Layla Mattress Review

In This Review
Performance Tests | Firmness | Support & Sleeping Positions | Design | Materials | Comparisons | FAQs

At NapLab, we put each mattress to the test.

We test 9 different factors that impact the comfort and feel of the mattress. Testing categories include:

1. Cooling
2. Sinkage
3. Motion Transfer
4. Response Time
5. Bounce
6. Edge Support
7. Sex
8. Pressure Relief
9. Off-Gassing

The Layla mattress is a flippable mattress that has a softer side as well as a firmer side. For this reason, we ran all nine tests on both sides, resulting in a total of 18 tests for Layla.

Here is an overview of how each side of the Layla performed.

Layla – Soft Side

Test	Rating
Cooling	Excellent
Sinkage	Deep
Motion Transfer	Extremely Low
Response Time	Extremely Fast
Bounce	Low
Edge Support	Fair
Sex	Very Good
Pressure Relief	Excellent
Off-Gassing	Excellent
Company	Excellent

Layla – Firm Side

Test	Rating
Cooling	Fair
Sinkage	Very Minimal
Motion Transfer	Very Low
Response Time	Extremely Fast
Bounce	Moderate
Edge Support	Fair
Sex	Very Good
Pressure Relief	Fair
Off-Gassing	Excellent
Company	Excellent

How is Layla Different?

The Layla is a flippable mattress with below-average overall performance and a price tag that is also below average—27% cheaper than the average memory foam mattress (a savings of $343).

Advantages

Advantages for the Layla include good cooling performance, 48% less motion transfer than average, and a faster material response time. The price may also be a big advantage for some sleepers.

Neutral Factors

This mattress has 8% deeper sinkage than average as well as 23% less bounce than average.

Disadvantages

Edge support is one of the biggest disadvantages of the Layla mattress, with 52% deeper sinkage when sitting on the edge than the average mattress. Weak edges and lower levels of bounce ultimately hurt the sex score the most.

Factor	Layla	Average
Overall	9.49	9.52
Price	$949	$1,292 (Memory Foam only)
Cooling	9.5	9.4
Max Sinkage	2.35″	2.17″
Total Motion Transfer	4.45 m/s²	8.49 m/s²
Response Time	0.3 sec.	0.4 sec.
Total Bounce	7.51″	9.66″
Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage	6.25″	4.10″
Mattress Thickness	10.5″	12.0″
Sex Overall	9.3	9.6
Comfort Material	5.0″	4.2″
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	3 days	5 days
Trial	120 nights	161 nights
Warranty	10 years	26% have lifetime warranties, average of other 74% of mattresses is 14 years

During our cooling tests, we look at three important temperatures—baseline, maximum, and the ending temperature. Here’s a breakdown of what that means.

• Baseline Temperature – the temperature of the mattress before anyone lies on it
• Maximum Temperature (0 minute) – the temperature of the mattress after lying on it for 15 minutes
• Ending Temperature (5 minute) – the temperature of the mattress after being lied upon and having no one on it for 5 minutes

Now let’s dive into the exact performance of each side of the Layla.

Layla Soft – Cooling Test

During our cooling tests, the Layla did a great job. Looking at the data, it peaked at a temperature of 90.1°, which is among the lower end of our collective test results, but especially for memory foam.

Heat Dissipation Over Time

The first 3° of heat dissipation was quick, but it did take the full 5 minutes to get back closer to the baseline temperature.

Speaking subjectively, during the tests I did not feel any significant heat build-up. It did a great job at remaining cool and breathing well. The design and foam material formulation work well together to keep sleepers cool.

Layla Firm – Cooling Test

Heat Dissipation Over Time

Subjectively speaking, cooling was definitely worse on the firm side, which honestly makes a lot of sense. It only has 1” of the copper gel foam as opposed to 3” on the soft side. It also has no transitional foam with convoluted channels, therefore decreasing airflow.

I felt notably warmer on the firm side. It was in stark contrast to the feeling on the soft side.

These results really speak to the importance of the copper gel foams and convoluted transition foam being closer to the sleeper. If you look at the objective data it’s a similar story.

The soft side of the mattress uses 3″ of gel foam and had a max temperature that is 1.1 degree F cooler than the firm side.

After getting off the mattress, the soft side also dissipated the heat more quickly and decreased to a lower overall temperature in general.

In my view, there is a clear cooling advantage to the soft side of the mattress vs. the firm side.

The level of sinkage is documented in the images below.

On the soft side, we measured sinkage to be 2.33″, which offers a bit more contouring and hug than the firm side.

On the firm side, the sinkage on the Layla is notably less than the soft side, which is to be expected. The materials are firmer and there is simply a less thick comfort layer.

You really would need to love a very firm feel to find this side comfortable with the shallower level of sinkage. Since you only have 1” of comfort material you are right on top of the very dense hard support foams.

