Picking the perfect mattress can be a confusing experience for many people. It’s all too common to start browsing around online without the faintest idea what all the technical terminology means.
It’s quite unusual for something that is used so regularly (8 hours every day) to be so unfamiliar to us, especially when it’s so important to pick the right product.
Today we are going to do our best to help immerse you in the wonderful world of mattresses. This is going to be a long read, but by the end of the article, you’re going to have earned yourself years of good sleep.
Let’s get started.
Matching Your Sleep Style With A Good Mattress
Back sleepers are a rare breed as only around 8% of people sleep on their backs. This is a shame because it’s widely regarded as being the healthiest way to sleep. Sleeping on your back keeps your spine and neck in alignment which reduces stress on your joints. This means that back sleepers have lower reports of back and neck pain (and generally get a better night’s sleep).
Different sleeping positions require different mattresses. Back sleepers need different amounts of support in different areas compared to side sleepers or stomach sleepers. Because of this, the most important thing that determines the best kind of mattress for you is your sleeping position.
You can’t change how you like to sleep, but you can change your mattress…
What To Look For In A Good Back Sleeper Mattress
Back sleepers have some reasonably specific requirements that separate them from both stomach sleepers and side sleepers. It all comes down to firmness and support (which are different things).
Firmness – Back sleepers should generally go for a firmer mattress instead of a softer one. Medium mattresses are acceptable if that’s your preference, but don’t go any softer than that.
If your mattress is too soft it will apply too much pressure in certain points while sleeping on your back. Throughout the night this will put your spine and neck out of alignment. By doing this you negate all the health benefits associated with back sleeping, and it can often mean you wake up feeling sore.
Support – Support is always a good thing to have in a mattress, there’s no sleeping position that doesn’t need at least some kind of support for a good night’s sleep. However, for back sleepers, support is highly important. It’s for the same reasons we recommended a firm mattress above. Without support, you’re going to be twisting and turning more during the night, which will again put your neck and spine out of alignment.
Recap: Back sleepers should get a medium to firm mattress that provides as much support as possible to keep your neck and spine aligned.
Overall Best Back Sleeper Mattress
Tuft and Needle TN23Q Buy It
Out of all the mattresses that made it through our stringent review process, the Tuft and Needle TN23Q was the best. While it’s not got the prettiest name in the world, it’s hands down the best back sleeper mattress on the market right now.
Tuft and Needle pride themselves on making products that would be right at home in a high-quality 5-star hotel. The TN23Q is firm mattress, but it’s not too firm. So if you usually prefer a medium firmness we feel you’ll be more than happy sleeping on this. The firm nature of the mattress also means it’s incredibly supportive which ticks all the “minimum requirements” for back sleeping.
However, we’re going to list several other mattresses below that meet the “minimum requirements”. This is our overall best pick because it goes above and beyond our expectations. Let’s take a look at some of the things we like most about it:
Adaptive Foam – Tuft and Needle are one of the few brands that have invested in research and development to improve upon the already impressive capabilities of memory foam. The TN23Q contains what is known as “Adaptive Foam” which contains the collective strengths of many different materials, without their individual weaknesses.
For example, memory foam is well known for being extremely comfortable and supportive. It’s a space-age material that revolutionized the way we think about sleep. However, it’s also a very good insulator (which isn’t a good property to have in a mattress).
Latex foam, on the other hand, has better thermal efficiency and allows you to stay cool throughout the night. But it’s also one of the least supportive materials and you’ll regularly sink into it regardless of your sleeping position.
The T&N adaptive foam takes the supportive qualities of memory foam and combines them with the thermal efficiency of latex (and a few other materials) to provide what we like to call the “Goldilocks zone” for back sleepers. It’s a firm, supportive, and comfortable material that’s going to keep you cool all night long.
Layered System- Like all premium mattresses, the Tuft and Needle TN23Q uses a layered design pattern to provide the comfort, support, and cooling capabilities we have just mentioned.
