Best Mattresses for Back Sleepers: Which Is Best for You?

For back sleepers, finding the right mattress can be a challenge. Where side sleepers tend to need a soft mattress with lots of pressure relief and stomach sleepers often require something firmer, folks who sleep on their back are stuck in the middle, and will want a bed that’s both comfortable and supportive. Fortunately, I’ve reviewed a lot of mattresses and have come up with eight standouts that should be a great match.

The 10 Best Mattresses for Back Sleepers

• Helix Dusk – Best Overall
• DreamCloud Premier – Best Luxury Mattress
• Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe –Best Hybrid Mattress for Back Sleepers
• Saatva – Best Innerspring Mattress
• WinkBeds EcoCloud – Best Mattress for Heavy Back Sleepers
• Nectar – Best Memory Foam Mattress
• Bear – Best Cooling Mattress for Back Sleepers
• Plank Firm Luxe – Best Mattress That Won’t Sag
• Nolah Evolution – Best Mattress for Back Pain
• Cocoon Chill – Best For Couples

How We Chose Our Products

Our team of sleep specialists have reviewed more than 150 mattresses, using proprietary analysis and hands-on testing to establish easy-to-understand scores. In addition to an overall score, we measure subscores for support, edge support, cooling, motion transfer, durability, trial period, and warranty.

To identify the Best Mattresses for Back Sleepers, we’ve paid special attention to support and durability, as well as other relevant criteria. For example, eight of our 10 products scored a 4 out of 5 or above for support, while seven of them scored a 4 out of 5 or above for durability.

Be sure to consider the superlatives we’ve assigned to each mattress so you can narrow down your options. And if you’re still left searching for your next perfect bed, try taking our mattress quiz for more tailored recommendations.

Best Mattress for Back Sleepers 2023: Our Video Roundup

 

Compare the Best Mattress for Back Sleepers

Helix is a fascinating company in that they allow customers to customize their mattress and find the perfect fit. They even provide a sleep quiz that narrows down the choices. Back sleepers will most likely land on the Helix Dusk, a hybrid that offers the comfort of foam and the support of coils. And because the coils have plenty of room for airflow, the bed should also sleep cool.

What Makes the Helix Dusk Stand Out?

• The Helix Dusk contains Helix Dynamic Foam and slow-moving memory foam in its top layers.
• At the bottom of the bed, the base layer creates support with individually wrapped coils.
• The Helix Dusk is also available in a Luxe model for a more luxury look and feel.

Read our full Helix Dusk mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Mattresses 2022 for more great options.

The DreamCloud is a hybrid mattress comprised of a luxurious pillow-top, memory foam, and coils, all of which work together to create a medium-firm feel and a good balance of comfort and support. While back sleeping, the hips should sink into the pillow-top, but only a bit. Meanwhile, the pillow-top and foam layers conform to the curves of the body and support the lumbar area. The pocketed coils beneath offer more support, so people should feel held up everywhere else.

What Makes the DreamCloud Premier Stand Out?

• Along with the pillow-top, a soft-to-the-touch cashmere cover gives the DreamCloud Premier that hotel mattress feel.
• The pocketed coils are very supportive and should hold up back sleepers of many sizes, even heavier sleepers.
• The coils promote airflow throughout the mattress, so people shouldn’t be overheating on the DreamCloud.

Read our full DreamCloud Premier mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Luxury Mattresses for more great options.

If you’re looking for a value hybrid mattress, Brooklyn Bedding is always a good place to start. They own their own factory, so they cut out the middleman and pass the saving on to you, the customer. Their most popular model is the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora, a hybrid that features supportive coils and proprietary comfort foams on top. The mattress comes in three different firmnesses, and back sleepers will likely be most comfortable on the Medium model. They should feel their hips sink into the top layers while the coils hold up their body.

What Makes the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Stand Out?

• The Aurora Luxe has a plush innerspring feel that’s oh so comfortable.
• It’s also an especially great mattress for side sleepers.
• It features cooling infusions and coils should keep the mattress from trapping too much heat.

Read our full Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Hybrid Mattresses for more great options.

The Saatva is an innerspring mattress with a pillow-top that offers the balance of comfort and support that back sleepers crave. The pillow-top allows the hips to sink in, while the two layers of coils stop them from sinking in too far. These coils are very supportive, and even heavier back sleepers should find the Saatva to be an excellent fit. The mattress also contains a memory foam layer to help with contouring, so the mattress should take the shape of the body and fill in gaps such as the lumbar area.

What Makes the Saatva Stand Out?

• We’ve named the Saatva as one of the best innerspring mattresses for back sleepers.
• To me, the mattress feels like a 7/10 in terms of firmness, which is in the range where back sleepers usually want to be.
• The two layers of coils allow for a good amount of airflow, so hot sleepers should be sleeping comfortably on the Saatva.

Read our full Saatva mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Innerspring Mattresses for more great options.

Heavier back sleepers who weigh over 230 pounds are going to need a ton of spinal support, and they just might get it on the WinkBeds EcoCloud. A layer of zoned pocketed coils at the bottom of the bed makes the mattress more supportive near the center (where you need the most spinal support) and softer at the head and the foot. There’s also some zoning in the above comfort layer of Talalay latex foam.

