Back sleeping is considered to be the best sleeping position for your body and for your health. Only eight percent of people sleep in this position, making it not overly popular. Not many people know this, but sleeping on your back allows your neck, head, and spine to rest in its natural position. There isn’t any added pressure on those particular areas, meaning you aren’t likely to experience any added pain.
Unfortunately, if you’re sleeping on a crummy mattress that doesn’t support you in the ways that your back needs, it won’t matter what position you sleep in, you’re still going to be in pain. It’s important that you find the best mattress for back sleepers possible to get the most restful and pain free night of sleep.
Brand | Details | Our Rating |
---|---|---|
Amerisleep Americana |
| |
Hyphen |
| |
Layla |
| |
Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams Latex |
| |
Zenhaven |
|
It took me a long time to enjoy sleeping on my back since I’m personally a stomach sleeper. It also took me a while to find the right mattress to do it on. My old mattress was hard and lumpy, making it rather difficult to sleep on my back without tossing and turning uncontrollably and waking up stiff and feeling like I slept on a bed of rocks. Sure, finding a good mattress can help relieve some pain you may feel when trying to sleep on your back, but there’s more to it than just that.
Sleeping on your back reduces acid reflux. If your head is elevated, your stomach is then below the esophagus, which means acid and food can’t come back up. So if you’re a constant sufferer of acid reflux, making the switch to back sleeping will be your best bet to fight it, rather than eating a handful of Tums before bed each night.
If you don’t want to look like you’re 80 when you’re actually 30, thanks to those pesky wrinkles, then stop sleeping on your face and roll over. When you sleep on your stomach, or even on your side, you constantly have blankets and pillows stuffed into your face. If you’re sleeping on your back, there’s nothing pressed against your face, preventing the formation of wrinkles and fine lines. If you’re a woman, sleeping on your back will also prevent your breasts from sagging prematurely.
Making the switch to back sleeping makes it a lot easier for your head, neck, and spine to maintain its neutral position. This way, you aren’t forcing any extra curves in your back. When people sleep on their stomachs or on their sides in weird shapes, it forces their spines into positions that they don’t belong. This makes it difficult for some to get out of bed in the morning because they’re stiff or sore. Eliminating this issue is as simple as changing your sleeping position.
In order to alleviate the pain in your back after you’ve begun back sleeping, you must also get yourself a mattress that offers the proper support. If you have a mattress that’s too soft, it it’s going to support your spine properly. There are plenty of different types of beds on the market, so here’s what options you have.
Innerspring mattresses are one of the most popular types of mattresses out there. They support your entire body with coils and the ones that are built today are mostly individually wrapped for maximum support and comfort. On top of the springs, you can have a pillow top feel, latex, or memory foam. If you have back issues and are making the switch to back sleeping, you’re going to want a firm feel. Don’t go with the cheap innerspring beds that have no cushioning. These will end up sagging and just causing you more pain in the long run.
These types of beds have certainly grown in popularity over the past few years. They are composed of multiple layers of foam in different densities that respond to your individual weight and temperature. They contour to your specific shape, molding to it as your weight shifts throughout the night. These beds work to reduce pressure points and relieve pain, making them ideal for those with back problems.
Memory foam can be tricky when it comes to firmness. You don’t want something that is going to give you the quicksand effect because it’ll contort your back, causing you more pain. You may be able to get away with a medium-firm, depending on the manufacturer, but sometimes a firm mattress will do just fine. Definitely do not go with a plush if you plan to sleep on your back. The only downfall to memory foam is that they tend to trap heat, but it’s not something that a cooling mattress pad can’t fix.
Latex mattresses are very similar to memory foam except that they offer more support because they have better bounce back. If they are natural, they come from the sap of the rubber tree and will be hypoallergenic. Generally, latex is much more firm than memory foam, which is why they are naturally more supportive. These are best for relieving back pain and offer the best combination for comfort and support, but it doesn’t come without a hefty price tag if it’s not synthetic.
Nope, I’m not talking about the type of mattress that you would use on a camping trip with the family. I’m talking about a bed made of air chambers that look like an innerspring mattress. They are covered by a foam layer on the top and have been used in the past for those with spinal cord injuries. These types of beds can be adjusted so that they aren’t pressing on the same areas of the body repeatedly. This helps to avoid the skin breakdown of those who cannot move in bed. These types of beds are ideal for those who have individual preferences in comfort and firmness levels. If your partner is a stomach sleeper and you are a back sleeper, they can adjust their firmness for their sleeping position and you can make your side more firm for your sleeping position.
Mattresses that work with adjustable beds are great for those who sleep on their backs but snore or suffer from acid reflux. This gives you the opportunity to sleep on your back, but in an elevated position. Unfortunately, you can’t really use innerspring beds with these bases because the springs don’t handle being folded well. Memory form, latex, and air do the best in this case.
For optimal back support, you’ll want a mattress that makes you feel like you’re on the bed more than in it, which is the effect that the Amerisleep Americana has. This bed is part of the firm collection and provides stable cushioning that won’t sag, even after multiple years of use. The foam in this mattress has a lot more bounce than traditional mattresses, taking just four seconds to recover after you move rather than the 60 seconds it takes with others.
