Serta Perfect Sleeper Review

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

At NapLab, we put each mattress to the test.

We test 10 different factors that impact the performance, comfort, and feel of the mattress. We then take the results of that test and compare to every mattress we’ve tested to date.

Check out the full performance table below to see how this mattress ranks:

Factor	Serta Perfect Sleeper	Average
Overall Score	8.19	8.55
Price (Queen)	$999	$1,001 (Coil only)
Cooling – Score	8.0	8.6
Sinkage – Depth	2.37″	2.16″
Sinkage – Feel	Deep	Moderate
Motion Transfer – Score	8.2	8.2
Motion Transfer – Acceleration	9.10 m/s²	8.74 m/s²
Response Time – Score	7.5	8.9
Response Time – Mostly Recovered	0.6 sec.	0.4 sec.
Response Time – Fully Recovered	1.1 sec.	1.0 sec.
Bounce – Height	8.18″	9.33″
Bounce – Feel	Moderate	Moderate
Edge Support – Score	8.9	8.6
Edge Support – Sitting	4.00″	4.06″
Edge Support – Lying	Excellent	Good
Sex – Score	8.0	8.4
Pressure Relief – Score	8.0	8.7
Comfort Layer Thickness	5.5″	4.2″
Mattress Thickness	14″	12.1″
Off-Gassing – Score	9.4	8.2
Off-Gassing – Smell	Strong	Strong
Off-Gassing – Days	2 days	6 days
Company – Score	8.5	8.6
Trial	120 nights	177 nights
Warranty	10 years	25% have lifetime warranties, average of other 75% of mattresses is 13 years

How is Serta Perfect Sleeper Different?

The Serta Perfect Sleeper is a coil mattress with a lower average overall score than average and a price tag that is also slightly lower than average.

Advantages

In our performance tests, the Serta Perfect Sleeper had above-average edge support, excellent for both sitting or lying at the edge of the mattress.

Neutral Factors

This mattress has deep sinkage and moderate levels of bounce. These factors are neither pros nor cons but simply considered to be “neutral factors” since different sleepers will have different preferences.

Motion transfer levels are also right at average, making that a bit of a neutral category as well.

Disadvantages

Disadvantages include warmer cooling performance, a slower material response time, and worse pressure relief than average. This mattress is 14″ thick and has a 5.5″ comfort layer, but despite the thick materials, the quality and comfort dynamic just isn’t there.

Lastly, the sex score is also a disadvantage, 0.4 points below average. The low bounce and weaker edges are largely responsible for this lower score. If intimacy is high on your list of priorities, then the Serta might not be the best option for you.

The Serta Perfect Sleeper has good cooling. During our tests, I felt a slight level of heat retention and a slight warm feel. That said, it did not rise to a level of heat I would describe as “hot”.

The cover is an unusually coarse and rough fabric. Seemingly, this type of material simply isn’t going to do great when it comes to breathability and allowing air in and out of the mattress.

In general, the cover just doesn’t feel tremendously high quality and in my view, it’s having a negative impact on breathability and cooling.

• 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

Beyond the cover, the mattress utilizes 5.5” of comfort material. The foams all look and feel relatively low to mid-quality, which given the price point, makes perfect sense. The limited foam quality is also likely having a negative impact on cooling performance.

In our objective temperature tests, we measured a max surface level temperature of 91.4° F. This is 1.7° more than the average of 89.7° F, based on all of our tests to date.

When we consider the combination of objective data, my subjective experiences, and an analysis of the materials, I’m confident in my view that cooling is good.

Heat Dissipation Over Time

The Serta Perfect Sleeper has deep sinkage. During our tests, we measured a pressure point sinkage depth of 2.37″. This is 0.21″ more sinkage than the average sinkage depth of 2.16″, based on all of our tests to date.

The level of sinkage is documented in the image below.

The mattress creates a balanced level of body contouring hug and has a more traditional coil feel. Despite the fact that it uses significant poly foam and memory foam layers, the pillow top design and specific foam types gives it a more traditional and classic mattress feel.

The Serta Perfect Sleeper has a low level of motion transfer. During our tests, we measured a total acceleration range of 9.10 m/s². This is 4% more motion transfer than the average of 8.74 m/s².

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

While the 5.5” of comfort foam and pillow top design is helping to reduce motion transfer, the highly responsive poly foams and coil unit are increasing motion.

In our motion transfer chart, which visualizes our accelerometer data, we can see the highest motion peaks from 0 to 0.15 seconds. Motion drops notably by 0.21 seconds and when we reach 0.86 seconds we’ve returned to near-zero levels of energy.

Certainly, the motion intensity and motion duration could have been better. Even so, at just 4% more motion than average, it’s not an unreasonable or overly concerning level of motion.

The Serta Perfect Sleeper has a moderate material response. In our mostly recovered test, we measured a recovery speed of 0.6 seconds, which is 0.18 seconds slower than the average of 0.42 seconds, based on all of our tests to date.

