets have been made to fit these taller mattresses. Remember to measure your full size mattress before you shop for new sheets, as this can make the experience a lot less painful, and prevent the need to return them in the future.

Many people are switching from full mattresses to queen or king size options, since these larger mattresses can make it easier to sleep together at night. Some of this has been blamed on US citizens' increasing obesity levels, but other factors, like the aging of a large segment of the population, may also affect ease of sleep. Queen and king mattresses can be very difficult to move and transport, however, and may not fit gracefully in the bedrooms of some older homes. That means that double beds are sometimes the better choice.

If you're in the market for a new bed, don't rule out the full size mattress. While it's recently been eclipsed by larger, more luxurious beds, that doesn't mean it can't provide a good night's sleep. Take a little time and check out a few of these medium sized mattresses and see if one of them will be right for the way you sleep and what you want to spend.