For some of us who are struggling with arthritis and back pain, choosing a mattress that gives you a good night rest is very important. The choice you make is an inflection point which could either help alleviate the pain or even do worse. It is a very challenging prospect, and one that you need to be extra cautious about. Without the right mattress, sleep quality can be significantly diminished due to the body sensitivity, poor spinal alignment and chronic joint pain that arthritis torture you with.
The mattress you choose should naturally conform to your body curves, helping you to relieve the pain and let you get a restful night like everybody else. The good news is that there are some mattresses which have been made to counter these problems — Finding the right could however take time, and of course expertise.
This is why we have been spending time (over 7 months now), doing rigorous tests and engaging people with arthritis to help us out find the best mattress for people with arthritis. Having worked with health experts, we are most certain that we have handpicked the best mattresses that will help pamper you to sleep sound. Hopefully our guide helps you to make an informed decision on finding the right mattress to help with your arthritis.
Please note:
In our research, we have consulted with some health experts and physiotherapists and tested a dozen mattresses and we believe we’ve got it spot-on.
What This Review Covers
If you suffer from arthritis you must have already learned that you need good support and comfort (Whether seated or sleeping). Be it Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis (OA) or any other type, it’s imperative that you find a mattress that enables you to sleep comfortably.
Here are some of the things that a good mattress for arthritis should offer.
A mattress that is ideal for arthritis sufferers should be able to gently contour the shoulders and hips as well as provide additional support to the waist, knees, and legs. The spinal cord should be straight and not bowed in. You shouldn’t however confuse firmness for support — they are different. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the firmer the mattress, the better the support it gives. A good mattress shouldn’t be stiff but should allow you to sink in and cuddle your body, giving you a good night comfort.
Due to the discomfort arthritis sufferers have to deal with, they are prone to shifting positions during sleep, more so than other people. The ideal mattress should be medium firm so that if offers the much needed comfort for any sleeping position during the night. Mattresses that are too soft will make it more difficult to change position. Staying in one position for too long, aka sleep stasis, will likely cause even more complications. Even an extra soft mattress that is marketed as a supportive one can still make it difficult and uncomfortable when changing positions.
Although we have spoken previously about how having a soft mattress is inherently a bad idea, the ideal mattress for people who suffer from arthritis should be of a medium firm feel. A little soft enough to cradle your joints. This will reduce the amount of contact pressure on your joints, thus making it more comfortable. A rigid mattress does not give adequate support to your body. A rigid mattress will mean that the pressure points in your body are unsupported which in turn will make the areas affected by arthritis even worse and sore.
The ideal mattress for an individual will vary depending on their body weight, body shape and sleeping style. In our research, we have done what it takes to pick the best mattress that will suit many different types of people who suffer from arthritis.
Without pulling punches, here are some of the best mattresses that people with arthritis should go for.
The mattress industry craze has led most of us to believe that a mattress with a lower price tag is pure junk. While that is the case with many mattresses which aims to lure people into buying them, the case is totally different with Zinus mattress. It is the best affordable mattress (that’s below $300) and practically proves that you don’t have to break the bank to get a pain relieving mattress.
And when it comes to back pain, it seems that no other mattress will come close— not even those in the $750 range. And if you think we are guffing around, wait till you see the number of positive reviews from verified buyers from Amazon. Besides the reviews, we have tested this mattress first hand and frankly speaking, it is a mattress that anybody with back pain and chronic pains such as arthritis will appreciate.
What makes it so special? Let’s find out what makes it stand out making it the best arthritis mattress.
First off, and as you might have guessed from the name, Zinus green tea mattress is made from memory foam and green tea extracts and castor seed oil extracts have been added to improve sleep experience especially in eliminating odor and bacteria. It was constructed with one thing in mind and that is pressure relief, something that many mattresses have failed at. It is able to conform perfectly and cuddle to your body curves while giving you the much needed support, thanks to its ideal firmness.
Motion transfer is also something else that you should be keen to look for in a mattress and Zinus has this well taken care of. You won’t experience any tossing and turning or night sweats like you would with many memory foam products.
Oh and it comes with a 10 year warranty- Just like any other $1,000 mattress.
