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The Nolah Natural Mattress is a direct-to-consumer bed with an accent on latex and natural materials like cotton and wool. It’s likely to be of great interest to those looking for an eco-friendly, hypoallergenic sleep experience.
Since the Nolah Natural differs quite a bit from memory foam and hybrids, we put it to the test to see how it stacks up against the competition. And after sleeping on the Nolah Natural mattress for a month, we’ve found out everything you need to know.
The Nolah Natural Mattress has the springy feel of latex, and even if you aren’t looking for eco-friendly materials, it’s a good medium-firm bed for side, back or combination sleepers.
What we liked about it
It’s a medium-firm mattress that’s good for side, back and combination sleepers
Nolah describes the Nolah Natural 11-inch Mattress as “luxury firm” — a 5.6 out of 10 or about midrange firmness between very soft Jell-O and very hard wood. I found this accurate compared to other mattresses I’ve tested. That said, I typically prefer a soft to medium mattress, but this medium-firm latex-based bed was very comfortable for sleeping on my side and back.
The Nolah Natural mattress features an organic cotton cover with a thin layer of organic wool underneath, providing comfort next to skin and breathability. It’s followed by two layers of latex for pressure relief and a foundation of coils that are, the brand states, placed in three different zones intended to keep your spine aligned. The support coils rest on a layer of organic cotton and wool for stability and durability.
This mattress has a distinctive feel, where it feels firm yet has give. It’s very different from a typical memory foam or hybrid bed. It doesn’t feel as plush as other medium-firm mattresses I’ve tested, but it still has enough give to alleviate pressure points. I was pleasantly surprised that I could comfortably sleep on my back, and I was able to sleep on my side longer without shoulder pain.
When I first lay on this bed, it caught my attention with its subtle bounciness — the signature feel of latex. Despite the slight bouncy sensation when first lying down, I didn’t feel like I was bouncing on the bed at night when shifting positions. Actually, I didn’t detect any motion transfer when I moved on the bed.
Helps prevent overheating
In keeping with its natural focus, this mattress doesn’t have any cooling technology — no phase-change fabrics or materials like you might find with some other mattresses. Instead, it relies on naturally breathable materials such as cotton, wool and latex.
Even though wool is known for its warmth, it can help regulate body temperature, and its fibers help pull moisture away from the body to keep you cool. Additionally, the latex is perforated to allow heat and moisture to escape.
While this bed doesn’t feel cool to the touch like the Casper Wave Hybrid Snow, I did not experience any noticeable heat buildup. This is a good bed for someone who sleeps hot and doesn’t prefer a cool-to-the-touch feeling when lying down.
The mattress is free of odors
Like all the foam mattresses I’ve tested over the past year, the Nolah Natural mattress did not have a chemical or unpleasant odor from off-gassing. It’s not surprising considering the use of natural materials such as cotton and wool, which are Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified. The latex is Oeko-Tex 100 Class 1 certified, which means it’s free from up to 350 harmful chemicals and meets the strictest requirements of the Oeko-Tex 100 standard. The entire mattress is GreenGuard Gold certified, which means it meets strict chemical emission limits of more than 360 VOCs and complies with the California Department of Public Health’s standard evaluation methods.
The Nolah Natural has good edge support
The coil spring base is solid, but I noticed the top layers of the mattress compress slightly when you sit on the bed. Sitting on the edge of the mattress feels slightly wobbly, but when sitting farther back, it feels sturdy overall. I didn’t feel like I was going to fall off at any point. If you like to sit on the edge of the bed to get dressed or tie your shoes, you’ll feel comfortable.
Easy setup
Similar to other mattresses I’ve tested, the Nolah Natural arrives rolled up and vacuum sealed in a box. Like other mattress-in-a-box options, setting it up requires cutting and removing the plastic seal and adjusting it on the bed frame. This mattress expands relatively quickly compared to others I’ve tried, so I had to move fast to get it in the right position. The latex makes the bed heavier (the queen size weighs 108 pounds), so it took some effort to maneuver. (I would recommend having two people doing the setup to make it easier.) Nolah also offers white-glove service through a third-party partner, but I didn’t personally test this option.
What we didn’t like about it
Not for those who like a very firm bed
When choosing a mattress, your preferred sleep position will likely influence your firmness preferences. I found this mattress strikes a good balance between offering enough pressure relief for joints while still providing ample support, but it’s worth noting that those who prefer an extremely firm mattress — stomach sleepers, for instance, unless they have very light frames — will likely find this too soft.
May feel too bouncy for some
This mattress has a very different feel from memory foam, innerspring or hybrid mattresses due to the latex. Nolah describes it as “responsive bounce,” a description I found to be accurate. When I lay on the bed, I felt a noticeable spring-back sensation rather than the sinking feeling associated with memory foam or plush innerspring mattresses. I didn’t find it a huge problem in terms of moving around on the bed, and there was minimal motion transfer. However, some may not care for the initial bouncing sensation and find it too springy.
Bottom line
The Nolah Natural 11-inch mattress provides substantial, medium-firm support. Even though it leans slightly firmer than other medium-firm mattresses I’ve tried, it’s still soft enough to relieve pressure points. Comparing it to other mattresses I’ve tested is a challenge because this is the only latex mattress I’ve tried, and its springy sensation sets it apart from the rest. The Purple Restore comes closest in terms of feel, with a slight bounce, but the Purple mattress allows more sinking in, whereas the latex mattress feels more like you’re resting on top.
I found this mattress very comfortable, and despite never having slept on a latex bed it has become one of my favorites overall. It’s surprisingly somewhat firm yet pressure relieving at the same time, compared to most mattresses, where you’re either getting firmness or soft pressure relief. If you’re looking to try a latex mattress, I recommend considering this one. If you want something with a more traditional feel, you may want to try the Saatva Classic or the Helix Sunset mattress, which has a plush feel.