Below the top layer of adaptive foam (that’s designed for comfort), there’s a thick layer of polyurethane foam on the bottom. This thicker layer produces the support aspect of the mattress. When combined the layers create a firm, supportive, and comfortable sleeping experience that is perfect for back sleepers.
Risk-Free Guarantee – Guarantees are often overlooked in mattress reviews for one reason or another. However, we feel that they are an almost essential component of any product we feel comfortable recommending. Buying a mattress online means that you’re not going to be able to actually feel what it’s like until it arrives at your doorstep. Reviewers like us do our best to describe them to you – but until you test it out, you never know.
Tuft and Needle (being the respectable company they are) offer one of the most comprehensive and generous guarantees we have ever come across in our time reviewing mattresses. They call it their “100-night guarantee”, and as you might have guessed from the name – it means you can return it for a full refund after the first 100 nights, no questions asked.
They confidently state that over 98% of people who purchase their mattress from Amazon end up keeping it, and many of them recommend it to their friends and family.
Considering the quality of this product – we believe them.
Made In The USA – We know that many of our readers love to buy American wherever possible. If you’re one of these people, then you’ll be happy to learn that the TN23Q (and all of Tuft and Needle’s products) are made right here in the USA.
This is great if you ever need to use the 10-year warranty that’s supplied. You don’t have to call up a random factory in China, you can simply get on the phone to a respectable US-based business and get the issue resolved immediately.
Anecdotally Loved – We don’t usually like to comment on the amount of external feedback we have come across when researching a product. But we felt that we simply couldn’t ignore it for this product. On Amazon right now the TN23Q has over 11,000 reviews. The vast majority of them are overwhelmingly positive. This is a mattress that is prized by the many people who have decided to purchase it, and many of them are anecdotally verifiable as back sleepers.
Simply put, a 4.5-star rating after 11,000 reviews is almost unheard of in the mattress world. This is more than enough proof to back up the claims we have just made about the quality of this product.
So if you won’t take our word for it, take theirs.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Adaptive foam
- Pro – Multi-layered
- Pro – Great guarantee
- Pro – USA company
- Pro –Great reviews
- Con – It’s a premium product with a premium price tag
Other Recommendations
Signature Sleep 12 Inch Memory Foam Buy It
This memory foam mattress from signature sleep is one of the firmest we have ever come across. But don’t be alarmed, even firm memory foam is still pleasant for those who like things on the medium side of things. Like all memory foam mattresses, it’s incredibly supportive which makes it a solid recommendation for back sleepers.
This is a dual layer mattress that contains 3.5 inches of memory foam which is attached to an 8.5-inch layer of high-density foam. This high-density foam does its best to remove heat generated throughout the night, it puts forward a valiant effort, but it’s not perfect.
If you are known to run hot while you sleep (or live in a hot area) you may be better with a different product that has better airflow.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Thick memory foam
- Pro – Reasonably priced
- Pro – Respected brand
- Pro – Firm and supportive
- Con – Not too great in hot climates
Lucid 10 Inch Gel Memory Foam Buy It
This is another dual layer mattress that combines a thick memory foam top layer with an even thicker high-density foam bottom later (similar to the Signature Sleep 12 above). This mattress is a little less firm than the Signature Sleep 12 and is about halfway on the scale between medium and firm. So if you’re a little worried about not feeling comfortable on a very firm mattress, then this could be the product for you.
It’s super supportive, but most importantly the memory foam is infused with cooling gel. This ensures you don’t get too hot during the night and mitigates the insulating properties that are inherent to memory foam (which is a great advantage over the Signature Sleep 12).
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Thick memory foam
- Pro – Cooling gel
- Pro – Warranty
- Pro – Medium-firm firmness
- Pro – Great value
- Con – Could be too hot for warm climates
Modway Aveline 10” Buy It
This open cell memory foam mattress has been specifically designed to give back sleepers the best night’s sleep possible. It’s a perfect combination of dense firm memory foam with a high-density foam bottom section. It’s highly supportive and is a product we seriously recommend you consider (it’s quite cheap too).