If you’re recovering from back pain, you surely won’t want to suffer from heat retention as well, correct? Luckily, with the Americana, you won’t have to. This bed has a special Celliant infused cover that combines 13 minerals into thermoreactive yarn that takes your body heat and turns it safely into infrared. The foam in the mattress, called Bio-Pur foam, is an open cell structure which allows more air to get in between the foam particles, wicking away moisture and keeping you cool and comfortable all night long.
Pros
Cons
I would recommend this mattress for those who want firm support for back pain.
The Hyphen is one of those mattresses that was specially formulated for all types of sleepers. It was tested and retested over and over again to ensure that it was the right fit for everybody, especially for those who go to sleep with aches and pains. It’s not an overly firm mattress, but you also aren’t going to sink in like you would with traditional memory foam.
One of my favorite features of this mattress is the fact that the cover is breathable, hypoallergenic, and anti-microbial. If you’re an allergy sufferer, you don’t have to worry about anything in the cover making them worse. The entire mattress itself has multiple layers of comfort that are hyper conductive, well ventilated, offer pressure relief, low motion transfer, adaptive temperature regulation, and support.
The very bottom layer of the Hyphen is a special orthopedic support layer for optimal pressure relief, ideal for those who suffer from back pain. With this mattress, you’re backed by a generous 20-year warranty and you have 100 nights to try it out to ensure it’s right for you.
Pros
Cons
I would recommend this mattress for those who want back support with a medium feel.
The Layla offers more than just back support, it also offers joint pain relief, cooling comfort, and better blood circulation. How, you ask? It’s infused with copper. Copper has been used since the time of the Ancient Egyptians for healing purposes as an alternative medicine. So, not only does it offer great support for your back, but it also has healthy properties for your body.Another unique feature that I really like is that it’s flippable. When I say this, I mean that if you don’t like the way the soft side feels, you can flip it over to the firm side for even more support for your back. If you started out on the firm side and it’s just not your cup of tea, flip it over to the softer side. Two firmnesses for the price of one!
One other thing that I would like to point out is the thermo-gel cover. When you compare memory foam mattresses, you’ll see that most of the cooling properties are inside of the foams. In the Layla, the cover is what’s infused with the cooling gel because it’s what’s closest to your body.
Pros
Cons
I would recommend this mattress to those who want multiple firmness options for multiple pain relief areas.
Latex is supposed to be one of the best types of mattresses for back pain because they are naturally firm. The Ultimate Dreams Latex mattress features a whopping 3” of Talalay Latex foam that contours each curve of your body for the best possible orthopedic support and pressure relief. The quilted bamboo cover is 100% biodegradable and featured 1.5 inches of ultra soft reflex foam.
The base of the mattress is 5.5 inches of a high density convoluted base foam that reduces those high-pressure areas and increases airflow for optimal breathability. Now, since this does feature this convoluted base foam, the entire mattress is not 100% latex, it’s a mix, but that does not mean it performs any differently.
The Dreamfoam Ultimate Dreams Latex mattress gives you gentle conforming support and reduces high-pressure areas in the body that may shut of capillary blood flow that can cause a person to toss and turn. This helps to alleviate pressure and oxygen & nutrients are brought back to your muscles, making you feel more awake and recharged each morning. This bed also brings you enhanced breathability, a luxurious resilient feel, moisture and heat resistance, and superior pressure relief, quite possibly one of the best sleeping environments for a sore back.
Pros
Cons
I would recommend this mattress to those looking for a naturally firm surface to ease back pain while on budget.
The Zenhaven mattress is a completely natural Talalay latex mattress with an all organic cotton cover. It’s also another reversible bed that switches from luxury plush to gentile firm. Once you find yourself getting tired of sleeping on one side, simply flip it over to the other for a completely different feel. Both sides are luxuriously supportive and give people a sense of being lifted rather than sinking.
This unique mattress features a 5-zone comfort layer made from Talalay latex. This 5-zone design gives you a firm support where you need it for the ultimate spinal alignment experience. Covering this bed is an organic wool layer made from 100% New Zealand wool, adding moisture-wicking properties and breathability.
The one thing that I really appreciate about this mattress is that is offers a wide range of health benefits that you really can’t find in any other bed. It’s resistant to microbes, mold, and dust mites. It doesn’t contain any kind of VOC’s or other harmful substances that are usually found in chemical-based foams inside of other mattresses. It has a very unique resilient feel to it that perfectly conforms to your body for total comfort, support, and an extremely restorative night of sleep.
Pros
Cons
I would recommend this bed for those looking for more than one firmness but aren't on a budget.
Suffering from back pain is never something you want to deal with while you’re trying to sleep. I’ve been there, and I can’t stand the tossing and turning that it creates. It took me a while to find the right mattress and once I did, I never felt better, which is why I highly recommend the Layla. I like this mattress because it’s dual sided, it has the copper healing properties, it’s not overly expensive, and it breathes well. Sure, it lacks edge support, but if you use it with a platform bed or aren’t overly concerned with the edge support, it’ll be well worth it.
Solaire Mattress Review
Sapira Mattress Review
Bear Mattress Review
REM-Fit Mattress Reviews
Winkbed Mattress Review
Brooklyn Bedding Mattress Review
Layla Mattress VS Bear Mattress: Which One is the Best for You?
Best Box Spring for Tuft & Needle