The Nectar Premium Hybrid mattress is one of the most popular mattress models in the UK – from one of the most-trusted sleep tech brands. Here, one writer with back pain put it through its paces for two whole months.
As most millennials will be aware, aches and pains appear in new places and seem to get worse every year you progress into your thirties. Since entering said decade, aches and pains have certainly become ever more present in my life. Low back aches, namely.
For months I have been complaining to my partner about lower back pain in the morning. His answer was that I sit at my desk for too long and don’t exercise enough. And although both of these statements may be true, I had a hunch that our old lumpy mattress was actually the main culprit.
As a front sleeper, the softness of my old memory foam mattress meant that I’d often find myself sleeping in odd positions that put a lot of strain on my lower back. Unable to find a comfortable way to sleep, my already restless slumber then became progressively worse as the night went on.
After months of waking up tired, achy and moody, I knew it was time for a change – and my partner couldn’t agree more. Wonderfully, for the past eight weeks I have been testing the Nectar Premium Hybrid mattress, and have been busy noting down all its pros and cons, from set-up to comfort, in a bid to help other pain-ridden shoppers. Here is my honest review.
Nectar Sleep Premier Hybrid mattress review at a glance
Nectar Sleep Premier Hybrid first impressions
The Nectar Sleep Premier Hybrid arrived neatly packed up in a compact cardboard box and vacuumed sealed in a plastic container. Once unpacked, the wrapped mattress was fairly heavy to move, which is why Nectar recommends two people for the job. Nonetheless, I was able to move it and set it up by myself – as I was too impatient to wait for help.
Once out of the packaging and positioned on my bed frame, it took between five and six hours to inflate. Definitely worth noting, so that you don’t wind-up trying to unbox it just before bedtime. Although Nectar advises that it would take up to 72 hours to fully inflate, I didn’t find this to be an issue – and my sleep wasn’t badly affected on the first night.
The mattress also came with a warning about a possible smell after opening. Although we noticed a chemical smell, neither of us found it overbearing, and it disappeared fairly quickly within a couple of days of airing the mattress and the room.
The very first thing I noticed once set on the frame was how firm and sturdy the Nectar Premier Hybrid was. With eight layers of comfort enhancing technology packed into a depth of 28cm, the first impression was that of a truly supportive and high-quality mattress. A slightly thicker-than-average build might require deeper bed sheets for a proper fit.
GLAMOUR road test: comfort and design
Nectar describes the firmness of their mattress as 6-6.5 out of 10. While I initially thought it was firmer than this, over time, the mattress softened and the comfort noticeably and progressively improved over the first week. It was by the end of the first week that I could truly feel an enhancement in comfort and quality compared to my previous mattress.