What Makes the WinkBeds EcoCloud Stand Out?

• Beneath the cover, the bed has a layer of soft New Zealand wool for plushness and pressure relief.
• The WinkBeds EcoCloud stands proud at 13” tall. The added height is another plus for heavy back sleepers.
• The coils are firmer at the edges of the bed, giving heavier sleepers plenty of edge support.

Read our full WinkBeds EcoCloud mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Mattresses for Heavy People for more great options.

If you love that slow-moving memory foam feel, then Nectar might be the mattress of your dreams. This mattress provides tons of body contouring and has a medium-firm feel, making it great for back and side sleepers.

The top layer contains gel foam, a cooling material that helps dissipate body heat. At the bottom, you’ll find a layer of high-density support foam. This prevents sleepers from bottoming out, and it provides the lumbar support back sleepers need.

The Nectar mattress isolates motion well, so it’s a great choice for couples. It’s also one of the best mattresses for the money! You can’t go wrong with this classic, memory foam mattress.

What Makes Nectar Stand Out?

• It has a lovely, slow-moving feel.
• The gel-infused foam helps dissipate body heat.
• The mattress isolates motion well.

Read our full Nectar mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Memory Foam Mattresses for more great options.

There’s so much to love about the Bear mattress — it’s designed to support muscle recovery, pressure relief, and has cooling features. Back sleepers will especially love the firmness of this mattress, which feels like a 6.5/10 on our firmness scale. The supportive foam layers help keep the back in the proper alignment all night long.

Hot sleepers should appreciate Bear’s Celliant cover that helps with cooling. It also may help improve blood flow and muscle recovery, making this a great mattress for athletes.

What Makes Bear Stand Out?

• Its pressure-relieving abilities are great for lightweight and average-weight sleepers.
• If you love the feel of memory foam but don’t love that the material typically traps heat, this may be a great fit for you.
• Even with the all foam construction, the Bear is a very durable mattress. If you don’t love it though, the company offers a 365-night sleep trial.

Read our full Bear mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Cooling Mattresses for more great options.

Nobody wants their mattress to fold like a taco. If you’re especially worried about your mattress sagging, check out the Plank Firm Luxe.

As the name suggests, the Firm Luxe is an extra firm mattress that is flippable. The softer side of the mattress ranks at an 8/10 on our firmness scale, while the firmer side ranks at a 9/10. The extra firm build of the mattress helps it with durability, making this a mattress that will last years without sagging.

The Plank Firm Luxe mattress is backed by a 10-year warranty, and we expect it to last at least that long.

What Makes Plank Firm Luxe Stand Out?

• It’s made with individually-encased TitanCaliber coils, which help with the support and structure of this mattress.
• It’s super durable, and the fact that it’s flippable can extend the lifespan of this mattress.
• It has a bouncy and responsive feel.

Read our full Plank Firm Luxe mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Mattresses That Won’t Sag for more great options.

The Nolah Evolution is a hybrid mattress that features a unique zoned construction, meaning the middle part of the mattress is firmer and more supportive, while the shoulder area is softer. This makes the bed an especially excellent fit for back sleepers, as it offers extra lumbar support. That applies doubly to anyone who struggles with lower back pain.

What Makes the Nolah Evolution Stand Out?

• The smart construction makes the mattress a great fit for several sleeping positions. Side sleepers and back sleepers should especially be comfortable on the Nolah Evolution.
• Despite being a hybrid mattress, the Nolah Evolution has solid edge support.
• A breathable cover and the AirBreath heat escape gusset help this mattress sleep cool.

Read our full Nolah Evolution mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Mattresses for Back Pain for more great options.

The Cocoon Chill is an all-foam mattress with some advanced cooling materials. The cover features Phase Change Material that works to draw heat away from your body. This helps the mattress stay cool to the touch.

And because the Cocoon Chill mattress is made entirely out of foam, it also isolates motion well! This is great news for couples, because if one person switches sleeping positions during the night, the other person won’t feel that movement on their side of the bed.

To make things even better, the Cocoon Chill mattress has excellent edge support. This means if you rest near the side of the bed, you’ll feel very secure.

What Makes Cocoon Chill Stand Out?

• The mattress feels firmer than average, making it great for back and stomach sleepers.
• The cover feels cool to the touch.
• It isolates motion well and has great edge support.

Read our full Cocoon Chill mattress review for more information. Or check out our list of Best Mattresses for Couples for more great options.

What People Should Think About When Buying a Mattress for Back-Sleeping

Mattress Firmness

At Mattress Clarity, we always rate firmness on a scale of 1 to 10. Back sleepers will want to find something in the medium-firm range of 6.5 to 7. If the mattress is too soft, they might not get the support they need, and their hips could sink in too far (potentially leading to lower back pain). If the mattress is too firm, they won’t sink in far enough and get the contouring that they need.

