Being comfortable as you sleep is the biggest reason to buy a new mattress. So it is very important that the mattress be compatible with your sleep position. Contrary to popular belief (and almost counter-intuitively), back sleepers are a rare breed; a survey found only about 10% are restful back sleepers. The number is lower than side sleepers, who form the majority at 74%. Thankfully, even though the minority, the mattress market caters very well to back sleepers, and it’s relatively easy to find the best mattress for back sleepers. Here are our top picks.
What Is The Best Mattress Firmness For Back Sleepers?
Mattress firmness is going to be a big part of your decision-making process. Unless you are confident of a mattress firmness that works best for you, a medium or medium-firm mattress is your best bet.
Generally speaking, medium-firm mattress firmness works best for most sleepers within the average weight range (120-250 pounds). If you are on the lighter side, give a plush mattress a shot. If you are on the heavy side you should consider the best firm mattress for your needs. In fact, medium-firm mattresses can also be the best mattress for back sleepers with back pain.
What Are The Considerations For The Best Mattress For Back Sleepers?
Here are a few things to look for in a mattress if you prefer to sleep on your back:
Which Mattress Type Is Best For Back Sleepers?
To put it bluntly, foam. Memory foam and latex foam can both be amazingly useful mattress materials for back sleepers. Heck, even polyfoam will be fairly useful. Memory foam and latex provide contouring that most back sleepers need, which aids with pressure relief and better spinal alignment.
Hybrid mattresses with thick foam comfort layers can work too, and they have the added benefit of providing the bounce that is usually missing from regular foam mattresses. Innersprings often lack robust and thick comfort layers, and may not be the best choice for back sleepers. In fact, cheaper innerspring mattresses can protrude and poke at the spine in the name of lumbar support and make matters worse.
Does The Mattress Use High-End Components?
Keeping the spine aligned while asleep is a major issue for back sleepers. Ideally, you want a thick and robust comfort layer that can hold your weight without causing excessive sinkage (some sinkage is okay). Mattresses for back sleepers must have high-end components in the comfort layer to handle this weight and provide good support and pressure relief.
Avoid companies that cut corners and give more attention to those who clearly mention their product quality and components. For example, foam density and ILD should be easily available for the mattresses. If a company is unclear on these details, it might indicate their attempts to hide or brush off lower quality materials.
Are There Any Benefits Or Risks For Back Sleepers?
Here’s a quick list of pros and cons that back sleepers face:
| Pros For Back Sleepers | Cons For Back Sleepers |
| Lower chance of facial wrinkles because there is no direct pressure | Sleeping with a pillow can cause the neck to move from its preferred natural position |
| Better spinal alignment – the best mattress for back sleepers helps facilitate this | Sleeping on the back can exacerbate problems for those struggling with sleep apnea or those prone to snoring |
| No pressure on internal organs, and they can be in a more relaxed state | People suffering from GERD are more susceptible to acid reflux when sleeping on their back |
5 Best Mattresses For Back Sleepers
1. Ghostbed Original
The Ghostbed Original, or the GhostBed Cooling Gel Memory Foam mattress is a good choice as the best mattress for back sleepers. Ghostbed mattress combines high-quality latex foam and memory foam to create a mattress that offers good value for money. Plus, the layers are arranged cleverly enough to avoid sleep-hot issues for most sleepers.
Ghostbed has three layers of foam, with the top 1.5-inch made from continuous aerated latex, followed by 2-inches of cooling gel memory foam. The last layer is the support layer made from 7.5-inch extra high-density support foam. Overall, the mattress is rated medium firm, and given its height and firmness, the Ghostbed can be the best mattress for side and back sleepers. This might be especially useful for couples with different sleep preferences.
| Free Trial | 100 Nights |
| Warranty | 20 years |
| Pros | Cons |
| Sleeps temperature neutral | Some customers say the mattress is firmer than advertised |
| Thick and robust comfort layer for excellent pressure relief | No edge support |
| Good motion isolation | Fairly large break-in period ~ 30 days |
2. Nectar Mattress
Nectar promises “optimal” firmness, coolness, breathability, and comfort. While expecting all of those qualities may be a bit of a reach, the Nectar Mattress is pretty good at its job, especially as a mattress for back sleepers. The 11-inch high mattress has its high-density support layer topped with layers of adaptive memory foam and gel memory foam.
