Novosbed 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:

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

How is Novosbed Different?

The Novosbed mattress has better overall performance than average as well as a lower-than-average price tag—23% less than the average memory foam mattress.

Advantages

Advantages to the Novosbed, besides the price, include slightly better than average cooling performance, low levels of motion transfer, and slightly faster off-gassing than average.

Neutral Factors

Sinkage levels are 13% less than average and bounce levels are lower than average as well, 28% less bounce than average. Bounce and sinkage are more preferential factors than “good vs. bad” but certainly worth considering when trying to decide of the Novosbed is a good choice for you.

Disadvantages

Material response time is slightly slower than average and edge support when seated directly on the edge of the mattress is deeper as well. The lower levels of bounce can also negatively effect sex performance of the Novosbed.

Factor	Novosbed	Average
Overall	9.64	9.52
Price	$999	$1,292 (Memory Foam only)
Cooling	9.5	9.4
Max Sinkage	1.88″	2.18″
Total Motion Transfer	2.66 m/s²	8.34 m/s²
Response Time	0.5 sec.	0.4 sec.
Total Bounce	6.89″	9.62″
Edge Support – Sitting Sinkage	4.25″	4.14″
Mattress Thickness	11.0″	11.9″
Sex Overall	9.4	9.6
Comfort Material	4.0″	4.2″
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	4 days	5 days
Trial	120 nights	165 nights
Warranty	15 years	27% have lifetime warranties, average of other 73% of mattresses is 14 years

Cooling on the Novosbed mattress is excellent. During my tests, I found the Novosbed remained comfortably cool, did not retain significant heat, and seemed to breathe well.

For the duration of the cooling tests, I did not feel any notable heat build-up or heat retention. Our thermal camera measured a maximum surface level temperature of 85.8°F.

• 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

Within 1 minute after getting off the mattress the temperature had dropped to 80.6°F, a decline of 5.2°. This is notably more than the average 1-minute decline we typically see, which is a drop of 3.8°F.

Heat Dissipation Over Time

Between the 2 and 5 minute measurement periods the temperature continued to decline. However, the majority (57.8%) of the temperature drop occurred between 0 and 1 minute.

By 2 minutes the temperature had declined by 7.3° F (81.1% of the total temperature drop over the 5 minutes). This indicates a mattress that is breathing well and quickly releasing heat.

Overall, I’m happy with the cooling performance on the Novosbed. The Novosbed is fundamentally a memory foam mattress. Memory foam as a material is more susceptible to sleeping warmer. However, that’s not the case here. The material quality and memory foam formulation work together to keep the sleeping surface cooler. 

During our sinkage tests, we measured a sinkage depth of 1.88”. This is a bit below the average across all mattresses we’ve tested to date, which is 2.21”.

The level of sinkage is documented in the image below.

At 1.88” it’s a little below what I would call a “moderate” sinkage depth. Honestly, the depth is a little surprising.

Memory foam typically has a slightly deeper level of sinkage. Even so, I don’t think the sinkage depth will be problematic for most sleepers.

Having a little less sinkage depth on a memory foam mattress helps avoid heat retention issues and can provide a more supportive feeling.

All that said, if you desire a deeper level of hug, contour, and sinkage, you may want to opt for a different mattress or consider the soft version of the Novosbed.

Motion transfer on the Novosbed mattress is very low. In our tests, we measured an acceleration range of 2.66 m/s². This is among the very best and lowest motion transfer ratings we’ve tested to date.

On average, across all mattresses we’ve tested to date, we have measured an acceleration range of 8.34 m/s². The Novosbed is only a quarter of that.

The level of motion transfer is documented in the video below.

Typically, I like to see an acceleration range of no more than 5.00 m/s², though lower is always better. The Novosbed has extremely low levels of motion transfer.

The memory foam top layers do a great job of absorbing and dissipating heat. As a result, it’s an ideal mattress for couples, as the risk of disturbing your partner during the night is dramatically reduced compared to many other types of mattresses. 