Let’s dig into that a little further. Dr. Daniel Davids, a DPT and Mattress Clarity Expert Network Member, explains that we actually require natural motion while we sleep, which can be unhealthily reduced by a too-soft bed. Unlike standing, walking, or other upright activities, Davids says actions like lying down and sleeping allow our muscles to be in a relatively off position. Because our muscles provide stability to our joints when they’re relaxed, our joints also relax. However, he says that if we maintain a position for too long that pushes the limits of our joint range, we may wake up with pain or stiffness.

Likewise, a mattress that’s too stiff puts undue pressure on certain areas of our body with “bony prominences” — areas where the bone isn’t as covered with soft tissue (muscle and fat), says Davids. This issue can even lead to skin breakdown as we see with seniors and bedsores.

Comfort Layer Thickness

When consumers are looking at the design of the mattress, they should pay close attention to the thickness of the comfort layer. While a thick comfort layer can be nice for those who sleep on their side, back sleepers won’t want it to be too thick. A comfort layer between 2″ and 4″ should allow them to sink into the mattress just enough while still getting enough support for their back and cushioning in their lumbar area.

Your Weight

As with any mattress purchase, people will want to consider their overall size and weight. A mattress that’s supportive enough for a lighter-weight sleeper might not support a heavier sleeper. Likewise, a larger person might think a mattress is perfect for back-sleeping, while a lighter person could possibly find it too firm. Consumers should definitely keep their size in mind when attempting to find that perfect balance between comfort and support.

RELATED: Best Mattress For Lower Back Pain And Sciatica

Choose the Right Type of Mattress for Back-Sleeping

There are a few major types of mattresses, and they all offer benefits and drawbacks when it comes to back-sleeping. Let’s discuss exactly how each one can be a good and poor fit.

Memory Foam 

Memory foam mattresses are extremely popular right now, and for good reason. They offer superior pressure relief and comfort, and are usually a big hit with side sleepers. They’re also good for back sleepers in that they provide excellent contouring and really fill all the gaps (such as the lumbar area). They can also be extremely soft, however, and sometimes don’t offer the best support for back-sleeping.

If a shopper wants a memory foam mattress for back-sleeping, they should find something where the comfort layer isn’t too thick. They’ll want a bed that will allow their hips to sink in just the right amount while the mattress supports the rest of their body. Memory foam can be great for back-sleeping, as long as there’s not too much of it!

Innerspring

Traditional innerspring mattresses are one of the oldest types of beds and are known for their excellent breathability and support. A mattress with high-grade coils can indeed be a good match for back-sleeping, but it really comes down to the overall firmness and what’s in the comfort layer.

If an innerspring mattress is too firm, it can really push the hips out of the mattress and cause back pain. That’s why innerspring mattresses with a pillow-top are often a good fit for back-sleeping. The pillow-top adds some softness and allows those hips to sink in just a bit. If shoppers want an innerspring mattress for back-sleeping, they just need to make sure it is truly medium-firm.

Hybrid

When it comes to back-sleeping, hybrid mattresses are hard to beat. This is because they provide the soft comfort of foam and the support of coils. However, there are still a few things to look out for. First off, make sure the comfort layer is the right thickness. If it’s a thick layer of memory foam, your spine might get out of alignment while you’re sleeping. If it’s just a thin layer of a firmer foam, the mattress might push the hips out of the mattress.

Latex

Latex mattresses are known for being eco-friendly, but how do they work for back-sleeping? First off, latex is a denser material that can sometimes be on the firmer side. If it’s too dense, it might not let sleepers’ hips sink in the right amount. So, back sleepers want to make sure there’s some give in place. Latex mattresses can also be good for back-sleeping because they’re highly durable. While they do cost more, they’re a better long-term investment and are less likely to sag.

Sleep Accessories for Back-Sleeping

For back sleepers, getting a good night’s rest doesn’t stop with finding a mattress. There are also some accessories that can help ensure comfort and support.

First off, a pillow can really help with back-sleeping if it’s a proper fit. Back sleepers should look for something that isn’t too thick and isn’t too thin. A pillow with a medium loft will keep the head, neck, and spine neutrally aligned. These can come in many types, including latex and memory foam. There are also some pillows made specifically to support the neck. Make sure to take a look at our best pillows for back sleepers for more information.

Mattress toppers can also be a great accessory for back sleepers, especially if their current mattress is too firm. A 2″ or 3″ mattress topper can add just a bit of comfort to the top of the mattress, providing some more contouring and allowing the hips to sink in. There are also zoned mattress toppers that can provide some more lumbar support for back sleepers.

Overall

Here’s a recap of our top picks for the best mattresses for back sleepers:

PurpleBest Mattress That Won’t Sag

Mattress	Best For
Helix Dusk	Best Overall
DreamCloud Premier	Best Luxury Mattress
Brooklyn Bedding Aurora	Best Hybrid Mattress for Back Sleepers
Saatva	Best Innerspring Mattress
WinkBeds EcoCloud	Best Mattress for Heavy Back Sleepers
Nectar	Best Memory Foam Mattress
Bear	Best Cooling Mattress for Back Sleepers
Plank Firm Luxe	Best Mattress That Won’t Sag
Nolah Evolution	Best Mattress for Back Pain
Cocoon Chill	Best Mattress For Couples