There are few items in your home that you use more than your mattress. You literally spend 8 hours a day (or more) lying on it. It’s often an object that we simultaneously take for granted but really enjoy using at the same time.
However, despite this being one of the most important and most used items in the home, the vast majority of people reading this will not know the first thing about mattress design and technology. Shopping around usually consists of relying on Amazon reviews (and blind luck). It’s a shot in the dark for most people, and with strict refund policies for hygiene reasons – it can often result in wasted (or misspent) money.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Taking the next 10 minutes of your life to read this article will literally improve the quality and comfort of every night’s sleep you have for the next 5 years (so grab a drink and get comfy).
Let’s get started.
Matching Your Sleep Style To Your Mattress
The most important factor that determines the kind of mattress you should buy isn’t personal preference – it’s your sleeping style. It’s all down to how the mattress supports your body.
The amount of pressure that is applied to a mattress by a side sleeper will be different to that of a back sleeper. Some sleeping positions spread the load more evenly, others create smaller high-pressure points. This has a dramatic effect on how the mattress will shape, support, and react to movements throughout the night.
If you just grab the first mattress you see with a few good reviews, then you’re cheating yourself out of the best nights sleep possible.
Luckily for us side sleepers, we adopt the most common sleeping position in the world. Side sleepers make up well over 50% of the world’s population (with back sleepers and stomach sleepers making up the rest). This means that there are a huge number of potential mattresses on the market that are perfectly suited to our sleeping style.
What To Look For In A Good Side Sleeper Mattress
So that’s why it’s important to pick a mattress that is suited to your sleeping style, but what exactly should side sleepers look for in the perfect mattress?
Support – Ideally, you should try and find a mattress that is as supportive as possible. It’s important to remember that support and firmness are not the same thing (there are many soft yet supportive mattresses).
Side sleepers need a little more support than people who sleep in other positions. This is because we are much more likely to twist and turn throughout the night. Without the proper support, we can often end up in a position that’s less than optimal (which results in a stiff neck in the morning).
Firmness – While firmness and support are not the same thing, they are certainly related concepts. Side sleepers should try and find mattresses that are either slightly soft or medium firmness. This is because we need to allow the mattress to contour to our body slightly to provide the support requirements we mentioned above.
However, you should also do your best to avoid super soft mattresses wherever possible. If you get something that is too soft you’ll find yourself losing support and rolling around during the night. Which again can cause joint pain issues.
Recap: Side sleepers should look for a mattress that is highly supportive that is either soft or medium firmness (but not too soft).
Overall Best Side Sleeper Mattress
Snuggle-Pedic Mattress That Breathes Buy It
We have researched and reviewed hundreds of mattresses over the years (that are suited to all 3 sleeping positions). Below we are going to list 5 or so other recommendations, but in our opinion, the overall best mattress for side sleepers is undoubtedly the “Snuggle-Pedic Mattress That Breathes”.
It’s a medium soft mattress that is certainly on the softer side of what side sleepers should be looking for. In fact, if this product was any softer, it would be too soft for us to recommend.
But Snuggle-Pedic has managed to comfortably hit the perfect sweet spot of softness for side sleepers with this product. It’s also incredibly supportive which ensures you’re not going to roll around and toss and turn needlessly throughout the night.
Snuggle-Pedic might have a cute and cuddly sounding name, but these guys are kings of the mattress world. They regularly invest significant amounts of resources into developing and designing features that promise to give their customers the best night’s sleep possible. Here are some features we love:
- Airflow Transfer System – There are two main ways that mattresses traditionally attempt to dissipate body heat generated throughout the night (which keeps you cool). They either use tiny holes, or tiny airflow channels to circulate air. The slight movements of your body throughout the night creates different pockets of pressure in these holes or channels and pushes hot air out (and allows cool air in).
Snuggle-Pedic has done something quite revolutionary with this product (despite it being a seemingly simple idea). They have managed to combine the two ventilation methods into one (it has holes and channels which are interconnected). This results in the mattress having 100 times the breathability of a normal mattress and is one of the “coolest” products on the market. - Flex Support Technology – This is perhaps the main reason we recommended this mattress. Snuggle-Pedic has developed what is known as Flex Support Technology that allows them to provide incredible softness and pressure relief while retaining highly impressive levels of support. Other brands have their own versions of this tech, but they all fall short of the performance Snuggle-Pedic has managed to engineer.
- Two Layer System – The Flex Support Technology we have just mentioned is based upon the back of Snuggle-Pedic’s two-layer system. This essentially means that there are two main segments to the mattress. The firmer bottom provides excellent levels of spinal support, the top “Snuggle-Flex” memory foam layer provides the super soft comfort.
However, Snuggle-Pedic knows that mattress firmness is a highly subjective thing for many people – and they want their customers to get exactly what they want. To facilitate this Snuggle-Pedic offer a service that allows you to customise the top layer. If it’s too soft (or too hard) you can simply mail it back to them and they will send you a softer or harder version.
The best bit about this service is that Snuggle-Pedic will pay for all shipping and handling costs involved (which makes it much more accessible for people who don’t want the additional expense).
And More…
In addition to these two features, you’ve got all the other bells and whistles you’d expect from a brand of this quality. It’s a hypoallergenic product that is dust mite resistant (and is shipped rolled up in a vacuum sealed package). It’s made in the USA and comes with a comprehensive 4-month guarantee if you’re not satisfied.
And finally, it’s got a long 20-year warranty that allows you to sleep easy at night in the knowledge you’re not going to need another mattress for 2 decades.
Quite honestly no other mattress on this list comes close to the Snuggle-Pedic. There’s no getting around the fact that it’s not exactly cheap – it’s a premium product with a premium price tag. But we always recommend you invest as much as you can in your mattress (remember, you’re going to use it more than anything else in your home).
We advise you to take a look at the other recommendations we are going to make below, but this product should be at the very top of your shortlist.
It’s hands down the best mattress on the market for side sleepers right now.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Soft yet supportive
- Pro – Two layer system
- Pro – Customizable
- Pro – Exceptional breathability
- Pro – Long warranty
- Con – It could be a little cheaper if we were being picky.
Other Recommendations:
Brentwood Home Cypress Mattress Buy It
The Home Cypress Mattress from Brentwood is a great option if you didn’t like the sound of the Snuggle-Pedic above for some reason. It’s a highly supportive mattress that is more on the medium side than soft. It’s a little cheaper than the Snuggle-Pedic, so if you can’t quite stretch to our overall best recommendation – this could be an option for you.
It’s topped with 3.5 inches of gel memory foam that is exceptionally comfortable (yet doesn’t have the rolling and maneuverability issues that are all too common with the material). The natural wool covering on the top allows for natural heat dissipation combined with a 2-inch-thick airflow zone. If we are honest it’s not as good as the Snuggle-Pedic in terms of keeping you cool, but it’s more than what we would consider acceptable.
It has a long warranty, it’s hypoallergenic, and it’s more than worthy of your consideration.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Memory foam
- Pro – Soft and supportive
- Pro – Adequate heat dissipation
- Pro – Reasonably Priced
- Con – Heat dissipation could be better
Sleep Innovations Alden Buy It
The Alden from Sleep Innovations has a triple layer design that incorporates some pretty useful features. It’s a medium firm mattress and is again highly supportive (which makes it perfect for side sleepers).
The top layer of the “tri comfort design” is a generously thick 2.5 inches of memory foam that provides unparalleled comfort throughout the night. Underneath is a 2.5-inch thick airflow zone (similar to the Brentwood Home product above). It’s more than acceptable in terms of heat dissipation, but again there’s room for improvement. The final layer is a 9-inch-thick base foam pad that provides the support and stability required for a good night’s sleep.
The 20-year warranty is excellent, but considering the build quality of Sleep Innovations’ products – we doubt you’ll need it.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Available in multiple sizes
- Pro – Memory foam
- Pro – Very reasonably priced
- Pro – Luxurious Feel
- Con – Airflow could be better
Live And Sleep Resort Ultra Buy It
This is one of the firmest mattresses on our list, it’s at the top end of what we would consider suitable for a side sleeper. However, this is a great mattress that doesn’t quite cross the line of being “too firm”. It’s super supportive, and super comfortable if you like things firm.