Overall, we found the response time to be fast on the Novosbed mattress. In our tests, we measured a mostly recovered response time of 0.5 seconds with a full material recovery taking just 1.0 seconds.

This isn’t the absolute fastest we’ve tested to date, but it’s not bad at all, especially for a memory foam mattress.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

On average, across all mattress tests to date, we have measured a mostly recovered response time of 0.57 seconds and a fully recovered response time of 0.95 seconds.

So the Novosbed is slightly faster than the average to mostly recover and just slightly slower than the average for a full material recovery.

In any case, it should be more than fast enough for a majority of sleepers to never feel stuck or trapped by the contouring feel of the memory foam.

The very fastest mattresses we’ve tested mostly recover in 0.2 seconds and fully recover in 0.3 seconds.

The memory foam layers within the Novosbed do take a little longer to recover, but that is also the nature of memory foam.

Memory foam contours and hugs the body in ways that most other material types don’t. But the trade-off is a slightly longer response time.

The Novsbed mattress has a low level of bounce. In our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 6.89”.

The memory foam layers absorb a great deal of the total energy of the bounce drop. So while we did see a maximum bounce depth of 4.49”, the total rebound height was only 2.4” above the height of the mattress.

The level of bounce is also documented in the video below.

This indicates that the mattress is simply absorbing most of the energy from the drop, thereby keeping bounce to a low level. This type of energy-absorbing action on the foam is what helps keep motion transfer low.

That said, there is a trade-off. The lower bounce makes it harder to move around the mattress, get in / out of bed, and also reduces sex performance.

Edge support, both sitting and lying, was excellent on the Novosbed. In our sitting edge support tests, we measured a total sinkage depth of 4.25”.

While I do like to see 4.0” or less, 4.25” is nothing alarming. While sitting directly on the edge I felt fully supported and had no sensation of material collapse. Edge support while lying is equally as good.

The level of edge support while seated is documented in the images below.

Even while lying directly on the edge of the mattress the Novosbed kept me well-supported in all sleeping positions. Many times memory foam mattresses tend to struggle with edge support, for both sitting and lying.

The level of edge support while lying is documented in the images below.

I was pleasantly surprised by the strong performance. While the 1.88” level of sinkage keeps contouring at a more restrained depth, it greatly benefits the edge support.

Deeper overall sinkage tends to make edge support worse. As a result, having a little less overall sinkage notably improves edge support performance. All things considered, I’m happy with what I experienced on the edge of the mattress.

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.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	60%	9.2	Low
Edge Support	20%	9.4	Very Good
Noise	10%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	9.5	Excellent
Cooling	5%	9.5	Excellent

For the Novosbed mattress, these individual factors generated a sex score of 9.4.

Overall, this is a good, but not a great score. Let’s talk about a few of these factors. First of all, bounce. Memory foam generally doesn’t have a great bounce and the Novosbed is a pretty good representation of that.

Low bounce is the number one factor that hurts the score of the Novosbed.

More bounce oftentimes leads to better sex performance on any mattress. In addition to bounce, edge support is another important factor.

The edge support on Novosbed is good, but not great. While edge support may not be important for all sleepers, it is for some. Overall, I saw more edge sinkage than I typically like to see on this mattress.

Noise, pressure relief, and cooling all had good performance scores and those scores contributed to the good sex score as well.

The Novosbed mattress has excellent pressure relief. In our tests, I felt incredibly comfortable in all sleeping positions.

The Novosbed has a modern memory foam feel. It has excellent pressure relief and the high contour / hug of memory foam, while still remaining cool and responsive.

Upon the initial unboxing of the Novosbed, there was a strong smell. That smell lingered for 4 days and then had fully dissipated. This is a pretty typical off-gassing period.

On average, across all mattresses we’ve tested to date, we see mattresses taking 2.73 days to fully off-gas. While less smell is always preferable, the smells coming off the Novosbed are neither abnormal nor of much consequence.

If you’re hypersensitive to odors I would recommend letting it air out in another room for a few days, after that you won’t have any significant smells.

The company score takes a look at factors that may influence your experience with the mattress.