In our fully recovered responsiveness test, we measured a recovery speed of 1.1 seconds, which is 0.13 seconds slower than the average of 0.97 seconds. The Perfect Sleeper uses a combination of poly foam, memory foam, and coils.

The level of responsiveness is documented in the video below.

The poly foam and memory foam layers rebound back to shape effectively instantly. However, the memory layer takes a moment or two to fully recover to its original shape, which impacts the totality of the material responsiveness on the mattress.

While these speeds are slower than average, they are still far from the worst we’ve seen. 

The Serta Perfect Sleeper has a moderate level of bounce. During our tests, we measured a total bounce height of 8.18″. This is 1.15″ less bounce than the average of 9.33″, based on all of our tests to date.

The lower-than-average bounce is resulting from a combination of the thicker-than-average 5.5” foam comfort layer, pillow top, and memory foam within the core of the mattress.

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

That lower bounce definitely helps to keep motion transfer lower. However, it’s also the reason that sex performance is only good and not amazing. All that to say, at 8.18” of bounce, this is a sufficient level of bounce to aid in ease of movement.

The Serta Perfect Sleeper has good sitting edge support and excellent lying edge support.

In our sitting edge support test, we measured a sitting sinkage compression of 4.00″. This is 0.06″ less sitting sinkage than the average of 4.06″, based on all of our tests to date.

Even while sitting directly on the edge of the mattress the Perfect Sleeper maintains good support and there is no collapse of materials.

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

Edge support while lying is equally as impressive. While lying directly on the edge of the mattress, I felt that the support was excellent in all sleeping positions.

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

The mattress uses an edge support foam that runs along the entire perimeter of the mattress. This foam is 8” tall and 4” wide. This foam is having a significant positive impact on both sitting and lying edge support. 

The Serta Perfect Sleeper has good sex performance. On the positive side, noise is minimal, both pressure and cooling are good, and edge support is also good.

At 4.00” of sitting edge sinkage the edge of the mattress provides sufficient support for amorous activities.

Sex Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Rating
Bounce	65%	7.6	Moderate
Edge Support	20%	8.8	Good
Noise	5%	10	Minimal
Pressure Relief	5%	8.0	Good
Cooling	5%	8.0	Good

The only major weakness of the Perfect Sleeper is the level at bounce. At just 8.18” of bounce it’s notably lower than average. That lower bounce means sex is more strenuous and difficult.

To be fair, it’s still a reasonable bounce level. Even so, when it comes to amorous activities more bounce is almost always better and I do wish the mattress had more bounce.

The Serta Perfect Sleeper has a good level of pressure relief. During our tests, I felt no significant level of pressure points on my body. The mattress is equipped with 5.5″ of comfort material, which is 1.34″ more comfort material than the average comfort layer thickness of 4.16″, based on all of our tests to date.

While the thickness of the foam layers is great, the quality leaves much to be desired. None of the foam layers look or feel particularly high quality either in hand or on the body.

There is a notable “crunchiness” and hardness to the poly foam layers in particular. The feel, sound, and look of the foams makes me concerned about their longevity.

While the mattress feels good on day one, I worry that these foams may not hold up tremendously well, which will impact pressure relief over time.

In our pressure mapping tests, we measured a max PSI of 0.81. A PSI of 2.0 is a high pressure point and the Perfect Sleeper managed to keep all 3 pressure mapping tests well south of that.

When I consider the objective pressure maps, material thickness, material quality, and my subjective experience on the mattress, I’m confident most sleepers will find the pressure relief to be good, though it certainly does not rise to an excellent level.

Pressure Map – Side Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Side Sleepers	0.17	0.79

Pressure Map – Back Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Back Sleepers	0.09	0.66

Pressure Map – Stomach Sleepers

Pressure Relief (PSI)	Average	Maximum
Stomach Sleepers	0.10	0.81

The Serta Perfect Sleeper had a strong smell upon the initial arrival. The mattress smelled for 2 days. This is 4.4 days less than the average of 6.4 days.

The shorter off-gassing duration is typical of more traditional coil mattresses that are not compressed in a box for shipping. 

Serta mattresses come with a 120-night trial period and a 10-year warranty. Shipping and returns are both free as well.

Company Factor	Factor Weight	Score	Data
Trial Period	15%	8.0	120 nights
Warranty	10%	8.0	10 years
Shipping	5%	10	$0
Returns	20%	10	$0
Trust	50%	8.0	Good
Country of Origin	0%		USA

Comparing all mattresses tested to date (over 290+), the average trial period is 177 nights so Serta is almost 2 months shorter than average.

The warranty is shorter than average as well as the average warranty is 13 years, excluding 25% of mattresses that have lifetime warranties.

This mattress is available in 3 levels…Standard, Enhanced, and Ultimate. The table below shows the thicknesses and available firmnesses within each Series.