Frankly speaking, Zinus mattress has gone above and beyond to offer something that not many mattresses are able to offer (mostly when it comes to pressure and pain relief.) We highly recommend to anyone who is suffering from chronic back pain and arthritis.
User Satisfaction |
93% | One of the best mattresses that enjoys high score in user satisfaction. |
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Comfort & Support |
B | Conforms perfectly to the body curves. The support is also excellent but might not appeal to people who are over 200lbs. |
Initial Odor | A | No odor noted with this Zinus, thanks to the natural green tea extracts that brings a pleasant scent. |
Material Toxicity | A | Mattress is Centi-Pur Certified. No harmfull chemicals or toxic materialsused in its design. |
Pressure & Pain Relief |
B+ | Well constructed and offers just the right support and |
Motion Isolation |
B+ | Very minimal motion transfer noted. |
Sleeping Cool | B+ | Heat is well dissipated giving a coll night. No sweating or heat buildup. |
Back Sleepers | B | Good. |
Side Sleepers | B+ | Perfect and Supportive. |
Stomach Sleepers | B+ | Perfect and Supportive. |
Expected Durability | B | 6-10 years. This is our own expected durability based on many factors such as weight of sleeper, maintenance and usage. |
Pricing | A | Perfectly priced and overall good value for money. |
Warranty & Trial |
B | 10 Years limited warranty & 30 days trial. |
Our Overall Ratings |
Zinus green tea is a mattress that we can’t hesitate vouching. It’s highly supportive, universally comfortable and perfectly priced. Good for chronic pain sufferers. |
The Amerisleep Revere is our second best overall mattress for arthritis sufferers. It provides great support, isn’t too soft, neither is it too firm. although this mattress might come with a little hefty price tag, it has proven to be worth every penny spent. We have recommended this to people online as well as friends and we have received lots of positive feedback from the recommendation. Besides this, you have a trial period to test the mattress and if it doesn’t satisfy you needs, you can return it and get your money back.
This mattress is 12 inches thick and is built from two different layers of foam. The top layer of this mattress is specially designed using proprietary foam which is aimed at providing quality pressure relief as well as cooling. This advanced memory foam has been designed to pull heat away from the body as you sleep, keeping you cool all night– so you don’t have to go through another sweaty nightmare. The bottom layer which is a bit thicker and more denser provides extensive support and forms a stable base for the whole mattress.
The firmness of this mattress is approximately 7 out of 10. It’s medium-firm enough to help take care of pressure points, and supportive enough to make sure that you don’t get sucked in by the foam. We feel that this is a mattress that has struck perfect balance between support, stability and pressure relief. The minor sinking feeling when lying on this mattress is not abrupt, and the response if just fine, allowing you to position yourself comfortably before the mattress starts to contour your body.
Amerisleep mattresses have been in the industry for a while and their sleep products quality speaks for itself. With the added benefit of pressure relief and contouring support, Amerisleep Revere is a mattress that someone with arthritis and back pain will easily fall in love with. We highly recommend it.
Here is a table detailing Amerisleep in more detail:
User Satisfaction |
82% | Most users would recommends it and having tested it first hand, we also highly recommend it for chronic pain and arthritis sufferers. |
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Comfort & Support |
B | Apart from a few side sleepers, mostly light weight who have reported the mattress being too firm, Revere is close to perfect. |
Initial Odor | B | Slight order noted but nothing crazy. Completely dissipates within 24-48 hours |
Material Toxicity | A | No toxic compounds. Low VOCs, PBDEs, CFCs, phthalates, heavy metals, and formaldehyde |
Pressure & Pain Relief |
B+ | Excellent in relieving pressure and is an above-average in relieving pain. Based on views of over 480 arthritis & back pain sufferers. |
Motion Isolation | B+ | Exceptional |
Sleeping Cool | B+ | Excellent in sleeping cool. Sleeps cooler than Tempur-Pedic and Serta icomfort |
Back Sleepers | B+ | Back sleepers love the support in Revere. Excellent |
Side Sleepers | C+ | Good, but not the best for light weight side sleepers. Some side sleepers have reported feeling the mattress being too firm. |
Stomach Sleepers | B+ | Stomach sleepers have also recorded superb experience with this mattress. |
Expected Durability |
15 + Years |
Considered normal in longevity and in comfort consistency over the years. |
Pricing | C+ | Not the cheapest mattress but within range. |
Warranty & Trial |
A | Comes with 20 years warranty and 30 days no obligation trial through Amazon. |
Our Overall Ratings |
B+ | A very supportive mattress that’s perfect for chronic back pain and Arthritis. Recommended. |
The Sleep Innovations Shiloh markets itself as a pressure point relief mattress that comes with personalized alignment, perfect for almost every person with varied sleeping styles. The thick and lightweight materials that are used in the construction of this mattress will prevent you from sinking, but also still contour your body gradually, to give you the much-needed support and pressure relief.
