Our Search for Sweet Dreams: Testing the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress for 30 Nights
Aly Lopez/CNETAs members of CNET's sleep team, Dillon and I both test and review mattresses and sleep-related products for a living. As married mattress reviewers, we have a unique advantage in the sleep industry. By testing and reviewing beds as partners, we can offer insight to other couples searching for a bed that suits both people.The irony is that Dillon and I are not particularly good at getting enough shuteye, and it doesn't help that our bedtime preferences are about as opposite as they get. As a side sleeper, Dillon prefers extremely soft mattresses with pressure relief. As a stomach sleeper, I like firmer beds that offer more support for my spine.What happens when two restless individuals with opposite preferences share a bed that one finds uncomfortable? Sleep divorce. Knowing this prompted us to start a quest to find the perfect mattress. In this series, we've been testing different mattresses for 30 nights, hoping to find one that suits both of our sleeping styles.If you'd like to read about previous beds we've tested, check out our 30-night reviews of the Casper Snow Hybrid, Avocado Luxury Organic and Saatva Classic mattresses.Will the Nectar Premier Hybrid save our slumber, or will one of us end up sleeping on the couch? Read on to find out. Initial thoughts on the Nectar Premier HybridThe Nectar Premier Hybrid is part of Nectar's recently launched line of mattresses. These new beds have particularly impressed our sleep team. A few of our experts have been testing beds for over seven years and can personally speak to the improvements made in these mattresses compared to older models -- here's CNET sleep expert and senior video producer JD Christison's full review of the Nectar Premier Hybrid.Nectar now offers four beds at various firmness levels, each with all-foam and hybrid options: Nectar Classic, Nectar Premier, Nectar Luxe and Nectar Ultra. Dillon and I chose to test Nectar's most popular choice, the Nectar Premier Hybrid. Nectar describes this mattress as having a medium-firm feel, or 6.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale. Sleep expert JD Christison examining the Nectar Premier Hybrid in one of CNETs studio bedrooms before Dillon and I took it home for our 30-night test. Dillon Payne/CNETOur team received the Nectar Premier Hybrid at CNET's mattress testing facility in Reno, Nevada. After unboxing and setting it up in our studio bedroom, we waited a few days for the bed to properly inflate to its natural shape, as is recommended for most bed-in-a-box mattresses. Once each of our sleep experts had sufficient time to test and review the Nectar Premier Hybrid, it was time for Dillon and I to transport it to our apartment and officially begin our 30-night trial.FeelPrior to starting this series, Dillon and I had only slept on responsive, bouncy innerspring mattresses. We were both under the impression that we did not like the feeling of dense memory foam -- until we tried the Casper Snow Hybrid. With this bed, we began to realize we both enjoy the sensation of viscous memory foam that slowly molds and conforms around your body. This discovery is one of the reasons we chose to test the Nectar Premier Hybrid next since it offers a similar memory foam feel. Aly Lopez/CNETFirmnessWhen the Nectar Premier Hybrid was initially ready to test at our mattress warehouse, Dillon and I took turns lying on it in various positions to get a feel for its firmness profile. We both felt that it was on the softer side, which is one of the primary reasons we chose to test this bed next in our 30-night testing series -- as a side sleeper who had been waking up with arm and shoulder pain, Dillon wanted to try a softer mattress than we had been sleeping on previously. Although Nectar claims this bed is medium-firm or 6.5 out of 10, our team agrees that it feels softer than this, or around 5 out of 10 on the firmness scale.We conducted another round of testing and formed our true initial thoughts once the mattress was situated in our bedroom at home. We both felt the mattress was right around a flat medium, maybe even slightly softer. In theory, this middle-of-the-road firmness level should accommodate us as a couple with different preferences and sleeping positions since I primarily sleep on my stomach, and Dillon prefers to sleep on his side.Motion isolation Dillon appears to have fallen asleep after testing the beds motion isolation capabilities with a glass of water (which passed with flying colors). Aly Lopez/CNETMotion isolation refers to how well the mattress absorbs movement. A bed with good motion isolation is key if you share it with a partner or pets or are a light sleeper (we check all these boxes).We performed our standardized motion isolation tests. The first method involves setting a glass of water on the bed and rolling around to see whether the glass tips over or the water sloshes out. The second method consists of one of us lying still on the bed while the other person flops and moves around to simulate what it would feel like as your partner switches positions throughout the night.Right away, we thought the Nectar Premier Hybrid performed well in this category, especially as a hybrid mattress with coils, which generally tend to have less motion-isolating capabilities than all-foam beds. Dillon and I were excited to sleep on a bed that would help keep us from waking one another up throughout the night from tossing and turning.Learn more: Why the Materials in Your