Motion transfer levels on both sides of the Layla were pretty good. There’s a little more motion transfer on the firm side compared to the soft, but it’s not dramatic.

Layla Soft – Motion Transfer Test

As is classic to memory foam, motion transfer is low on the Layla. After the ball is dropped, energy is dispersed into the surface material and dissipates rather quickly.

The level of motion transfer from the soft side of the Layla is documented in the video below.

Especially being a softer feel, the motion just really dies into the foam and there’s not a lot of energy reverberation or movement after the drop.

Layla Firm – Motion Transfer Test

On the firm side, we measured an increase in motion transfer, which makes sense given that the materials are firmer.

Firmer materials are generally going to create more bounce and bounce back, especially with high-impact motion events. I’m a little surprised it’s not higher than it is.

The level of motion transfer from the firm side of the Layla is documented in the video below.

The Layla firm side’s acceleration range of 6.51 m/s² is just slightly more than the average motion transfer for all of the mattresses we’ve tested to date. Our average motion transfer comes in at 8.34 m/s².

So while the firm side’s motion transfer is notably more than the soft side, it’s certainly still within a very reasonable norm.

The response time of the Layla is good on both sides of the mattress.

On the soft side, we experienced a response time of 0.3 seconds (to be mostly recovered), with full recovery happening around 0.7 seconds.

On the firm side, the results were similar. It was mostly recovered around the 0.5-second mark and full recovery was not far behind—around 0.6 seconds.

Layla	Mostly Recovered	Completely Recovered
Soft Side	0.3 seconds	0.7 seconds
Firm Side	0.5 seconds	0.6 seconds

The level of responsiveness on the soft side is documented in the video below.

Responsiveness on the firm side is documented in the video below.

Whether you prefer the soft or firm side, the response time should be more than sufficient to appease couples (or pets or kids) sharing a mattress. It’s fast on both sides, meaning you won’t have to worry about ever feeling “stuck” or overly enveloped by the foams.

The bounce on the soft side was a little less than bounce on the firm side. Neither side had huge levels of bounce.

Layla – Soft Side

The level of bounce on the soft side is documented in the video below.

Layla – Firm Side

For comparison, bounce on the firm side is documented in the video below as well.

As you can see, on the firm side, there’s about 1″ more total bounce. The ball did not sink as deep into the mattress with this drop.

Additionally, because it is firmer, that energy rebounds upwards for a greater vertical bounce.

The edge support of the Layla memory foam mattress struggles quite a bit.

On both the firm side as well as the soft side, we noticed excessive compression that made it difficult to sit or lie directly on the edge of this mattress.

Layla – Soft Side

Here are the results of sitting at the edge of the Layla on the soft side.

Layla – Firm Side

Here are the results of sitting at the edge of the Layla on the firm side.

As you can see, there is an excessive amount of compression on both the soft side and firm side of the mattress.

This is a fair level of edge support. For many sleepers, whether you’re sitting, sleeping, or sexing, it is going to leave much to be desired.

Of all the mattresses we’ve tested to date, the average edge support sinkage is 4.10“. The Layla soft sinkage of 6.25″ and firm sinkage of 7.0” are both significantly deeper compared to our average.

What about when lying on the mattress?

When lying on the edge of the mattress, I definitely felt like I could easily roll out. This is especially true of the soft side of the mattress (as shown in the images below).

The foam just compressed too much on the edge and without reinforced materials there it’s just not enough to provide adequate support.

Of course, if you’re a single sleeper, this can be resolved by simply scooting over a few inches. Closer to the middle of the mattress, I felt well-supported.

The best mattresses for sex have high bounce, good edge support, quiet materials, and good pressure relief and cooling.

These 5 factors make up the NapLab sex performance score.

For Layla, these individual factors generated a sex score of 9.3 on the soft side and 9.2 on the firm side.

Layla – Soft

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	60%	9.4	Low
Edge Support	20%	8.4	Fair
Noise	10%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	9.5	Excellent
Cooling	5%	9.5	Excellent

Layla – Firm

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	60%	9.6	Moderate
Edge Support	20%	8	Fair
Noise	10%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	8	Fair
Cooling	5%	8	Fair

Both sides of the Layla have good levels of bounce, with the firm side scoring the highest (thanks to the firmer materials).

The soft side takes the advantage when it comes to edge support, scoring nearly 0.5 points more.

Pressure relief really struggled on the firm side. There is just not enough comfort material to provide adequate relief, in my opinion.

The result could mean pressure points or lacking support when things get steamy.

Lastly, speaking of steamy… let’s talk through cooling. We saw much better cooling performance on the soft side of the Layla, which has more copper gel memory foam.

If cooling is a big issue for you during sex, opt for the soft side, since there is 3X the amount of copper gel than on the firm side.

