Julia Forbes, a double-certified sleep science and brain health coach with more than six years of mattress testing experience, is always down to talk mattresses, especially when she gets to chat about one of her favorites. Currently, that’s the Nolah Evolution mattress.

“This one has been at the top for years now,” she says, referring to a sort of draft-picks-style list she has constantly going, but for mattresses. “It has always delivered a consistent performance during testing.”

“I would give the Nolah Evolution an A+,” she says. “That is hard-fought. That’s really hard to pull off in my book because I’m scrutinizing every single aspect of this mattress.”

The Nolah is a hybrid mattress with memory foam layers and coils, the construction Forbes prefers. 

“Hybrids are my favorite,” she says. “Having a combination of materials in one bed really serves the ultimate purpose of making you the most comfortable you can be.” 

“There are zoned coils, which I love,” she says. “We can get really nerdy with this really fast, but all you need to know is that old-school mattresses would take basically one continuous coil. It’s all connected, so if you squish it down, it’s all going down. Pocketed coils each have their own individual thing going on: You can squish one here, and this guy could be unaffected. They have firmer coils right under your lower back for the most support, which is great, and softer coils everywhere else. That’s zoned coil support.”

A bespoke night’s sleep 

The Nolah has three firmness levels and the ability to add a Euro pillow top, too, though Forbes goes the luxury firm route, the middle option. “It’s just so good,” she says. “I’ve told so many people about it. I’ve written so many reviews about it. I’m screaming it from the rooftops.” 

She likes the customization involved: “I think they added more of a cooling pillow top. I’d do that if you want to choose a firm level and then add a pillow top to sink into a little bit more, or if you want a little bit more cushion than what a standard luxury firm is giving.

“I’ve suggested or recommended it to family, friends and friends’ parents,” she says. “The feedback I consistently get is that it’s lovely. The company did a great job with this. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 

Cooling options for better sleep 

If you tend to sleep a little hotter, especially in those toasty summer months, this mattress goes a long way toward relieving that — something Forbes can personally relate to. “I also sleep like I’m a hot dog on a gas-station roller,” Forbes says. “I’m always moving, and I’m always hot. I need something to keep me cool all the time.”

“There are plenty of cooling features,” she says. “Air circulation is generated by a couple of things, but there’s mesh along the sides to get air in and out of the bed.

“Those coils are also generating a little bit of motion and airflow when they move. That helps a lot with air circulation.”

The mattress has also received cooling upgrades as it’s evolved: “You have a cooling cover nowadays with organic cotton,” Forbes says. “I have the old-school version, so that was before the cooling cover, and I always thought it did a good job.”

The cost of a good night’s rest  

“Pricewise, it’s not bad at all,” she says. “If you take nothing else away from this interview, please be wary about beds you get on Amazon and beds that are under $1,000. Not all of them are bad, mind you, but you have to be careful and know what to look for.

“If you have a $200 mattress that you got off Amazon on the fly, chances are it will last you maybe a year before things might start going awry,” she says. “By the time you’ve done that rinse-and-repeat cycle two or three times, you might as well have invested in yourself and your sleep and gone for the $1,500 mattress.

“It is a long-term investment that cannot be understated.”

For Forbes, the Nolah’s hybrid mattress “has remained for years now one of my tried-and-true [mattresses],” she says. “I slept on one for years and loved it. It supported me during back procedures, health problems and really serious stuff. I always looked forward to sleeping on it.”