Disappointed with Novosbed? Common Problems and Better Alternatives in Canada

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Novosbed has earned a loyal following in Canada. It is made here, backed by GoodMorning.com (the same company behind Douglas and Logan and Cove), and the 120-night trial gives you plenty of time to decide. For a lot of sleepers, it works well.

But not for everyone.

If you are reading this, there is a good chance you have already tried Novosbed and something is not quite right. Maybe you are waking up sweaty. Maybe the mattress felt perfect at first but now feels too firm or too soft. Maybe you requested the Comfort+ kit and it helped a little, but not enough. Or maybe you are still researching and the $999 price tag for an all-foam mattress gives you pause.

At Mattress Miracle in Brantford, we have helped customers work through every one of these situations. We have been fitting people to mattresses since 1997, and we know that no single mattress works for every body. Here is an honest look at where Novosbed falls short and what your options are.

What Novosbed Gets Right

Before we get into the complaints, credit where it is due. Novosbed does several things well, and understanding the strengths helps explain why the weaknesses matter.

Canadian manufacturing. Novosbed is made in Canada by GoodMorning.com, a Burnaby, B.C. company. In a market flooded with imports, that counts for something. Canadian foam standards tend to be stricter than some overseas alternatives, and shorter shipping distances mean a smaller environmental footprint.

The 120-night trial. Four months is generous. Most brick-and-mortar stores offer a 30-day comfort exchange at best, and many online brands cap their trials at 100 nights. Novosbed gives you a real chance to break in the foam and decide.

15-year warranty. This is solid. It covers manufacturing defects and sagging beyond a certain depth threshold, which is standard for the industry but still reassuring at this price point.

CertiPUR-US certified foams. The foams are tested for harmful chemicals, emissions, and durability. This is table stakes for a reputable brand, but Novosbed meets the standard^[1].

Common Novosbed Complaints

No mattress is perfect, and Novosbed has some specific weaknesses that show up repeatedly in customer feedback. These are not rare edge cases. They are structural characteristics of an all-foam design at this price.

Heat Retention

This is the most common complaint, and it is not unique to Novosbed. All-foam mattresses trap more body heat than hybrids or innerspring models because foam is a dense material with limited airflow. Novosbed uses a "Cooling Gel Foam" layer, which helps initially but cannot match the passive ventilation of a coil system. Gel foam absorbs heat and redistributes it, but on warm Ontario summer nights, many sleepers find it is not enough.

"Cooling gel is better than standard memory foam, but it is still foam," says Brad, owner of Mattress Miracle. "The gel delays the heat buildup. It does not eliminate it. If you run hot naturally, you will likely notice it by month two or three."

Heavy and Hard to Move

At roughly 70 pounds for a Queen, Novosbed is heavier than most all-foam competitors. Rotating it (which you should do every few months) requires two people. Moving it to a new room or a new home is a real chore. And because it is all foam with no handles, you are gripping a floppy, heavy slab.

Firmness Mismatch

Novosbed comes in three firmness levels (Soft, Medium, and Firm), but ordering a mattress online without lying on it means you are guessing. Body weight, sleep position, and personal preference all affect how a firmness level feels to you. A side sleeper who weighs 140 lbs will experience the Medium very differently than a back sleeper who weighs 220 lbs.

Slow Response Time

Memory foam contours to your body, which is the whole appeal. But it also means the foam is slow to bounce back when you change positions. If you toss and turn, you may feel like you are fighting the mattress rather than floating on it. Latex and hybrid mattresses respond faster, which is why combination sleepers often prefer them.

Premium Price for All-Foam

At $999 for a Queen, Novosbed sits in the premium segment of the bed-in-a-box market. That is not unreasonable for a Canadian-made product, but it is worth noting that you can get a hybrid mattress with individually pocketed coils, better airflow, and more responsive support at or below that price. The Douglas mattress, made by the same company, starts at $799 for a Queen.

The Comfort+ System: Does It Actually Fix Firmness Issues?

This is Novosbed's signature feature, and it deserves a careful look. If your Novosbed feels too firm during the trial period, you can request a free Comfort+ kit. It is a thin foam topper that sits on top of your mattress, under the cover, to make the surface softer.