The top layer of cooling memory foam works perfectly with the lower layers of gel infused material and the thick supportive base. The incredible thickness of the mattress has been intentionally designed to give your bed a 5-star hotel feel to it. It’s got a removable easy clean cover and uses no coils whatsoever.
- Pros And Cons
- Pro – Thick luxury hotel feel
- Pro – Firmest mattress on the list
- Pro – Supportive
- Pro – Memory foam
- Con – Not great if you like a softer mattress
Sleep Innovations Taylor Buy It
The second mattress from Sleep Innovations on our list is their Taylor product which has received rave reviews ever since it was first released. It’s the very definition of a sweet spot medium soft mattress. It’s firm enough to provide support but soft enough to send you to sleep the moment your head hits the pillow.
It’s a little thinner than the Alden we added to this list above which does remove a little bit of the luxurious feel we mentioned earlier. However, the thinner design means that it’s much better at dissipating heat. If you run hot when you sleep (or live in a warm area) then this could be a trade-off well worth making.
In addition to this, its got all the other bells and whistles you’d expect from a premium mattress like being hypoallergenic and has the same generous 20-year warranty as the Alden above.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Great for a cool night’s sleep
- Pro – Very comfortable
- Pro – Medium-soft “sweet spot”
- Pro – Long Warranty
- Con – Slightly less “luxurious” than the Alden
CR 10 Buy It
The CR 10 is one of the cheaper options on this list but still provides excellent performance, comfort, and stability in the budget price bracket. This memory foam topped mattress is super soft (almost too soft for side sleepers) but provides adequate support.
It uses a multi-layer design similar to some of the other products on this list. There’s a dedicated airflow zone that does its best to remove heat during the night. As you can imagine the effectiveness of this is reduced compared to some of the more expensive products we have mentioned today. But it does the job.
The CR 10 comes with what we feel is a very generous warranty of 10 years and is a great little product that is more than worthy of your consideration.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – Very reasonably priced
- Pro – Memory foam
- Pro – Multi-layer design
- Con – Less durable than premium products
- Con – Less comfortable than premium products
Olee Sleep 10 Inch Buy It
Best Side Sleeper Mattress that is Cheaper but Maintains Quality
The CR 10 we mentioned above is already what we would call a “budget mattress” that manages to retain quality. However, if you’re on a very tight budget, we managed to find a product that is even cheaper (but of a similar standard).
Olee sleep isn’t the most prestigious brand in the mattress world. But honestly, who cares?
Their 10-inch mattress is under $200 and provides you with the support and stability required for a great night’s sleep. It’s a medium firmness mattress that is topped with a reasonably thin layer of 1-inch memory foam. Despite being a budget product, there is an excellent 10 year warranty attached to it (which is something you don’t see down in this price bracket all too often).
It also takes a valiant effort at trying to provide excellent heat dissipation with a cooling gel layer located underneath the memory foam. It’s nowhere near as good as some of the premium products we have mentioned above, but quite honestly – it’s not bad at all (and is great for this price bracket).
To be blunt, it’s not the most luxurious product in the world, but it certainly gets the job done.
Pros And Cons
- Pro – The cheapest product on this list
- Pro – Brilliant performance for the price
- Pro – Memory foam
- Pro – Reasonable cooling capabilities
- Con – It’s a budget product
- Con – Reasonably unknown brand
Conclusion
So there you have it, probably the most comprehensive guide for side sleeper mattresses on the entire internet. We hope by now you understand a little more about why picking a mattress around your sleeping position is of paramount importance (and how you can choose the right one).
We do strongly recommend you consider the Snuggle-Pedic that was our overall top pick. It’s a great mattress that all the others products are noticeably inferior to (and it is priced very reasonably considering the quality too).
However, that being said any of the product on this list is more than worthy of your consideration. All of them are winners to have been mentioned here today. They were the result of whittling down an initial shortlist of over 50 possible mattresses!
We recommend all of them.
Sweet dreams!