Signature Sleep has been producing medium tier high-performance mattresses for many years now, so their brand that can be trusted.
The Memoir 12 Inch is yet another memory foam mattress that arthritis sufferers should consider. This mattress has a soft and breathable knit fabric cover. Not only will this mattress feel good against your skin, but it will provide excellent circulation to reduce the chances of you feeling overheated.
The Simmons Beautyrest Recharge is composed of many individual springs which will adjust themselves independently in response to your body movement. Because of this, the mattress can contour the shape of your body, so that you can receive optimal comfort and support as you sleep. The efficient contouring that this mattress provides can give you increased pressure relief, as the pressure points located on your body will not be additionally aggravated, as well as your arthritis hotspots.
Also, the pocketed coil technology allows for motion separation. If your partner’s sleep is getting disrupted, due to your movement in the night, then this mattress will prevent any motion transfer from your side of the bad to the other. The same goes for you being woken up by your partner.
This mattress has 3 inches of memory foam along the top with 7 inches of flexible polyurethane underneath. This mattress is anti-allergenic and will repel dust mites. The Therapeutic Deluxe also has its own airflow system which allows the mattress to keep cool, while you are sleeping on it.The benefit of using this style of mattress is that it provides additional levels of comfort, over a spring based one. The memory foam allows it to contour your body shape to give you the support you need to enable you to have a good night’s sleep.
Although when first touching the mattress it may seem too soft, when you actually lay down on it, it supports the body perfectly. Some user testimonials have stated that during the first week of use, the mattress was in fact incredibly hard. For those that actually do prefer an extra firm mattress, then this isn’t really a problem at all. However, if you aren’t too keen on a very firm mattress, then the first week may be a little uncomfortable. After the break-in period, the mattress reverts to its intended state, of being medium to firm.
You will receive two memory foam pillows for free if you purchase this mattress. This shouldn’t be an incentive, but it’s a nice added bonus.
This mattress may appeal to those that are constantly thinking about the environment, especially with how many chemicals and waste products it takes to create a mattress. This mattress is marketed as eco-friendly and is naturally anti-allergenic as well as dust mite resistant.This, like all of the mattresses we are recommending for arthritis, is of a medium firmness.
It is yet another mattress that supports localized movement, by which you can easily get on and off the bed without your movements waking your partner up, and vice versa. The hybrid foam, in conjunction with the memory foam and latex, produces a surface that will evenly distribute your bodyweight. This will help you sleep peacefully and help relieve the annoying pain of arthritis and backaches, by relieving the pressure on your joints.
Unlike contemporary mattresses, this one will help to dissipate the heat from your body, allowing you to have a more peaceful and cooler sleep. As this mattress is specifically designed for therapeutic treatment, you can be sure that it will definitely help with any applicable medical conditions, that can be helped by sleeping on something of this quality.The trial period for this mattress is only 30 days, whereas a lot of other companies can offer up to 120 days. However, that should not be the deciding factor, as a whole month is a substantial amount of time to test the mattress.
This mattress is of fantastic quality and will guarantee you a comfortable night’s sleep. This mattress has a depth of 13 inches, which is a lot deeper than most mattresses. The foam base is split into two different layers.. On top of it all is 3 inches of gel memory foam. It also has a knitted cover to protect the sections of foam.This mattress is free from chemicals that can pollute the room air when first taken out of its initial packaging.