On paper, it is clever. Instead of returning the whole mattress and waiting for a new one, you get a quick adjustment. GoodMorning.com markets this as a way to "customise your comfort" without the hassle of a full exchange.

In practice, it has real limitations.

"The Comfort+ idea sounds great until you realise it only works in one direction," says Dorothy at Mattress Miracle. "It can make a firm mattress slightly softer. But if your mattress is too soft, or if the firmness issue is more than a subtle tweak, the kit will not solve it. And you have added more foam, which can make the heat problem worse."

The underlying issue is that a single thin layer cannot fundamentally change the feel of a mattress. True comfort customization requires either a modular design with interchangeable layers or, better yet, lying on the mattress before you buy it. A 10-minute test in a showroom tells you more about firmness compatibility than any online quiz.

What Happens If Comfort+ Does Not Work?

If the Comfort+ kit does not resolve your issue, you can still return the mattress within the 120-night trial window. GoodMorning.com will arrange pickup and issue a refund. That is fair. But you have now spent weeks sleeping on a mattress that was not right, waiting for the kit, sleeping on the adjusted mattress, and then arranging the return. That is a lot of disrupted sleep when you could have tested in person from the start.

Why Novosbed Sleeps Hot and What to Do About It

Heat retention is worth its own section because it is the number one reason people look for a Novosbed alternative. Understanding why it happens helps you avoid the same problem with your next mattress.

Novosbed's Cooling Gel Foam is a step up from standard memory foam. Gel beads absorb heat and distribute it across a wider surface area, which delays the feeling of overheating. But "delays" is the key word. Over the course of a full night, the gel saturates and the foam reaches thermal equilibrium. By 3 a.m. or 4 a.m., you are sleeping on a warm surface regardless.

Temporary Fixes for Novosbed Heat

If you are still within your trial period and want to try to make Novosbed work, here are some options:

Cooling sheets. Tencel or bamboo-viscose sheets wick moisture and feel cooler than cotton. They will not solve the problem, but they help at the surface level.

Bedroom temperature. Keep your room between 15-19 degrees Celsius (60-67 Fahrenheit). This is the range recommended by sleep researchers for optimal sleep^[3]. A cooler room gives the foam less body heat to trap.

Mattress protector choice. Some waterproof protectors add a heat-trapping layer. If you are using one, try switching to a thinner, more breathable option.

Fan or air circulation. A ceiling fan or bedside fan keeps air moving across the sleep surface, which helps with evaporative cooling.

These are band-aids, not solutions. If you sleep hot by nature, or if you share the bed with a partner (two bodies generating heat on one foam surface), you will likely need a mattress with better airflow.

Better Alternatives to Novosbed in Canada

If Novosbed is not working for you, here are three alternatives worth considering. Each one addresses at least one of Novosbed's core weaknesses: heat retention, firmness limitations, or price.

Restonic ComfortCare ($1,619 Queen)

This is a hybrid mattress with individually pocketed coils and a comfort foam top layer. The coil system provides something Novosbed cannot: airflow. Air moves freely through the spring layer, carrying heat away from your body throughout the night.

The Restonic ComfortCare also gives you the responsive support that memory foam lacks. When you shift positions, the coils react immediately. There is no sinking-in feeling, no fighting the foam to roll over. For combination sleepers and couples, this responsiveness is a significant upgrade.

At $1,125, it costs more than Novosbed's $999. But you are getting a fundamentally different and more durable construction. Pocketed coils maintain their support longer than foam, which is why hybrid mattresses typically outlast all-foam designs by two to three years^[4].

"Restonic has been making mattresses since 1938," says Talia at Mattress Miracle. "The ComfortCare line hits a sweet spot where you get proper coil support, decent pressure relief on top, and the kind of airflow that keeps hot sleepers comfortable. It is the mattress we recommend most often to people coming off an all-foam bed."

You can try the Restonic ComfortCare in person at our Brantford showroom. Lie on it for 15 minutes. That tells you more than any trial period.

Douglas ($799 Queen)

Here is an interesting option: the Douglas mattress is made by the same company as Novosbed (GoodMorning.com) but costs $200 less. It uses a similar foam construction with a gel memory foam comfort layer and a high-density base.

The Douglas will not solve heat retention (it is still all-foam), but if your main complaint is that Novosbed is too expensive for what you get, Douglas offers a nearly identical sleep experience at a lower price. It also comes with a 120-night trial.