Factors include length of the trial period, warranty, shipping / return costs, and country of origin.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Trial Period	25%	9	120 nights
Warranty	25%	10	15 years
Shipping	25%	10	$0
Returns	25%	10	$0
Country of Origin	0%		USA

As a company, Novosbed offers a slightly shorter-than-average trial period, a 15-year warranty, and free shipping or returns.

Their warranty is 15 years, with the first 10 years non-prorated (total coverage), and the remaining 5 years pro-rated (declining coverage based on age).

There are three important terms to remember about the Novosbed return policy.

• Break-in period: For the first 60 nights, you cannot initiate a return. This window of time is intended to give your body time to get used to the mattress before deciding if a return is right for you.
• Return: Within days 60-120 of the trial period, you can request a return of the mattress for a full return. Your mattress will be donated to charity or properly disposed of as no cost to you.

The Novosbed mattress comes in three different firmness levels. We tested the medium which is a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale.

I would estimate the soft to be around a 4 out of 10 and the firm to be around an 8 out of 10.

During all of my testing, I felt well supported by the Novosbed mattress. The mattress is sufficiently thick enough at 11” and has the right mix of comfort vs. supportive layers.

The Novosbed uses a 7” support foam layer. Typically, anything over 6” provides plenty of support, but seeing an extra inch of thickness is always welcome.

What sleeping positions & weights are best for the medium Novosbed?

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

What sleeping positions & weights are best for the soft Novosbed?

Sleeper Weight	Stomach Sleeper	Side Sleeper	Back Sleeper
Under 150 lbs.	Yes	Yes	Yes
150-225 lbs.	Maybe	Yes	Maybe
225-300 lbs.	No	Maybe	No

What sleeping positions & weights are best for the firm Novosbed?

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

How much weight can the Novosbed support?

While Novosbed does not explicitly give a weight limitation for their mattress, based on the material construction I am confident it is capable of supporting sleepers up to 300 pounds.

For weights beyond that, you are better off with a different mattress.

Consider the Nolah Evolution, Winkbed Plus, Helix Plus, or Titan Hybrid Luxe mattresses, all of which are designed and more capable of providing the type and level of support that heavier bodies need.

Design

The Novosbed mattress is a classic memory foam mattress with an 11″ profile and 3-layer memory foam comfort layer with 7″ support layer below.

Materials

You can see a more detailed breakdown of the materials below.

• 1.0″ memory foam
• 1.0″ memory foam
• 2.0″ memory foam (transitional)
• 7.0″ support foam

The Cover

The Novosbed mattress has a soft and stretchy Tencel cover with moisture-wicking properties and a subtle texture on the cover.

The top cover can also zip off and is machine washable. This is a great feature, especially if you have kids or pets in the bed with you.

The Comfort Layer

The comfort layer of the Novosbed is made up of three layers of memory foam—two 1.0″ layers and one 2.0″ layer.

Each layer has a different density and purpose, but together all three layers provide comfort and help to smoothly transition to the support foam below.

As I mentioned above, there are three firmness levels to choose from on the Novosbed—soft, medium, or firm.

The Support Layer

The bottom layer of foam is a 7.0″ layer of support foam. This foam is designed to support the three layers above.

Product Evolution

The Novosbed mattress first came out in 2009 and has undergone almost a dozen design changes since then. Originally, the Novosbed came in only one firmness and was a bit on the firmer side.

Since then, they have added two other firmness options—a soft and a medium. With these other firmnesses, they also introduced the Comfort+ Kit and a zippered cover, as well as other material changes as well.

The Comfort+ program launched in 2106 and was later discontinued in April 2023.

Although the program is no longer active, essentially it provided a zippered cover so sleepers could swap out the top layer of foam for a different firmness level.

Today, you’d need to exchange the whole mattress instead of just the top layer.

Other Mattresses to Consider

Still not sure if the Novosbed mattress is right for you? Check out some of our other top recommendations below for other mattresses to consider.

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Check out some of the top FAQs on the Novosbed mattress below and get the answers you’re looking for.