Mattress MatterTemperature regulationMany mattress brands claim their beds are actively cooling, but often, that's not the case -- and it's hard to tell once you add sheets and bedding. Nectar says the Premier Hybrid mattress features a "Cooling Top Cover" with "over 60% more cooling fibers... than the Nectar Classic Hybrid."We found its breathable cover to be cool to the touch, but not overly cool like other beds we've tested with active cooling technology, such as the Casper Snow Max or Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe. As two hot sleepers, we weren't sure at the start of this trial if the mattress would keep us sufficiently cool at night.Edge supportEdge support is another important characteristic for us, especially for me. Most nights, our cat Jessica sleeps on my head and eventually commandeers my pillow, usually forcing me to lie entirely on the edge of the bed. Thankfully, the Nectar Premier Hybrid features reinforced coils around the perimeter to enhance the edge support, so we expected it to perform well in this category. Dillon tests the edge support by pressing firmly into the perimeter to see how the material responds. Aly Lopez/CNETDesign and constructionOverall, we really like the look of this bed. It has a much sleeker design than its older iterations, and the soft cover has a fun diamond-pattern design. The Nectar Premier Hybrid stands 13 inches tall, which is on the thicker side since mattresses typically range from 8 to 14 inches in height. I prefer thicker beds, which offer advantages such as increased durability and longevity. They also tend to feel more luxurious to me than thinner, flatter mattresses. The sleek and cool-to-the-touch cover has a neat diamond pattern. Dillon Lopez/CNETThis bed has six distinct layers, and a queen-size weighs about 107 pounds, which is lighter than I anticipated. This made the moving process a little easier since most queen-size beds weigh between 120 and 160 pounds. I was excited to learn that the Nectar Premier Hybrid has a 2-inch support layer to help promote proper spinal alignment, which would be crucial for me as a stomach sleeper.Sleep quality goalsWe completely recognize and acknowledge that countless factors other than our mattress affect sleep quality, from pets to diet and exercise to bedtime routines and stress levels. Dillon and I have worked hard to lessen the effects of these other factors on our sleep quality, especially for this 30-night testing series, so we can focus as much as possible on how the beds alone affect our sleep. Our ultimate goal is to find a mattress so comfortable that neither of us feels compelled to get up and move to the couch in the middle of the night.Despite being considered sleep and mattress experts, Dillon and I know we're not the best at sleeping. We understand the science behind sleep and what to look for when choosing a mattress or other sleep products, but we still occasionally struggle to get sufficient shuteye. This 30-night testing series has helped us better understand our sleep preferences and narrow down the type of bedroom setup we need to sleep our best.Recently, Dillon has been averaging around 6.5 hours of sleep per night, and I average around 7. We'd like to see these numbers improve and get closer to the recommended 8-hour-per-night mark for Dillon and 8.5 for me, as studies have shown women require more sleep than men.Our thoughts at the end of the trialSpoiler alert: Dillon fell head over heels in love with this mattress while I spent many nights on the couch. Here's why. Dillon Lopez/CNETFirmnessIt didn't take long (about a week into the trial) for me to realize that the Nectar Premier Hybrid was too soft for my liking. It didn't offer the level of support I wanted as a stomach sleeper. My spine seemed to droop down into the mattress too far, causing discomfort.It even felt too soft when I was sleeping on my side, which I certainly did not expect. I felt as if my head was too elevated compared to my torso, which was causing my neck to feel kinked while lying on my side. I even stopped using a pillow because our pillows are on the fluffier side, and it would exacerbate this issue. I frequently moved to the couch in the wee hours of the morning. When I didn't, I found myself waking up with a sore and achy neck and back. The mattress was not quite supportive enough for stomach sleeping, causing my spine to droop uncomfortably. Dillon Lopez/CNETRead more: Best Mattresses for Stomach Sleepers With Back PainOn the other hand, with side sleeping as his preferred position, Dillon felt the firmness of the Nectar Premier Hybrid was perfect. Typically, side sleepers want a softer mattress with plenty of pressure relief for their shoulders and hips, which was the case for him. Dillon said it was the most comfortable bed he'd ever slept on, and he was sleeping better than ever.This experience verified my suspicion that my body still prefers a firmer sleeping surface, which is unfortunate because Dillon prefers a much softer one. We were bummed that the firmness level didn't work for both of us, realizing we'd have to give up a mattress that was perfect for Dillon. Dillon felt totally comfortable on his side as the mattress offered plenty of pressure relief. Aly Lopez/CNETDillon and I enjoyed the Nectar Premier Hybrid's memory foam feel throughout the trial. It comfortably contoured around our bodies but didn't make us feel "stuck" in the foam. It feels slightly airier than you might expect with dense memory foam, which Dillon particularly loved. As you'll see in our scoring breakdown