Pressure relief on the Layla mattress varies a lot depending on which side of the mattress you’re using.’

Layla- Soft Side

How was pressure relief on the soft side?

On the soft side of the mattress, there is 3″ of copper gel memory foam before it transitions into 2″ of convoluted poly foam. The memory foam is good for contour and hug, while the poly foam is good for pressure relief and transitioning into the support foam.

How was pressure relief on the firm side?

On the firm side, it’s a bit of a different story. The comfort layer is much firmer and only 1″ thick, although it is made of the same copper gel memory foam. There is no poly foam to separate the comfort foam from the support foam so it’s a pretty harsh transition between the two.

This foam layering may create pressure points for some sleepers, even if you like the firmer feel.

The off-gassing of the Layla memory foam mattress was pretty strong. Out of the box, the smell was very noticeable, but this isn’t too uncommon for memory foam mattresses.

It took this mattress about 3 days for the smell to fully dissipate. Once off-gassing was complete, there were no strong odors coming from the Layla.

The company terms at Layla are pretty favorable for consumers.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Trial Period	25%	9	120 nights
Warranty	25%	10	10 years
Shipping	25%	10	$0
Returns	25%	10	$0
Country of Origin	0%		USA

The Layla memory foam mattress comes with a 120-night trial period, a 10-year warranty, free shipping, and free returns if it doesn’t work out.

All of these terms are fairly typical but nice to see from companies if you’re concerned about ordering online.

The Layla memory foam mattress uses memory foam with different densities to provide two distinct feels, depending on what side of the mattress you’re on. There is a soft side and a firm side.

One side is softer, good for sleepers who like more contour and a softer feel. It’s around a 5 out of 10 on the firmness scale. Side-sleepers in particular will enjoy the soft side.

The other side is a bit firmer, closer to an 8 out of 10 on the firmness scale, and a better fit for those who sleep on the back or stomach.

Depending on your size, weight, and preferred sleeping position, you may find that each side of the Layla mattress may be a better or worse fit for you and your body.

The tables below outline what size sleepers and in what positions may prefer each side of the Layla.

Layla – Soft Side

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleepers	Side Sleepers	Back Sleepers
Under 150 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
150-250 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
250-300 lbs.	Maybe	Yes	Maybe

Layla – Firm Side

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleepers	Side Sleepers	Back Sleepers
Under 150 lbs.	Maybe	No	Maybe
150-250 lbs.	Maybe	No	Maybe
250-300 lbs.	Yes	Maybe	Yes

Design

The design of the Laya is a flippable memory foam mattress. It uses layers of memory foam, a transitional poly foam, and support foam.

Because it is flippable, there are comfort layers on both sides of the mattress and the support foam is actually designed in the middle of the mattress.

Materials

As mentioned above the Layla memory foam mattress uses five layers of foam to create a mattress with a flippable design. Each side has a layer of comfort material with support foam and a transitional foam located within the central layers.

Here’s what the soft side of the Layla mattress looks like from top to bottom:

And here’s what the firm side looks like from top to bottom:

The Cover

The Layla memory foam mattress has a two-tone cover that has a textured hexagon pattern and neutral tones. It is soft, breathable, and allows the benefits of the copper gel foam below to really resonate through.

The soft side of the mattress cover is aesthetically lighter and the firm side of the cover is darker. This stark contrast makes it easy to know what side you’re sleeping on, as if the feel of the two sides isn’t different enough.

As a final bonus, the cover has a zippered closure. This feature makes it easy to take the cover off and wash in a standard washing machine, as needed.

The Comfort Layer

Depending on what side of the mattress you’re on, you will find a completely different feel and comfort layer.

On the soft side, this layer is made of two types of foam—a 3″ layer of memory foam (comfort foam) followed by a 2″ layer of poly foam (transitional foam).

From there, the foams transition into the central support foam.

On the firm side, this layer is essentially just the 1″ layer of copper gel memory foam which then transitions into the same 4.5″ layer of central support foam.

The Support Layer

Since this is a flippable mattress, the support foam is located in the middle of the mattress instead of on the bottom, as it would be with most other traditional mattresses.

The support layer represents the firmest and densest foam in the mattress. Whether you’re lying on the soft side or the firm side of the mattress, your body will engage with the support foam.

Product Evolution

Layla first launched in 2016 with their flippable memory foam mattress. Minor changes have been made to the original mattress composition in terms of material and thickness.

But the Layla has always been flippable and always used the copper gel foam for added cooling performance.

According to the production team at Layla, “minor changes to the Layla cover have been made”, but nothing drastic.

Other Mattresses to Consider

If you like the Layla, here are three other options that you may want to consider as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still wondering if the Layla Hybrid is a good fit? Check out our list of top FAQs below: