The Best Mattress for Side Sleepers

You don’t have to be a mathematician to estimate the number of hours you spend in bed each year. It’s about 3,000 for most adults. That’s a lot of hours spent on a mattress, so you want it to be one that’s comfortable for you.

The “for you” part is crucial since your preferred sleep position dictates what type of mattress will best support your needs. If you like to curl up on your side, you’re not alone. Research suggests it’s the most favored way to sleep. Side sleepers need a mix of softness to cushion hip and shoulder joints and firmness to support the body as a whole, but especially the lumbar spine.

“A medium-firm mattress provides the best balance for comfort, spinal alignment, and sleep quality for side sleepers,” says Jerome Enad, MD, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon.

Before you drop cash on your next bed, read on for tips on how to find the best mattresses for side sleepers.

Despite the popularity of the position, side-sleeping creates a unique conundrum:

• Lying on your side places pressure on the joints you are sleeping on at any given moment. The joints most affected include the shoulders and hips, but side sleeping can also affect the knees.
• The nature of the position also places strain on your spine if the right support isn’t in place to keep it aligned.

“A side sleeper needs a medium-firm mattress that is neither too firm nor too soft that might place their spine into a position that accentuates their pain,” Dr. Enad says.

Your spine is made up of stacked vertebrae, discs, and facet joints that allow for flexibility and movement in several directions. Some parts are more fixed, while others are more flexible.

• Cervical spine: The bones in your neck make up the most flexible part of your spinal column.
• Thoracic spine: Your thoracic spine has limited flexibility, and your ribcage offers support, making this section the most stable.
• Lumbar spine: The lumbar spine begins below your ribcage and is more flexible than your thoracic spine but not as flexible as your cervical spine.
• Sacrum: Just below your lumbar spine is your sacrum, featuring fused vertebrae lacking flexibility.
• Coccyx: The tailbone is just below your sacrum and is also fused and inflexible.

You can experience the side-sleeping conundrum for yourself. Just lie down on your side on a generally flat surface, like your living room floor. Note how the floor digs into your hips, shoulders, and knees. Now take your hand and reach back to your lumbar spine. Note how this section is no longer in alignment with the rest of your vertebrae. Instead, it sags toward the floor.

Now take your hand and reach up to your neck. Note how it also bows toward the ground, causing tension. You can find pillows for side sleepers that support your cervical spine.

But your mattress is the key for supporting your lumbar region. You want some give for your hips, shoulders, and knees to sink in and find comfort without pressure, but you want a bit of firmness to help keep your lumbar spine in alignment rather than causing it to “cave in.”

Having an understanding of where the spine is and isn’t flexible helps you understand the importance of three key features to look for when searching for the most comfortable mattress for you.

Key features of a mattress for side sleepers:

• Pressure relief: A mattress that contours to your body will keep your joints happier than one that causes pressure on the shoulders, hips, and knees. Look for options such as memory foam, latex, or hybrid mattresses.
• Support: Support for your spine comes down to firmness level, usually listed on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the softness. Aim for a firmness level between 5 and 8. Your body type may matter for your firmness preference. For example, a petite person may find they need to go toward medium-soft to get good joint cushioning with enough responsiveness for spinal support.
• Motion isolation: If you have a bed partner, motion isolation can come in handy for side sleepers. It helps ensure that when you switch your sleeping position, such as flipping to the other side, your partner doesn’t feel it, and vice versa.

Mattresses come in a host of materials, and what makes up your mattress and its structure dictates how well it will support your side sleeping.

• Foam: These mattresses are made of foam layers, offering cushioning for pressure relief and responsiveness to contour to your body. Foam is excellent for motion isolation and ideal for side sleeping.
• Latex: These mattresses are made from either natural latex from rubber trees, a synthetic (manmade) latex, or a blend of natural and synthetic materials. Latex offers pressure relief and contouring for side sleeping, but it doesn’t sink in quite as much as foam. This material also isolates motion, but a little less so than foam.
• Hybrid: A hybrid mattress is a combination of either foam or latex layers on top of a traditional innerspring coil system. These mattresses offer some pressure relief and contouring, but they tend to be more supportive than foam or latex. A hybrid can be a good side-sleeping option if you dislike the sinking sensation of full foam or latex mattresses. However, they tend to work best for back and stomach sleepers.
• Innerspring: Innerspring mattresses have embedded coils (often made of steel) that create that bouncy feeling, and they’re topped with a thin layer of either foam, latex, cotton, or another fiber. They tend to be firmer than foam, latex, or hybrid mattresses and may not be ideal for side sleeping.

Now we’ll explore our top picks for side sleeping based on mattress type. Some options might be eligible for purchase with dollars from your health savings account (HSA) or flexible spending account (FSA) when you’re using the product to address a specific health condition. Look for eligibility on individual product pages, and read on to learn more about how Truemed works.

This Nectar medium-firm mattress features just the right cushioning and contouring for sensitive joints and responsiveness to keep your spine aligned while you’re on your side. It’s constructed with a firm foundation layer that minimizes motion transfer, a memory foam layer for cushioning, and a cooling cover that helps prevent overheating.

This mattress features organic latex, cotton, and wool for anyone who prefers an eco-friendly natural option. Choose between medium and medium-firm for your best side-sleeper experience. The responsive latex delivers cushioning for your joints while supporting your spine where you need it most.

If you’re partial to innerspring mattresses but want the cushioning of a foam option, the GhostBed might be for you. This mattress features a base layer of innerspring coils that are individually wrapped to avoid motion transfer. Then a generous memory foam layer delivers pressure relief and contouring where side sleepers need it most, thanks to zoned support in the middle third of the bed.

Now that you’ve picked out some potential mattress options to support your side-sleeping habits, you might be wondering how you can try them out.

Many mattress companies offer a trial period, where you can try the bed in your home for a specific number of days, even up to a year in some cases, while still being able to return it, either at no charge or for a processing fee. Check all the fine print before ordering a new bed for an at-home trial.

Testing your mattress:

• Check alignment: You can do this in store or with an at-home trial. Have a friend or partner snap a photo of you in your typical sleeping position to see how your spine aligns.
• Take notes: If you’re shopping in stores, make notes on the pros and cons of any mattresses you’re considering, and then compare to select the one that stands out as the frontrunner.
• Do an at-home trial: if you’re doing an at-home trial, try your mattress for at least two weeks or longer before making a final determination. First impressions aren’t always the right ones, so give yourself a little time to get acquainted.
• Keep a symptom log: During an at-home trial, note any symptoms of stiff or aching joints, back pain, and more upon waking.

As noted above, you might be able to purchase some mattresses and other sleep-related products with your HSA or FSA dollars. Mattresses and sleep products might be eligible expenses for these health benefit accounts if you’re using the product to address a specific medical condition. Such conditions could include, if approved by an independent licensed clinician: chronic back or joint pain such as arthritis, sciatica, or herniated discs, or sleep disorders such as obstructive apnea or insomnia.

You might need a letter of medical necessity (LMN). An LMN is a formal document from a licensed healthcare provider that explains why a certain product, treatment, or service is necessary to treat, mitigate, or prevent a medical condition.

Certain health products and services may be eligible for qualified customers with an LMN issued by an independent practitioner via Truemed’s clinical partner, when the item is used to address a specific medical condition.

Such purchases might include, in some cases, mattresses and adjustable bed frames, or sleep-related items, such as mouth tape to encourage breathing through your nose or a weighted blanket.

Truemed specializes in helping you maximize your FSA, HSA, and other health-related benefits:

• First, you can check whether a product or service is normally considered a qualifying medical expense or whether you might need an LMN.
• If an LMN is appropriate, an independent licensed practitioner (via Truemed’s clinical partner) will review your medical history, and if you qualify, they’ll issue the LMN. Truemed itself does not make eligibility determinations.
• You can then pay for qualifying products and services with your HSA’s or FSA’s debit card or get reimbursed for expenses after submitting your LMN and receipts.
• Truemed also offers support in the event you get a denial of reimbursement and need to provide substantiation documentation.

*Truemed is for qualified customers. HSA/FSA tax savings vary. Learn more at truemed.com/disclosures