below, Dillon awarded this mattress a 20/20 score for feel because he loved it so much. I tended to roll into Dillon due to the beds softer profile. Dillon Lopez/CNETOne issue I encountered during this trial was constantly feeling like I was rolling into Dillon. Because of the bed's materials and softer profile, and because I'm lighter than Dillon, he would sink further into the mattress layers than I could. This discrepancy caused me to feel like I was rolling into him. I'd have to actively fight this pulling sensation while lying on my side, as my body would naturally be drawn "down" to Dillon -- it was quite literally like a gravitational pull of sorts. It drove me bonkers, and I had a hard time getting comfortable. Thankfully, Dillon did not notice this and was able to sleep comfortably through the night.How we scored our personal preferencesAt CNET, our sleep experts use a standardized rating system to score mattresses objectively. For this series, Dillon and I created a subjective ranking system to rate the features and characteristics we seek in a mattress. Feel and firmness were each given a score out of 20 points, while the other categories were scored out of 10 for a total possible score of 100. We scored these factors on a preferential level, meaning what we liked or didnt like personally. We created a custom point system to give the mattress an overall rating out of 100. Cole Kan/CNETFinal scores of the Nectar Premier HybridAfter finishing the 30-night trial, we scored each characteristic and offered a brief explanation. Here is a breakdown of our final rankings:Dillon's breakdown:Firmness: 19/20It's the perfect firmness for side sleeping, and I like it on my stomach, too. I didn't think I could have both sleeping positions, but they both feel great. I never wake up sore, and it feels comfortable as soon as I get into bed.Feel: 20/20I like the airy memory foam feel a lot. The memory foam bed we had last month was denser, and I liked that, but this feels like the perfect compromise to me. I prefer it now over a more responsive latex feel or a classic pillow-top feel. I haven't found a bed that I like more than this feel.Motion isolation: 9/10This mattress has solid motion isolation. I didn't notice any movement and couldn't really tell when our pets were jumping on and off or if Aly was moving or getting up and out of bed.Edge support: 5/10The edge support is fine. I've seen better out there, but it didn't bother me in my night-to-night experiences.Temperature: 7/10It has a cooling cover but still tends to heat up as you sink into it. It won't keep you actively cool -- I'd say it sleeps more temperature-neutral. It did fine, but Id prefer a bed with more cooling technology.Design/construction: 7/10I like the design of the Nectar Premier, especially the neutral memory foam. I also appreciate the support from the hybrid construction, as opposed to an all-foam mattress, which is better for couples and heavier people.Brand policies: 9/10Great price and generous policies that go above and beyond the mattress standard, like a forever warranty and a whole-year trial period. For just over $1,000 for a queen, it's a solid deal.Sleep quality: 9/10Best sleep I have gotten in this series so far.Dillons overall score: 85/100 "I knew I liked this bed as soon as it came in, but I didnt know how it would feel to sleep on it for 30 nights. I was worried it would be too soft for me, but it felt great in any sleeping position, and I slept longer and better than I have in the last year. It's my favorite bed so far," Dillon explained.Aly's breakdown:Firmness: 5/10I'm a combination sleeper, switching between my side and stomach, and I found the Nectar Premier to be too soft for my liking. Even on my side, I felt like it was much too soft, and I woke up a few times with a sore neck from my spine being out of alignment. I think I sink too far down into the mattress.Feel: 15/20I like this bed's neutral memory foam feel but prefer denser foam. It's somewhat hard to gauge its feel when I sink into the bed like this.Motion isolation: 7/10The motion isolation is pretty good. But because it's softer, I typically noticed when Dillon moved because we both gravitated toward the middle of the bed. I didn't really notice when our cat was jumping on and off on the sides.Edge support: 7/10The edge support was decent, given the memory foam layers on the top. I never felt like I would fall off, but again, that may be because I'd roll toward the middle of the bed because of how soft it is (compared to what I usually prefer).Temperature: 7/10Its not overly cool, but this mattress did a great job of keeping me more temperature-neutral throughout the night. I rarely felt like I was overheating as I had been on our previous mattresses with organic cotton covers.Design/construction: 7/10I was surprised at first to learn that this is a hybrid bed -- you cant feel the coils at all. The foam layers and cool-to-the-touch cover are of high quality.Brand policies: 8/10Nectar has great company policies, including a 365-night trial period, a lifetime warranty and free shipping and returns.Sleep quality: 6/10My sleep quality was not great. It went down from the last mattress we were on. I didnt sleep as long, and I woke up more often. Id like to see improvements in this area.Aly's overall score: 62/100Overall, its a high-quality mattress, especially at this price point. Unfortunately, its not the right firmness level for me, and I think I prefer the classic dense memory foam to the responsive, airy foam in the Nectar Premier Hybrid.Our sleep dataPrior