Series	Thickness	Firmnesses Available
Standard	10.5″ – 11″	Plush, Plush Pillow Top, Firm
Enhanced	12″ – 14.5″	Plush, Plush Pillow Top, Medium, Firm
Ultimate	12″ – 15″	Plush, Plush Pilow Top, Medium Pillow Top, Firm Pillow Top, Extra Firm

For, reference, we tested the Ultimate in the Medium Pillow Top version. We found this mattress to have a medium-firm feel, 6 out of 10 on our firmness scale.

Support on the Serta Perfect Sleeper is good. During our tests, I felt well-supported in all sleeping positions. The mattress is equipped with a 8.5″ support layer. This is 0.62″ thicker than the average support layer thickness of 7.88″, based on all of our tests to date.

The coil unit is zoned, meaning it provides more support in the middle of the mattress. In addition, it includes 850 individual coils.

My only concern for support is with respect to the comfort layers. While on paper the specs look good with 5.5” of comfort material, the quality of those foam layers is far from great.

My fear is that over time those foam layers simply aren’t going to hold up especially well, which may result in more notable body impressions and sagging, which will impact support and pressure relief.

Beyond durability concerns, the mattress is available in a wide range of firmnesses. Having more firmness options helps to ensure that sleepers of all sleeping positions and body weights can find a firmness configuration that works well for them.

Based on all of my tests to date, an analysis of the materials, and my subjective experiences, I’m confident most sleepers will find support on the Serta Perfect Sleeper is good, though, like pressure relief, it doesn’t rise to the excellent level.

Check out the tables below to see the sleeper weights and sleeping positions that would be best suited for this mattress, for each available version. The Serta Perfect Sleeper Ultimate is available in the following versions:

• Plush or Plush Pillow Top
• Medium Pillow Top
• Firm Pillow Top
• Extra Firm

Plush or Plush Pillow Top Version

Note: The Plush Pillow Top version is 15″ thick and has a 1.5″ pillow top on top of the otherwise standard Plush mattress.

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

Medium Version

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

Firm Version

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

Extra-Firm Version

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

Design

The Serta Perfect Sleeper is a coil mattress with a widespread selection of firmness options and other features. We tested the Medium Pillow Top version, which is 14″ thick and has a 1.5″ pillow top cover.

This mattress had a medium-firm feel (6 out of 10), but the mattress is also available in softer (4 out of 10) and firmer versions (7 or 8 out of 10).

Materials

The 14″ thickness of this mattress includes a mix of foams and coil layers. From top to bottom, the layers are listed below:

• 1.5” quilted cover
• 2.0” poly foam
• 1.0” memory foam
• 1.0” poly foam
• 8.0” pocketed coils
• 0.5” support foam

The Cover

The Serta Perfect Sleeper version we tested has a robust pillowtop layer that is 1.5″ thick. This layer is not included on all versions of the Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress or even all versions exclusively in the Perfect Sleeper Ultimate collection.

The Plush version comes as a Pillow Top or with a standard cover (13.25″ thick).

The Comfort Layer

Beneath the cover is the comfort layer. The comfort layer includes three layers of foam. On top, we have a 2.0” poly foam (white foam), followed by a 1.0” memory foam (blue foam). The last layer in the comfort layer is a 1.0” poly foam (white foam).

The poly foam works a bit like a transitional layer between the comfort material and the support layer below.

The Support Layer

The support layer is made primarily of support coils, an 8.0″ layer of pocketed coils. At the very base of the mattress is a 0.5″ high-density support foam.

The edges are also reinforced by a 4.0″ thick edge perimeter foam. This perimeter foam is designed to improve support when sitting or lying at the edge of the mattress.

But that being said, we saw edge support that was below average so I’m not sure it’s as effective as intended to be.

Product Evolution

The Serta Perfect Sleeper coil mattress was originally released in early 2022 with the same three collections we see today (Standard, Enhanced, and Ultimate). But we do note some changes made to the exact firmnesses offered.

For example, the Standard version was originally offered in Plush, Medium, or Extra Firm… all with smooth tops. But today, you can get the Standard version in Plush, Plush Pillow Top, or Firm. The Plush Pillow Top was a later addition and the medium firmness was removed entirely from this collection.

The Enhanced version was originally offered in Plush or Extra Firm only, but today that same collection is offered in Plush or Firm. So the firm version has gotten slightly softer.

The Ultimate version was originally offered in Plush Pillow Top or Medium Pillow Top. Today, you can get the Ultimate version in 5 different firmnesses—Plush, Plush Pillow Top, Medium Pillow Top, Firm Pillow Top, and Extra Firm. The smooth cover options (in Plush or Extra Firm) as well as the Firm Pillow Top were all new additions to this mattress collection.

Other Mattresses to Consider

Not sure if the Serta Perfect Sleeper is the right pick for you? Check out these three other top-rated mattresses for high-performing alternatives you may want to consider.

Frequently Asked Questions

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