Compare Our Top Five Favorite Mattresses for Back Pain
Honorable Mentions
Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Cooling Mattress for $1,586: If you’re looking for something akin to the Plank Natural that’s firm without being too firm, this is another good pick. It has cooling features, too, which is a nice bonus.
DreamCloud Premiere Hybrid for $1,099: This soft mattress was still supportive. I liked sleeping on it, but it didn’t erase my back pain as much as other mattresses we recommend. Still, it was a nice option if you want support without too much firmness as a side sleeper.
Essentia Tatami Organic Mattress for $3,435: This mattress is made of a really comfortable organic latex support core that has holes for breathability (and to help with cooling), and the active organic foam center helps spinal alignment and contouring support for pressure points. It doesn’t have coils or springs, but it’s still surprisingly supportive.
Saatva Classic for $1,879: This was a previous pick in our guide to the Best Mattresses. It’s a good option for back support, specifically in the “Luxury” firmness level.
Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid for $1,799: The Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid is marketed as firm, and is designed to support your lower back with cushioning in the center. WIRED contributor Nicole Kinning was a little too short at 5’2″ for the lumbar support, but it could be a good fit for more average-sized folks. There are also cooling properties, but they didn’t stand out compared to other cooling mattresses.
Nectar Premier for $949: WIRED reviewer Martin Cizmar is a side sleeper who suffers from sciatica back pain from time to time, and he says that this hybrid mattress is a great choice for anyone who wants a softer mattress to sink into while getting plenty of pressure relief and excellent contouring while you sleep.
Plank Firm for $1,072: WIRED reviewer Adrienne So says it takes a few days to reach its full firmness levels—she thought it was too soft after she initially unboxed it, but it became much firmer after a little more time. She describes the Plank Firm as sleeping on a clean wooden floor (which she loves). It’s entirely foam, and flippable with two different firmness levels on each side.
Purple Restore Cool Touch for $2,700: WIRED contributor Nicole Kinning says this is the absolute best cooling mattress by a long shot. It’s also got a gridlike gel layer, called GelFlex, that adds extra support and makes it easy to get out of bed in the morning.
WinkBeds The WinkBed for $1,799: WIRED reviewer Julian Chokkattu recommends this mattress for his fellow stomach and back sleepers. There are three levels of firmness. He tried the Luxury Firm and liked that the plush pillow-top also adds a luxe, hotel-like feel to a relatively firm bed.
Wolf 12-Inch Memory Foam Hybrid Medium Firm Mattress for $749: WIRED reviewer Molly Higgins found herself surprisingly impressed with this affordable mattress. She says the medium-firm memory foam hybrid mattress feels much more luxe than its price point suggests, and that individually wrapped coils give great support and help with overall structure, while the top gel foams conform to your body’s curves and aid in pressure relief.
Mattresses to Avoid
While the horrible futon mattress that started my hunt doesn’t exist anymore—hallelujah for that!—there are plenty of other mattresses that have flared up my or other WIRED reviewers’ back pain.
Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Adapt for $2,199: This mattress was super soft and conforming, but it wasn’t supportive whatsoever and had more of a sinking sensation when you laid on it. My right side’s muscle pain was worse after nights on this mattress, and my damaged spine felt distinctly unhappy. My sister also tried sleeping on it, and she described it as “sleeping on an air mattress that is losing air throughout the night.”
Magniflex Magnistretch 12 for $3,699: This Italian-made mattress advertises itself as stretching the spine. It’s endorsed by retired Italian soccer player Giorgio Chiellini and current pro basketballer Stefano Tonut, who plays for the Italian equivalent of the Boston Celtics. Well, the Magniflex definitely does something to the spine, though WIRED reviewer Martin Cizmar found it very unwelcome. He lasted only two nights on the Magnistretch before crying uncle and limping over to the next test mattress. He describes the morning-after sensation as similar to sleeping on a hammock made of chainlink fence.
FAQs
How Does a Mattress Help With Back Pain?
What makes a mattress ideal for solving back pain? A common rule of thumb is to aim for a medium-firm mattress. “A mattress that is medium-firm may be better for people with back pain instead of one that’s soft or firm,” but these are based on low-quality studies, says Sean Mackey. Harvard Health also recommends avoiding both very soft and very hard mattresses if you have back pain.
You’re looking for something that can provide spinal support if your pain originates in your spine, or pressure relief if your pain comes from pressure points you’re sleeping on. Mattress firmness plays a big role, but so does the overall design of the coils, foam layers, and any additional support measures added.
During my testing, I was impressed to find that a firmer mattress really did lead to big improvements in my back pain. I expected a harder surface to cause flare-ups of pain or to even throw my back out of place, which has happened on cheap, hard mattresses before. However, I slept well and woke up without any aches or soreness. While a softer sleep surface was my go-to since I’m a side sleeper, choosing a firmer style of mattress immediately supported my spine better and kept pain away, rather than flaring it up like I assumed.
Mackey also recommends checking in with your own doctor or an occupational therapist. “With chronic conditions, we don’t have a ‘This is the best thing for you,’” he says. He also recommends trialing out a few things while you sleep, whether that’s different pillows or mattresses of different firmnesses. You might also try physical therapy or stretching before bed: Mattress maker Charles P. Rogers has an entire area of its site dedicated to sleeping pain-free. It’s not just about what you’re sleeping on, but how well you’re taking care of yourself before you go to bed too.
I will probably always live with my spine conditions, and there are things that help, like stretching before bed and staying super active during the day. But sleeping on a better mattress is a good first step to staying active and pain-free—at least for the morning.
If you’re hesitant about investing in a new mattress, there’s an easy place to start: a knee pillow. It was one of the first recommendations that Sean Mackey, doctor of neurology, chief of the Division of Stanford Pain Medicine, and past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), gave me when I asked him about how to reduce pain while you sleep. He explained that one of the sources of pain can be a lack of rachis alignment, or the alignment of your spine. “Generally, you should either be sleeping on your back or putting a pillow or support underneath your knees for spinal alignment,” says Mackey.
As a side sleeper, I went out and tried a few knee pillows designed for side sleepers with my original, crappy foam mattress I’ve been sleeping on for the past five years. Mackey wasn’t kidding—it did help. I was more comfortable and fell asleep faster. I liked both the Pillow Cube Knee Cube (which is discontinued) and the Everlasting Comfort Knee Pillow ($30) for different reasons. The Everlasting has a strap to keep it in place, but it’s nice and small if you don’t want something as bulky as the Pillow Cube in your bed. I did find that the smaller Everlasting was more likely to end up on the floor, though, versus the Pillow Cube’s being easier to relocate and tuck back into my knees in the middle of the night. Both helped with my spinal alignment and reduced my back pain a bit, but I still found switching to a more supportive mattress to be a bigger improvement.
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