To help us provide you with free impartial advice, we may earn a commission if you buy through links on our site. Learn more
- Comfortable and supportive
- “ReActive” springs adjust to your body
- High quality natural materials
- Expensive
- Heavy to shift about
British bed brand Hypnos manufactures high-end mattresses and beds, handmade in its factory in Buckinghamshire. Made with natural materials and utilising an impressive spring construction, the Inspired By Nature 05 mattress sits at the top of the Hypnos’ latest range: an exclusive collection for Bensons for Beds. And as you might expect, it comes with a fairly hefty price tag.
Price aside, this might be the best mattress I’ve tested to date, which I say as someone who has tested more mattresses than she’s had hot dinners. It’s extremely well-made and offers plenty of comfort and support, thanks in part to its responsive spring system. Read on to find out more.
Hypnos Inspired By Nature 05 mattress: What you need to know
The Inspired By Nature 05 measures 31cm in height and comes in five sizes (single to super king) as well as a choice of “medium” and “firm” ratings – the sample I reviewed was rated firm. As you’d expect from a premium mattress, there’s quite a lot packed into it. Underneath a wood pulp-derived viscose cover are two layers of British wool (certified to the Responsible Wool Standard), designed to help with breathability and temperature regulation, followed by a blended fruit fibre layer. Strange as it might sound, this is made from the leaf and stem fibres of bananas, oranges and pineapples, woven together with cotton.
Up next is a layer of graphite-infused natural latex, which sits on top of the brand’s “ReActivePro” 10-turn pocket springs. The idea behind these is that the more turns there are in a spring, the more ‘reactive’ it is, and so the greater its ability to provide comfort and support to your body where it’s needed. These springs are also firmer at either side of the mattress, for greater edge support.
Underneath the springs is another layer of natural latex and more British wool, mirroring the upper layers and allowing you to sleep on either side of the mattress. Its hand-stitched border features padded handles for ease of flipping and rotating. The mattress is 31cm in height and you can choose from a medium or firmer feel (I chose the firmer).
According to its specifications, the mattress is fully recyclable at the end of its life, and Hypnos is a carbon neutral manufacturer.
Price and competition
The Hypnos Inspired By Nature 05 is an investment, with prices starting at £3,000 for a single. This rises to £3,600 for a small double and double, £4,100 for a king and £4,600 for a super king.
As I mentioned at the top of this review, the Inspired By Nature 05 is part of Hypnos’ exclusive range for Bensons for Beds, sitting alongside similarly constructed mattresses. The 05 is at the premium end of the range, while the 01 model is the cheapest (£2,100 in a double). In between these, the 02 costs £2,300 in a double, the 03 costs £2,700 and the 04 costs £3,400. These are all similarly constructed mattresses, with variations in the spring count, number of spring turns and materials. For instance, the Inspired By Nature 01 comes with 6-turn springs and less wool, replacing the natural latex of the 05 model with a cotton rich layer.
Given its construction, it makes sense to compare the Inspired by Nature 05 to other natural mattresses. For instance, the Simba Natural Hybrid Apex (at the top end of the brand’s Natural Hybrid range) retails at £2,200 for a double, while the REM-Fit Natural Lux Hybrid mattress is £950 in the same size. As a general rule of thumb, all-natural mattresses are often pricier options compared to mattresses constructed from synthetic materials. Nevertheless, the Inspired by Nature 05 is considerably more expensive than both of these alternatives.
The mattress comes with a 10-year guarantee as well as Bensons For Bed’s 40-night sleep trial (valid as long as you use a mattress protector). Considering the price of the mattress, I would have liked to have seen a longer trial offered to match those brands such as Simba and Emma (both of which offer 200 night trials). Furthermore, Bensons For Bed’s 40 night Comfort Guarantee only allows you to exchange the mattress for a new one, rather than return it for a refund, which is something that many of its rivals readily offer.
On a similar note, I would also have expected the delivery charge to have been a bit more palatable for such a high cost item – perhaps even free. Instead, you should expect to pay at least £49 for delivery, and as much as £69 if you’re buying the mattress alongside any other items.
Delivery experience
Delivery cost aside, I want to take a moment to praise the delivery team from Bensons for Beds, who were incredibly efficient and polite. As a mattress tester, I’ve had numerous issues with deliveries before, from couriers refusing to take the mattress upstairs (even when the brand offered room-of-choice delivery), to dumping it at our front door without bothering to ring the doorbell.
By contrast, the delivery of the Hypnos Inspired By Nature 05 was seamless: I received a text and an email three days before to inform me of my delivery window, and the team called me half an hour before arrival to say they were on their way. Both delivery men wore overshoes to protect my carpet and carried the heavy mattress up our very steep Victorian stairs without any complaints. They also took away the recyclable packaging that the mattress arrived in.
Comfort and performance
To put it bluntly, the Hypnos Inspired By Nature 05 is the most comfortable mattress I’ve slept on. While I did wake up with a slight pang of lower back pain after the first night – chalk it down to my body adjusting to the new mattress – I’ve not had a single bad night since.
I could really feel the springs adjusting as I lay on them. The lumbar support and general spinal alignment was exceptional, with the springs gently cradling my body without adding excessive pressure. I found it comfortable in a variety of sleeping positions but, if I was a dedicated side sleeper, I think I’d pick the medium firm model over the firm one, which will have slightly more cushioning around the pressure points of the shoulders and hips. The firmer version that I slept on is definitely one of the very best firm mattresses I’ve tested: while offering plenty of support, it still manages to cushion and contour to my pressure points in a way that some firmer mattresses just can’t manage.
I carried out some sinkage tests on the mattress, using a series of weights (see our how we test mattresses guide for more details). With 10kg of weights placed on the mattress surface, I measured a sinkage of 20cm at shoulder height and 30cm at the edge of the mattress.
While these measurements suggest quite prominent deflection (for instance, REM-Fit’s Natural Lux Hybrid sank 21cm at the edge while the Simba Natural Hybrid Escape I tested recently sank only 16cm) I always felt completely secure when sitting on the edge of the mattress. Motion isolation on the Inspired By Nature is impressive too, with even my husband’s most dramatic flailing failing to disturb me.
I also carried out temperature tests to see how the mattress retained heat (again, see our how we test guide for more information). During the body temperature test, the temperature dropped from 30°C to 23.8°C after three minutes and then to 23.1°C after 10 minutes. The heat pad test saw temperatures drop from 50°C to 28°C after three minutes, then further to 26.5°C after 10 minutes. Both of these tests were conducted in a fairly warm room, with an ambient temperature of 22.6°C. The Inspired By Nature 05 isn’t necessarily going to rival those in our best cooling mattresses round up but, in real world testing, my hot-sleeping husband always felt comfortable, thanks perhaps to the multitude of natural and breathable materials.
One small caveat: the mattress is pretty heavy, which makes flipping it over a little bit of a challenge. Rotating is, thankfully, much easier, thanks to the handles helpfully placed on the sides of the mattress.
Verdict
You only have to look at the Hypnos Inspired By Nature 05 to see that it’s a beautifully made and thoughtfully put together mattress. And it’s not just style over substance either. This is the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on and I’m very impressed by how quickly my body adjusted to it – especially as I’m quite a fussy customer. While a choice of firmness options is always welcome, the firm version I tested is one of the best mattresses for back pain you can possibly invest in.
Having said all this, there is no getting away that the price tag: the Hypnos Inspired By Nature 05 is a very significant investment. That said, I truly believe that it’s more than worth its price. If you are in the market for a premium mattress, this should be at the top of your list.
