Mattress sleep trials: which brand offers the longest trial period?

Heading for the summer mattress sales? Here's what you need to know about mattress sleep trials.

Some popular mattress brands, including Nectar and Silentnight, offer year-long 'sleep trials' on selected ranges. These sleep trials are some of the longest available and are 165 days longer than the one offered by Emma, the most popular mattress brand, according to the latest Which? mattress survey*.

However, when you take the small print into account, which deal is the best overall?

Need a new place to rest your head? Read more about the best mattresses we've tested.

What is a mattress sleep trial?

Unlike mattress warranties and guarantees, which cover faults, a mattress sleep trial lets you sleep on the mattress in your own home. This means you can see whether it’s a dream to sleep on or will turn your slumber into a sweaty nightmare.

If you don't like it or it's not right for you, you can simply return it within the trial period – as long as you abide by the rules.

Commonly offered by online-only, bed-in-a-box mattress brands, a sleep trial is ideal if you want to try a different type of mattress than you usually use but aren't certain it will be right for you.

Giving you a full year to try out the mattress, Nectar and Silentnight (Just Sleep range only) are among the few brands to offer such a lengthy trial period. Mattress sleep trials from other brands and retailers start from just 30 days.

Find out which mattresses are on offer with our guide to the best mattress deals.

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Which brand offers the longest sleep trial?

Before you head online, check which brand offers the longest sleep trial. We've also listed brief details of the trial, but remember to check the small print to see what conditions apply.

Got a problem with your mattress? Find out how to return a mattress. 

Watch out for the small print

Even putting aside the length of the trial period, not all sleep trials are the same. Some are a dream to take advantage of, while others come with a list of terms as long as your night-time snooze. 

• You may need to use a mattress protector; some brands even stipulate that you have to buy one at the same time as the mattress. 
• Some brands will refund you, but others, such as Silentnight with its Just Sleep range, will only let you exchange. You may have to pay extra if you exchange for a higher-priced mattress.
• Some brands state that you have to use the mattress for a minimum number of nights.
• You might have to keep track of the number of nights on the trial, as not all brands will remind you.
• You may have to pay to return the unwanted mattress. 

How to complain if you’ve been misled by a sale or special offer.

Do you really need a year-long trial?

You might assume that a full year is far longer than you need to work out whether a mattress is right for you. And in some cases, it may be obvious far sooner that a mattress isn't cutting it.

But extra-long trial periods do have some advantages:  

• They let you try out a mattress across all the seasons of a year. You may find, for example, that a mattress that feels cosy in winter becomes uncomfortably hot in summer. 
• They give you time to adjust to a new type of mattress – particularly important if you're switching from springs to foam. 
• If you suffer from back pain or a sore back, it could take quite a while to adjust to a new mattress, so a lengthy trial can help you to see if it makes any improvement. 

Discover our best mattresses for back pain.

What happens to returned mattresses?

In our latest mattress survey*, 5% of mattress owners said they had returned a mattress as part of a sleep trial. But what happens to all the returned mattresses? We asked some of the big brands:

Emma told us: 'Mattresses which are returned during its 200-night trial period are either cleaned and sold as refurbished mattresses or are donated to charity. Any that are damaged or have defects are properly disposed of.'

Eve Sleep told us: 'We either refurbish them (which includes a cleaning and sanitising process) and then sell them on our Evesleep.co.uk website, or we recycle them. If your mattress is recycled, all materials will be used in other industries and made into items like dog beds, carpet underlay and car insulation. The final parts (around 5%) will be used for energy. We want to make sure all mattresses get a new lease of life and nothing is wasted.' 

Nectar told us: 'Any returned mattresses are donated to the British Heart Foundation. This avoids landfill waste, gives the mattress a new home and raises money for the charity.'

Simba told us: 'Upon your mattress's return to Simba, it's given a second lease of life. Depending on its condition, it's either recycled or refurbished and redistributed through Simba’s eBay outlet and on Simbasleep.com.'

Need to replace your old bed? Find out how to dispose of a mattress responsibly.

* Which? surveyed 3,530 members of its online panel in October 2023.