Shopping for bedding such as a mattress is like jumping into the unknown. In your search for the right mattress to give you that perfect night’s sleep, you may come across a few terms that you are not familiar with.
Everyone uses the terms soft and firm to describe how comfortable a mattress is, and you may have come across some mattresses described as plush.
You may then wonder what the term is referring to: is it the softness or firmness of the mattress, or is it referring to the feel of the mattress fabric?
So what is a plush memory foam mattress? The word plush is used by a lot of mattress manufacturers to describe the levels of softness or the comfort levels of a mattress. However, this description is not the correct use of the term. A plush memory foam mattress provides the firm support of a firm mattress while simultaneously provides the comfort of a soft mattress.
A plush memory foam mattress provides the firm support of a firm mattress and the comfort of a pillowtop mattress. To properly understand what the term plush means you need to understand the difference between a firm, soft, and plush mattress.
Mattress Firmness: Firm vs Soft vs Plush
Put simply, a mattress’s firmness is a question of its hardness. Is it soft or hard? The answer to this question is what many mattress buyers use as the basis for the mattress they buy.
The firmness or hardness of a mattress determines its comfort level; however, it also affects the support it offers too. A mattress’s surface comfort is often measured on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the hardest or most firm mattress and 1 the softest.
The rating is determined by the amount of give the surface gives when you sit or lie on it. Here a simple firmness scale to help you understand this better.
Extra soft mattress
This mattress is incredibly soft and offers no support with a rating of 1 to 2 on the firmness scale. It has a tremendous amount of sinkage, which means you sink into the mattress as you sleep, and as such, you should stay away from it. This mattress can harm your spine and are not very comfortable.
Soft mattress
This mattress has a rating of 3 to 4 and a sinkage of anywhere between 1.5 to 3 inches. There are 2 kinds: the deep cushion hug and the traditional deep contour memory foam. Soft mattresses are great for side sleepers but not so much for stomach or back sleepers.
Medium mattress
This is the most preferred option on the market with a firmness rating of 5 to 6. It’s estimated that about 80 percent of people would pick this kind of mattress. This is because they are great for all kinds of sleeping positions.
Hard mattress
These mattresses have a rating of 7 to 8 and offer less hug or sinkage than medium firmness mattresses. This might vary depending on the manufacturer, but most people would find them a bit harder than they would like.
Extra hard mattress
These mattresses are extra firm with a rating of 9 to 10. Very few extra hard mattresses are made except for therapeutic ones because very few people would go for them.
A plush mattress
This mattress has a firmness rating of anywhere between 2.5 and 3, meaning it falls somewhere between extra soft and soft mattresses.
However, the most significant distinction between them is that a plush mattress offers more than just comfort: it offers great support. This makes it great for side sleepers because the mattress contours to your body shape as you lie on your side.
Stomach and back sleepers can also go for plush mattresses but opt for something with a firmer base because soft beds might create pressure points that will cause your spine to bend improperly.
Ultra vs Pillowtop vs Eurotop Plush Mattresses
In the world of plush mattresses, there are other adjectives used in conjunction with the term such as ultra-plush, pillowtop, or Eurotop. These adjectives are used to describe the comfort level of the plush mattress.
Ultra-plush mattresses are very soft, sinkable mattresses, however unlike extra soft mattresses they are made from supportive materials such as memory foam which allow for optimal support by offering the maximum conformance of body and weight ratio.
They are also referred to as super plush or extra plus plush mattresses and can occasionally include pillow tops for extra cushioning.
The term pillow top and Eurotop are used interchangeably to describe the extra soft layer or padding attached on top of a mattress. However, there is a huge difference between the two.
While both are mattress add-ons, a pillowtop is an extra layer of padding sewn onto the mattress to provide uniform and adequate comfort. Additionally, it looks exactly as its name suggests, a pillow on top of the mattress.
The Eurotop, on the other hand, while very similar to the pillow top, is sewn flush directly to the mattress, so it doesn’t look like a separate layer.
These mattress add-ons are thin layers meant to increase the softness of the mattress not offer support. A pillow top or Eurotop on their own would have a firmness rating of 1 or 2; however, when added to a plush mattress, they create a plush pillow top or Eurotop mattress. When used this way, you get what most companies refer to as ultra-plush mattresses.
Conclusion – What Are Plush Memory Foam Mattresses?
Plush memory foam mattresses offer the best of both worlds they give you the comfort and support you require to get a good night’s sleep. There are many plush terms in the mattress world, and each describes a different mattress characteristic.
Keep in mind that plushness is used to describe the comfort of the mattress itself and with additional features such as contouring from the memory foam, you feel like you are getting a hug from your mattress every time you sleep.