Wrapping up the mattress is a quilted cover made from Tencel fabric. Long fibers of the cover work together with the gel-infused memory foam to whisk away heat and keep the mattress temperature neutral. Nectar mattress has a medium-firm feel and working with the two layers of memory foam, it also creates a thick and supportive comfort layer that works great for back sleepers.
| Free Trial | 180 Nights |
| Warranty | “Forever” Warranty |
| Pros | Cons |
| Good value for money | Some off-gassing concerns |
| Good motion isolation | Poor edge support |
| Excellent pressure relief for back sleepers | “Forever” warranty is a bit of an abstract term |
3. Tuft & Needle Mattress
Tuft & Needle is a simple, straightforward mattress without and bells and whistles. They promise a mattress with high-quality foam, and that’s exactly what they deliver. Tuft & Needle mattress offers great value for money and as such can be a more viable choice for a wider range of consumers.
The company uses its own variant of foam, called adaptive foam, which it claims performs better than memory foam and latex foam. While that claim is up for debate, it can certainly be said that the Tuft & Needle mattress is a good choice. The mattress is rated medium and offers plenty of support for back sleepers. They go on to claim that the mattress is well-suited for most sleep styles, and as a basic mattress, it just might work. However, there is no real mattress solution that works for all preferences, so a little caution could be useful.
| Free Trial | 100 Nights |
| Warranty | 10 Years |
| Pros | Cons |
| Great value for money | Lack of edge support |
| Excellent pressure relief | Some off-gassing problems |
| Good mattress for back sleepers |
4. Leesa Sapira Mattress
Leesa Sapira is a hybrid mattress that combines the goodness of foam with the bounce of innerspring mattress. Placed at the edge of the premium mattress space, the Leesa Sapira mattress makes use of the company’s Avena foam memory foam technology and matches it up with conventional memory foam followed by a layer of pocket springs.
Avena foam is marketed as a solution to the sleep-hot problems of conventional memory foam, while providing great pressure relief and support. To increase the depth of the comfort layer, the mattress follows 1.5-inches of Avena foam with 1.5-inches of body contouring memory foam, followed by the support layer of pocket springs. Leesa Sapira mattress is made more comfortable by adding layers of foam around the pocket springs to make them more comfortable. This foam is also used to reinforce the edges, providing the mattress with excellent edge support.
| Free Trial | 100 Nights |
| Warranty | 10 Years |
| Pros | Cons |
| Avena foam has quick response | It takes a few days to get rid of the off-gassing |
| Excellent edge support | Some motion transfer issues |
| Good bounce due to the use of pocket springs |
5. Bear Mattress
Now that’s a solid name that jumps out at you — Bear Mattress (growling sounds). Apart from the name, this is a fairly tame mattress and thankfully makes no attempts at mauling you by giving uncomfortable sleep at nights. The mattress is targeted at sportspersons, and so it maintains a good amount of support and pressure relief.
Bear Mattress proudly shows off their Celliant Technology infused cover. Celliant technology is supposedly useful for helping with increased blood flow and comfort, allowing the sleeper to be more rested, and go to sleep faster. The cover is followed by four layers of foam, starting with 1-inch of graphite-infused foam to quickly whisk away heat and help the mattress sleep temperature neutral. The top layer is followed by 2.5-inches of quick response foam, and 6.5-inch of breathable support foam.
Bear Mattress claims their mattress sleeps 7x cooler than conventional memory foam, which might be all down to the use of graphite-infused memory foam layer. Although there is no real way to know how exacting the claim and standards are. In any case, the mattress provides excellent pressure relief and is a great candidate to be considered the best mattress for back sleepers.
| Free Trial | 100 Nights |
| Warranty | 10 Years |
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent pressure relief | The science behind the Celliant Fabric isn’t entirely proven |
| Sleeps temperature neutral | Poor edge support |
| Targeted pain relief can be useful for back sleepers with back pain |
Finding The Best Mattress For Back Sleepers
Finding the best mattress for back sleepers can be a quest full of questions. Thankfully, there are several mattress options available that suit this sleeping style, and also cater to most budget options. Mattresses on this list are excellent options to consider for back sleepers, although always remember that it’s your own comfort with a mattress that comes first, irrespective of reviews or even consumer opinion.