Highest Rated Beds for Teenagers Reviewed (2021 Guide)

Moving from late childhood into early adolescence and beyond is a trying period for both parents and their offspring alike. During the teenage years, young people experience a wide range of changes that affect their entire way of looking at life.

For the first time, they are able to picture and formulate long-term goals; they become independent and require time alone away from their parents to ascertain who they really are. And then come girls or boys depending on the sex – sexuality becomes a part of their lives. It’s an adventure, to say the least.

More often than not, the young adolescent will still be sleeping on their childhood bed that has been a trusty companion for many years. In many cases, it will be the kid who initiates discussion about getting an adults bed to suit their needs and growth spurt.

Parents are confronted with yet another expensive purchase, and they know that it will not end there. The search begins, and it isn’t easy if you don’t have the right facts and patience. With this article, we aim to unravel the mystery behind the decision making process for finding the best mattress for your cherished offspring teenager.

Helpful Tips to Purchasing Bed for Teens

Consider the Size

The brand and type are not the only things that are important when choosing a mattress for your teenager. You have to consider the size. The decision might be based on any number of factors like whether you are going to keep the childhood frame that was bought extra large or if you are going for a new one.

Does your kid already merit a double bed? Or does your teenager look like he or she is going to be extra tall like mommy or daddy?

These are all questions that need to be taken into consideration before purchasing such a big-ticket item. Get it wrong, and you will regret it. Your young one will never let you hear the end of it. Luckily most bedding companies have excellent return policies so you should be okay there.

It’s best to be on the safe side. Loosen those purse strings and buy something like a queen or a twin – see our top twin size picks.

Want a bigger and more comfortable size? See: Top Rated Queen Size Beds You Can Buy Online

Sleeping Position

Side

Most people prefer to sleep on their side, and that includes teenagers. The reason for this is that it most resembles the position we adopted while still in our mother’s womb. This is the reason why side sleeping is often referred to as the ‘fetal position.’

Side sleepers prefer different mattress properties to say a stomach sleeper. If your teen sleeps on his or her side, the hips need to be supported, and the shoulders need a surface into which they can sink into to allow for optimal spinal alignment. In others words, the vertebrae must form a straight line.

All mattress types come into consideration for side sleepers, but some are better than others. We are proponents of the memory foam or hybrid versions because of the body contouring characteristics they boast.

Are you sleeping on your left or right side? Go to: Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers – Our Picks

Back

If you usually sleep on your back, the situation is slightly different. They too need support and sinkage but for different parts of the body. If a person sleeps on their back, the buttocks are the part of the anatomy that descends into the bed for the highest-level of comfort. At the same time, the shoulders need to be supported by adequate lift.

The main difference to the other sleeping positions is that the back creates an arc in the lumbar area – you notice it most if you lie on the floor with your shoulders and buttocks pressed to the surface. You will immediately see an empty space between the floor and your back.

The right mattress will cater to this area by adapting to the shape of the body so that void is no longer existent. Instead, the bed creates ideal support and spinal alignment by providing support where it is needed along the spinal cord.

Stomach

Quite a few teenagers still prefer to sleep on the stomach. For many, this offers the coziest position because the entire front of the body is in contact with the mattress. At the same time, they might cuddle the pillow and place their arms under it.

This is fine as long as the bed offers the right surface that forms to the teenage body. In other words, the natural arc of the lower back that automatically forms because of the pressure applied to the chest and pelvis and to a certain extent the knees needs to be realigned so that the spine is straight.

A good bed will do this so choose a mattress designed for front sleepers. The body weight around the pelvis, chest, and knees will slightly sink into the mattress, reducing pressure on the joint and consequently nullifying the arch on the back. Memory foam, latex, and the hybrid are perfect examples of sleeping surfaces that can achieve this.

Price Vs. Quality

When it comes to cost vs. quality, there is a broad spectrum that comes into play. You can go for anything from the cheapest bedding, which is not recommended if it does not provide the proper firmness and body shaping needed by an adolescents growing body, to the most expensive and luxurious look and appeal. In this instance, it’s highly recommended to go for something that balances the two out so that you get the best value for money.

Taking the aforementioned into consideration brings us to the different types of mattresses on the market (more details later).

The innerspring is the first type of bed that comes to mind. The quality and cost very much depend on the brand. They are the cheapest option you can get, and there are some pretty good deals out there that might suit your needs if you do your research.

Then there’s memory foam. Generally, they are more expensive, but you can get your hands on very affordable ones. Don’t be too stingy because there have been scares because of toxic materials used in the cheapest versions.

Latex is great in terms of durability and support, but they are the most expensive and predominantly only available online. However, latex is a perfect alternative if you have the money and need something that lasts.

Guide to Picking the Perfect Bed Material for Adolescents

Memory Foam

Developed by NASA for astronauts, memory foam is an all-time favorite for many parents because they really give you a bang for your buck if you find the right deal. Your teenager gets excellent support due to the thermal transferring viscoelastic foam that shapes to the body. It’s an excellent choice for a growing body, and in most cases foam is hypoallergenic.

As you may have noticed, our recommendations are all memory foam options because we think that they are best suited for a teen. Also, the problem of sweating has almost been eliminated for most brands thanks to technological advancements in the field.

As we already mentioned, you only have to be careful that the mattress is made from eco-friendly and harmless materials – discover more about foam type. They may be more expensive, but they are well worth the money.