to Nectar Premier, Dillon and I slept on the Casper Snow Hybrid -- which we loved but was ultimately too firm for Dillon's liking.As you can see in the graph below, Dillon's total sleep increased significantly on the Nectar Premier Hybrid, jumping from 6:19 hours to 7:27 hours on average over the 30 nights. This is over an hour more sleep per night than Dillon had been getting, which is a phenomenal improvement for him and his overall sleep quality.On the Casper Snow mattress, I averaged 7:12 hours per night. On the Nectar Premier Hybrid mattress, my total sleep decreased slightly, dropping around 13 minutes to an average of 6:59 hours. Although not a significant decline, it's certainly not the direction I hoped to see my sleep quality go. Dillon slept over an hour longer on average on the Nectar Premier Hybrid compared to Casper Snow. Aly Lopez/CNETRestorative sleepRestorative sleep refers to time spent in the deep and rapid eye movement stages, which are extremely important phases of sleep. Generally, the optimal amount of time for adults to spend in restorative sleep is half the night, or 25% in deep sleep and 25% in REM sleep.Deep sleep (which occurs in the final stage of non-REM sleep) is also known as slow-wave sleep. Our brain waves slow down as we reach a deep state of rest. This is when our bodies recover from the day, repairing tissue and cells, building muscle and strengthening the immune system.REM sleep is when your brain becomes highly active, and your breathing and heart rates increase. This is when most dreaming occurs, and it's considered an essential phase for memory consolidation (when short-term memories are converted into long-term memories) and processing emotions.As the graph below shows, my average time spent in deep sleep decreased by about 30 minutes per night from 1:47 hours on the Casper Snow Hybrid to 1:13 hours on the Nectar Premier. Conversely, my average time spent in REM sleep increased slightly from 1:19 hours per night on Casper to 1:32 on Nectar. Over the 30 days, I spent less time in deep sleep and more time in REM sleep on the Nectar Premier compared to Casper Snow. Aly Lopez/CNETInterestingly, despite sleeping over an hour longer on average, Dillon's restorative sleep phase did not increase as much as we thought -- signifying that he was spending most of this extra time in light sleep. As the graph shows, Dillon's time in deep sleep decreased negligibly from 1:22 hours on Casper to 1:20 on Nectar, while his time in REM sleep increased by 13 minutes on average from 1:36 hours to 1:49 on Nectar. On Nectar Premier, Dillon spent more time in REM sleep and less time in deep sleep (similar to me). Aly Lopez/CNETOur main takeaways and what we learnedPriceAlthough a queen-size Nectar Premier Hybrid retails for $2,196, Nectar frequently offers it at a much lower price tag. Right now, it's on sale for half off, bringing the total down to $1,099. That's a great price point for a high-quality mattress like this.FirmnessCNET's Mattress Smasher 9000, a proprietary device that objectively tests and determines mattress firmness, ranked the Nectar Premier Hybrid 4.9 out of 10 on the firmness scale. The consensus among our sleep team is that this is correct, and it's around a medium or 5 out of 10. Dillon and I say it leans slightly into the medium-soft category or around 4 out of 10. This is especially interesting given that Nectar says it's 6.5 out of 10, or medium-firm. The Mattress Smasher 9000 smashes bed to provide us with an objective firmness score. Aly Lopez/CNETRead more: We Use Tech to Test Beds: Say Hello to Our Mattress Smasher 9000It's another reminder that mattress firmness is still a subjective quality at the end of the day. How firm a mattress feels to one person may differ from the next, depending on body type and weight, and how firm you need your mattress to be is directly influenced by your primary sleeping position, health conditions and personal preference.Our 30-night trial on the Nectar Premier Hybrid underscored the recurring issue of firmness. Dillon is most comfortable on a medium-soft to soft mattress, and I am most comfortable on a medium-firm to firm mattress.Regardless, it's been encouraging to see the quality of our sleep gradually improve throughout this series as we try mattresses of varying feel and firmness levels. Overall, Dillon and I were impressed by the Nectar Premier Hybrid -- Dillon especially so, considering it's now his favorite bed, and I feel terrible for making him give it up.What's next?We have yet to find the "perfect" mattress for us -- and though we're not sure it even exists, we haven't given up yet. That said, stay tuned for the 30-night trial of our next bed: Beautyrest Black Series Three. Dillon preferentially scored the Nectar Premier Hybrid 85/100, and Aly scored it 62/100. Dillon Lopez/CNETWho should get this bed?You should consider the Nectar Premier Hybrid if:You're looking for a premium mattress at a more affordable price pointYou're looking for a bed with an airy memory foam feelYou're a combination sleeper or primarily sleep on your sideYou're seeking a pressure-relieving hybrid mattressThe Nectar Premier Hybrid is probably not for you if:You do not like memory foam. If you're unsure, take advantage of the 365-night trial period and test it out -- you might be pleasantly surprised like we wereYou want a bed with super dense memory foam like Tempur-PedicYou want a super responsive and bouncy mattressYou're a strict back or stomach sleeper who needs a lot of support
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