The trade-off is that Douglas has a slightly simpler construction and does not offer the Comfort+ adjustment kit. But given our reservations about Comfort+, that may not matter much.

Logan and Cove ($799 Queen)

Also from GoodMorning.com, Logan and Cove is the hybrid option in their lineup. It combines memory foam comfort layers with a pocketed coil support system. This is the mattress Novosbed owners should look at first if heat is their primary complaint.

The coil layer provides the airflow that Novosbed's all-foam design cannot match. It also adds bounce and responsiveness, which makes it better for combination sleepers and couples. At $799, it is $200 less than Novosbed, which makes the value proposition hard to argue with.

Logan and Cove comes in two firmness options (Luxury Firm and Pillow Top), which gives you some flexibility without relying on an add-on kit.

How to Choose a Replacement Mattress

If you have decided to move on from Novosbed, here is how to avoid making the same mistake twice.

Identify Your Primary Complaint

Be specific about what went wrong. "I did not like it" is not enough. Was it too hot? Too firm? Too soft? Not supportive enough? Did you wake up with pain? Different complaints point to different solutions:

Too hot: Move to a hybrid or innerspring. Coils allow air circulation that foam cannot replicate.

Too firm or too soft: This usually means you need to test mattresses in person. Online firmness descriptions are subjective and inconsistent across brands. What one company calls "Medium" another calls "Medium Firm."

Not supportive enough: All-foam mattresses can sag faster than hybrids, especially for heavier sleepers. If you weigh over 200 lbs, a pocketed coil or hybrid design will hold up better over time.

Too expensive: If $999 felt like too much for an all-foam mattress, consider what features you are actually paying for. The Comfort+ kit and Canadian manufacturing add cost. If those matter less to you, options like Douglas at $799 deliver a similar sleep experience.

Test Before You Buy

This is the single most important piece of advice in this article. Novosbed does not have showrooms. You order online, wait for delivery, unbox it, let it expand, sleep on it, maybe request the Comfort+ kit, sleep on it again, and then decide. That process can take weeks or months.

Or you can walk into a store, lie on six different mattresses in 30 minutes, and know exactly what feels right for your body. Online trials have their place, but nothing replaces the certainty of an in-person test.

"People come in after returning an online mattress and they are exhausted from the process," says Brad at Mattress Miracle. "Not just physically, but emotionally. They spent months hoping a mattress would break in and feel better. When they lie on something in the showroom that feels right immediately, you can see the relief. There is no guessing."

Consider Total Value, Not Just Price

A $999 mattress that you return after three months costs you nothing in dollars but a lot in lost sleep. A $1,125 mattress that you test in person, love immediately, and sleep on for 10+ years is significantly better value. Factor in the cost of disrupted sleep, the hassle of returns, and the time spent researching when you compare prices.

At Mattress Miracle, we offer white glove delivery throughout Brantford and surrounding areas. We set up your new mattress, remove the packaging, and take away your old mattress if you want. You do not have to wrestle a 70-pound foam slab out of your bedroom.

A Note on Sleep and Health

Poor sleep has real health consequences, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease, impaired cognitive function, and weakened immune response^[2]. If you are consistently sleeping poorly, whether because of your mattress or another issue, it is worth discussing with your doctor. A mattress can improve comfort, but it is not a medical device and cannot treat underlying sleep disorders.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you are experiencing chronic pain, persistent insomnia, or other health concerns related to sleep, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Research published in Sleep Medicine Reviews confirms that mattress support structure and temperature regulation are the two most significant factors affecting sleep quality, ahead of material composition or brand-specific technologies.

Shop: Shop Our Mattress Collection

Sources

1. CertiPUR-US. "CertiPUR-US Certified Foams." certipur.us
2. Okamoto-Mizuno, K., & Mizuno, K. (2012). "Effects of thermal environment on sleep and circadian rhythm." Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 31(1), 14. doi.org/10.1186/1880-6805-31-14
3. Harding, E. C., Franks, N. P., & Wisden, W. (2019). "The Temperature Dependence of Sleep." Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, 336. doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00336
4. Sleep Foundation. "Innerspring vs. Memory Foam Mattress." sleepfoundation.org

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