The only thing that this type of bed tends to suffer from the most is off-gassing. However, the smell usually goes away after a few days.

Spring

The innerspring is the most prevalent of all mattress classes all over the world. Also, this type of bedding has been with us for many generations. Most likely, you, as parents, slept on one and are still doing so today because you continue to believe that it is the right choice.

And you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Spring sleeping surfaces come in all firmness levels making them suitable for all types of sleepers. The individual spring pockets allow for first-rate support and give. One of our favorite things about the spring is the edge that tends to be the most supportive of all the mattress types.

However, a great innerspring feel comes at a higher cost, and as with the latex bed, the sky is the limit. Something else to look out for is that the innerspring is more conducive to allergies than other types. The material makeup is more inviting to mildew and dust mites.

Latex

Latex comes in two different guises. First, there’s synthetic latex that is derived from petroleum-based materials and is entirely manmade from the base to the cover. A synthetic is a good option if your kid suffers from allergic reactions to all-natural latex. But be aware of making sure the materials used are not harmful or of a lesser quality.

On the other side of the spectrum comes bio or all-natural latex sourced from the sap tree by using the Dunlop technique. These mattresses are eco-friendly and exceedingly good quality. If you want something on the pricier side, you cannot do much wrong here.

Just bear in mind that latex is the most expensive material (read our buyer’s guide) and sometimes reaching prices beyond ten thousand Dollars. Also, they are mainly confined to the online marketplace so that trying them out can be difficult. However, you get what you pay for because latex will last you for nearly forever – in theory at least.

Hybrid

The hybrid is an amalgamation of various materials thrown into one bed and there’s something for everyone with a hybrid mattress. Brands that use this manufacturing technique attempt to pick the highest-quality of the innerspring, memory foam and latex worlds and blend them together into an allegedly superior product. Sometimes, air is also used depending on the brand.

The price range for this type of sleeping surface varies considerably, and it depends on the makeup and the brand.

For durability and body contouring, a mix between memory foam and latex is very popular among parents. It covers all of the bases of being adaptable to a growing body, and it affords longevity for many years of use.

Another option is a combination of memory foam and innerspring. This sleeping surface has excellent edge support thanks to the springs and the corresponding body adaptation properties thanks to the foam.

You may have noticed something here – In most cases, memory foam is the favorite in ever hybrid composition. For this reason, we chose this type of mattress in our initial recommendations.

Our Top 3 Teenage Mattress Reviews

It is not for no reason why we claim that the Purple mattress is ideal for teenagers of both sexes. The bed is suitable for growing and changing bodies. Thanks to the Purple Smart Grid, the mattress adapts to your teen’s body with absolute perfection, allowing for comfort and support during a time when it is needed most.

The open grid cooling design allows for cool nights when those hormones are racing, and the sweat pores are becoming ever more active as your teenager develops and matures. The cover is soft and breathable. The only problem is that your teenage kid will have even more trouble getting out of bed in the morning than usual.

Buying a new mattress is sometimes trying enough. Thoughts crop up about what to do with the old bedding. Not to worry, with Purple that is all taken care for you. The company offers free shipping, and they will take the old bed with them – it is an all in one solution.

For a much more comprehensive overview go read our Purple assessment.

Nectar’s dual gel memory foam layers are perfect for excellent support and comfort. They adapt to the contours of the body allowing for the greatest night’s sleep that a growing body could ever experience. You can consider yourself lucky that you can only order this mattress online because your possibly unruly teen wouldn’t want to get off of it if it were in a store, leaving you standing there high and dry.

Air circulates perfectly within the bedding, and the Tencel cooling cover is the amazing at absorbing moisture and distributing heat into the atmosphere. Your kid will feel so refreshed in the morning and raring to go to school. Maybe that last bit was a little too optimistic – who knows?

This bed relieves pressure wherever it is needed. It feels soft without forfeiting support that is crucial for a developing body. The Nectar sleeps so comfortably that tossing and turning is a thing of the past.

Want to see the full report on Nectar construction? Find out more about the layers of Nectar here.

The renowned all in one mattress from Casper has won the hearts and minds of over a million happy customers. Thanks to their optimized and streamlined conceptualization to production to the sale and after sale value chain, Casper is able to keep prices down and quality up for the best value mattress in the bedding industry.

This product had the top-rated breathable open-cell inner structure and zoned support that suits every sleeper type. You can’t go wrong with Casper, and your teenager will agree with you. The body is supported, the airflow is optimal, and comfort is guaranteed so that the bed’s occupant won’t be rolling around all night.

The entire experience from the moment you order online to when the sleeping surface is delivered is smooth and without trouble. And you don’t have to worry should you teen not like it. Casper offers a free return policy to put your mind at ease.

If you would like to see how well they did during out analyzation. We have reviewed their mattress here.

Our Final Thoughts

Having a teenager in the home can be both a boon and a bane. There is a day when you love them, and then there are days you think you don’t. But no matter what happens, you always want the best for them. And the top-grade mattress is one of the ways to give your teenagers precisely that.

The bed is one of the places where your cherished offspring will spend a lot of his or her time. Adolescence is a trying period, and no matter how much we dislike it, teens need a lot of sleep so that their cerebral functions and muscles can develop. Why not help them on their way with the right sleeping arrangement?