I Tested the Nolah Evolution Mattress for 30 Nights – It Was So Comfortable, I Replaced My Current Favorite Mattress Permanently

As a 15-year product journalist who has slept on many mattresses, some lumpy and bumpy, some too stiff, and others just right, I was so impressed by the Nolah Evolution Mattress that I’m still sleeping on it beyond the testing period by choice.

It’s a hybrid mattress that features cooling elements, high-density foam that relieves pressure on joints, and delivers an overall great night’s sleep.

Here’s why I’d consider it for a wide variety of mattress shoppers looking to get better sleep, and why it's a strong competitor for a spot among the very best mattresses.

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The Nolah Evolution Mattress – My One-Minute Verdict

The Nolah Evolution is extremely comfortable and a mattress you look forward to sleeping on each night. It has a highly supportive memory foam top that helps you get that cozy, sinking-into-your-bed feeling, without making you feel hot or stuck.

It helps keep your spine in alignment, but also gives target relief in certain sections of the mattress where you might otherwise feel too much pressure.

The mattress comes in multiple options for firmness, which is helpful for determining which mattress will suit you and your needs, including plush, luxury firm, or firm. I chose the middle option, with the cooling pillow top, which you can also opt in or out of.

Specifications

The Nolah Evolution Mattress − Delivery, Unboxing and Setup

This mattress is pretty much ready for use right out of the box. The company notes that odors (known as off-gassing) can take up to 24 hours to dissipate, although I didn’t notice any.

You can opt in to or out of a delivery service that sets up the mattress for you. You can also select to have the delivery service carry the mattress to the right room for you, which is highly convenient and worth it if you’d struggle to do so yourself, as I would.

Once it’s set up, the mattress feels fresh and new, and I immediately noticed the highly raised areas on the mattress that make up the support top. This means the mattress is exceptionally bumpy compared to others at first glance, with raised parts of the topper − something that I came to appreciate when I realized how comfortable the topper is.

What It’s Like to Sleep on the Nolah Evolution Mattress

Pressure relief and support: Typically, I’d start to feel some joint pressure and even pain while falling asleep, particularly in my hips and back. This mattress eliminated that problem and helped me reduce the time it takes to fall asleep by about 10-30 minutes per night. This is because there was never any hip or back pain, even as a side and stomach sleeper, which can sometimes cause misalignment or extra pressure.

According to the brand, this is due to the “lumbar zone,” referring to five zones through the materials that help with weight redistribution, relieving pressure on the joints. The website shares that the “tri-zone foam” is a middle firm layer responsible for extra lumbar support, which keeps hips elevated and spine aligned in any sleep position, without sacrificing softness and flexibility near the shoulders. This all reflected my own experience with the bed completely.

Thermoregulation: Heat control in a mattress comes down to two things − just how far into the mattress you sink, which can cause you to feel hotter, and the materials themselves and their cooling abilities.

When you sleep on this mattress, you have a good amount of “sink in” feeling, allowing the mattress to come up around your sides a tiny bit, but it’s not so much that you feel engulfed by it. This has been a problem with some competitors I’ve tried. In addition, the fabric is cool and breathable, so it doesn’t make you hotter, which is helpful.

Motion Isolation: I tested the motion transfer both by observing how much I’m disturbed by my partner’s movement through the night, and also through a test with a large glass of water on the bed. In the water test, I pushed on the mattress near the water to see how much it moved, and if it spilled. I could apply a good amount of pressure and get pretty close to the water without impacting it, showing that the bed performs pretty well when it comes to motion transfer.

However, compared to some other beds, I did notice my partner moving periodically through the night, though it wasn’t enough to really fully wake me up. So, while the motion transfer isn’t perfect, it’s definitely a reasonable amount and shouldn’t impact your decision to buy this mattress.

Edge Support: There is a good amount of give on the edges of the bed that doesn’t fully reflect how supportive it is to sleep on the bed. So, if you are someone sleeping near the edge of the bed and/or sitting on the edge of the bed, you will notice the edge gives way, and you slip a bit on a downward incline.

Though I’m not an expert on the bed construction, I believe this is because more of the support is focused on those lumbar areas and pressure relief, while the rest of the bed is a bit more forgiving and flexible. So, areas around the head and shoulders and the bed edges aren’t quite as stiff and sturdy as the middle.

This is a good thing, unless you are sleeping right on the edge. However, it did dissuade me from sitting on the edge of the bed for any tasks.

Materials: There are eight layers of materials in the hybrid mattress, from the top cotton cover down to the high-density base foam. The materials are GREENGUARD Gold-certified, indicating compliance with emissions standards. They are also Certi-PUR-US-certified, meaning the mattress is free from heavy metals, retardants, and ozone depleters. Finally, the mattress doesn’t use any fiberglass in the materials, according to Nolah’s website.

Price: Finally, this mattress, though not a budget pick, is highly affordable compared to some competitors. This means people who want to invest in a great mattress but don’t want to spend money on more expensive luxury mattress brands might find their sweet spot here.

Who the Nolah Evolution Mattress Would Suit

The Nolah is surprisingly great for stomach sleepers − which is not the norm. Many mattresses cause stomach sleepers to end up with an arch in their lower back and an achy body by morning. On the contrary, this mattress helps maintain correct positioning regardless of which way you sleep.

The Nolah Evolution is also great for side sleepers, thanks to that pressure relief feature and the way it eliminates pain in the hips, knees, and elsewhere. This is one of the most notable features of using the bed, and side sleepers who have aches and pains will notice the difference.

Finally, the mattress is perfect for anyone wanting to invest in a mattress of luxurious quality and solid construction but not spend a fortune doing so.

My Verdict After Sleeping on the Nolah Evolution for 30 Nights

In the process of testing this mattress and others, I’ve come to know quickly which will go the distance when it comes to comfort, and which will end up with a disappointing lump in the middle a few months in and grouchy people who didn’t sleep well.

I’m excited to say that I have no concerns with this mattress and look forward to using it for years to come.

What to Shop

Interested in shopping for more tried-and-tested recommendations from Homes & Gardens? Shop our Sleep Editor-approved selection below.

All prices were correct at the time of publication.

Pairing your new mattress with one of the best cooling mattress toppers is an easy way to add thermoregulating comfort.

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