Open cell memory foam design is much better than traditional memory foam in regards to heat dissipation. It allows airflow throughout the mattress instead of keeping it in closed pockets (cells). When this open cell technology is combined with a cooling gel layer you get one of the coolest memory foam mattresses on the market.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Thick memory foam
- Pro – Great heat dissipation
- Pro – Well priced
- Pro – Respected brand
- Con – Could be a little firm for some people’s tastes
Sleep Innovations 12” Skylar Buy It
The Skylar from sleep innovations is the first tri-layer mattress we have discussed today. It provides unbeatable performance and comfort (but it’s a little more expensive too). This is a medium to firm mattress that has excellent supportive capabilities.
The Skylar contains a thick 2.5-inch cooling gel infused memory foam top layer, a 2.5-inch ventilation layer, and a 7-inch deep support high-density foam layer. This combination of cooling gel memory foam and a dedicated ventilation layer makes it another great choice for those who run hot while they sleep (or those who live in warm climates).
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Triple layer design
- Pro – Cooling gel infused memory foam
- Pro – Great in warm climates
- Pro – Medium firm comfort
- Con – Could be a little cheaper
Classic Brands Cool Gel Ultimate Buy It
With a name like “Cool Gel Ultimate”, you can probably already guess what this mattress likes to boast about. It uses a combination of cooling gel infused memory foam with a porous design pattern to allow airflow and heat dissipation in various different ways.
It’s a great mattress for back sleepers as it’s reasonably firm and very supportive. Despite being firm, it’s actually quite soft too (thanks to the thin top layer that has a medium plush feel to it). It’s got a very luxurious and delicate feel to it that we know many of our readers will appreciate.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Excellent cooling capabilities
- Pro – Very firm
- Pro – Very supportive
- Pro – Soft top layer
- Pro – Includes 2 free memory foam pillows
- Con – Could be cheaper
Live And Sleep Resort Ultra Buy It
We actually recommended a different version of this mattress in our side sleeper guide. We liked it so much we decided to add the back sleeper version here too. This is a great mattress from a great brand. This version is medium-firm with excellent levels of stability and was almost custom made for back sleepers.
What we like so much about this is the “resort” feel it brings to the bedroom. It’s ultra thick, and as such, it feels ultra luxurious. The memory foam is open and contains air flow passageways to keep you cool, and its made in the USA too.
It’s one of the more expensive options on our list, but it’s also one of the best.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Ultra thick
- Pro – Airflow memory foam
- Pro – Luxurious feel
- Pro – Made in the USA
- Con – Could be a little cheaper
The Zinus Responsive Memory Foam 10 Inch Buy It
Best Back Sleeper Mattress that is Cheaper but Maintains Quality
If you’re on a budget then many of the recommendations we have made above may be a little bit out of your price range. However, we have found one great mattress that is very reasonably priced that we highly recommend.
This product from Zinus may not have some of the bells and whistles of the other products above, but it provides a darn good nights sleep for back sleepers.
It’s quite a firm mattress (one of the firmest on the list) but don’t let that put you off, it’s very comfortable. It’s also highly supportive thanks to its thick bottom layer of high-density foam. The memory foam layer itself is the thinnest on this list (1 inch thick) but it’s still very comfortable.
The cooling technology in this mattress is limited (like all products in this price bracket) but unless you live in a hot area, it’s nothing to worry about.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Very affordable
- Pro – Memory Foam
- Pro – Firm and supportive
- Con – Thin memory foam layer
- Con – Not great at heat dissipation
Conclusion
So there you have it, 8 of the best mattresses on the market right now for back sleepers. Every single one of these products is a winner in our eyes, they beat off some stiff competition for a place on this list.
We highly doubt you’ll be disappointed with any of them. They are all excellent options for back sleepers thanks to their high levels of support and reasonably firm nature.
Sweet dreams!
