Another factor is an aging population that might prefer a plusher sleep surface for their less-flexible bodies. Customization is also pushing the envelope. Kingsdown makes one mattress that allows a partner to incline his or her side of the bed while the other remains flat. You'll notice changes in the specialty area of the market, too. Those who haven't slept on a waterbed since the 1970s might be surprised that many waterbeds look like conventional innerspring mattresses and hardly move.
Some air mattresses offer adjustable-support control for each partner.
And in foam beds, latex promises to adjust to body weight to reduce pressure points, while viscoelastic mattresses respond to body temperature to mold to the sleeper. American Chiropractic Association spokesman Jerome McAndrews gives the industry high marks for its shift away from the firm approach. He also favors selective support, which allows you to press down one area of a mattress, leaving others unaffected. The sleep industry emphasizes that levels of comfort are up to the individual. You have to try out mattresses actually lie on them, don't just sit on them to see which feels best.