The gel foam in this mattress will allow your body to sink just enough to improve comfort, but still be supported well by the firmness of the foam underneath. Because of this, it will help reduce the aches and pains that you will likely be experiencing if you’re searching for this style of mattress. Helping to relieve the body’s pressure points is one of the key features that this mattress was designed for.
Like most mattresses of this style, it will not retain body warmth, allowing you to have a much more cooler and enjoyable sleep. This mattress is also completely made and assembled in the USA.
The Brentwood Home Bamboo Mattress has been specifically designed to help relieve neck, spinal, shoulder and back pain, whether this is caused by arthritis or not. This mattress is another 13-inch product, which has been assembled with several layers.The top layer is a three-inch gel infused memory foam layer, which will help spread your bodyweight across the bed as well as help to relieve pressure points on the body. Underneath that is an additional 1-inch foam layer. Under the foam layers is a 2 inch ventilated airflow layer, which will help dissipate the heat from your body, allowing you to get a better night’s sleep. All of these layers sit on top of a therapeutic 7-inch high-density support base, to help give as much comfort and support as possible.
The upper foam layer has millions of cooling gel particles which, on top of the airflow layer, help to keep you as cool as possible. Being overheated during your sleep is one of the most frequent reasons as to why people wake up, so if you’re struggling to sleep due to your arthritis already, the last thing you want is to be woken up due to being overheated.
This mattress is not as deep as some of the others that we have reviewed here, as it is only 10 inches deep. However, that doesn’t take away the fact that it is a very popular mattress for those that suffer from back pain and arthritis. The top layer is a removable cotton cover which sits on top of a 2 1/2 inch memory foam comfort layer. Underneath the memory foam is a 7 1/2 inch high-density foam base to provide adequate support, that you will certainly need.
The latex in this mattress naturally counters any dust mites or allergens that may be present. It also has the standard heat dissipation technology that we know and love from other mattress brands. The latex will mold itself from your body heat and will help to reduce soreness and body stress.
Some users have reported that sleeping on this mattress gives you a feeling that is described as floating in midair. Although it is spongy to the touch, this mattress is still a medium to firm mattress when laying down on on it.
This mattress is also covered by a 25-year warranty, that will protect your purchase against manufacturer defects.
There are different types of arthritis, and they both affect the body in different ways. Joint, hip, back and neck pain can make it very uncomfortable when you’re trying to sleep, as well as stopping you from finding an adequately comfy sleeping position. This means that you’re more likely to wake up during the night and you will feel like you’re not rested when you do wake up.
It’s important to remember that there is no such thing as the best mattress for every situation and person, because everybody’s tastes, preferences, and pain levels are different. Therefore, finding the perfect mattress for you is a very individual thing, so while we definitely recommend the Amerisleep Revere as the overall best mattress for most sufferers, it doesn’t mean that it will suit your needs.
When looking through all of the mattresses above, here are some of the points you should be considering:
It’s imperative that the mattress you choose provides you with all of the adequate support that you need for your spine, neck and shoulders, hips, and legs. Every single part of your body is important and needs support, not just the areas that are affected with arthritis
For most, the idea of having a firm mattress would be that it is as stiff and rigid as possible, with the least amount of give. While there’s no denying that some people do prefer a very firm mattress, for someone who is suffering from arthritis, a good mixture of support and softness will be required. Being too soft and too hard can make your condition worse.
While we have already explained that being either too hard or too soft is a bad thing, the perfect amount of support will allow you to be able to move around in your sleep with ease. If your mattress is too soft, you’ll end up sinking into it too much, which means it’s unlikely that you’ll move around in your sleep enough to eliminate any unnecessary stiffness that is caused by staying in one position for too long.
We have listed a couple above, but it is good to consider orthopedic mattresses. These mattresses are specifically designed to provide optimum support, for those that suffer from chronic pain.
After finally finding a comfortable position, a shift in your partner’s weight might be enough to wake you up and make you aware of your pain again. If you’re finding this a problem, be sure to pick a mattress that has been designed to isolate weight distribution. This means not only will your partner not wake you up, but you will also not wake your partner up as well.