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📂 **Category**: Gear,Gear / Buying Guides,Gear / Products / Sleep,Baby Got Back
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Compare our top five favorite mattresses for back pain
Honorable mentions
Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Cooling Mattress, $1,586: If you’re looking for something similar to Plank Natural that’s firm without being too firm, this is another good choice. It also has cooling features, which is a nice bonus.
DreamCloud Premiere Hybrid for $1,099: This soft mattress was still supportive. I loved sleeping on it, but it didn’t relieve my back pain as much as other mattresses we recommend. However, it was a good option if you wanted support without as much firmness as a side sleeper.
Essentia Tatami Organic Mattress $3,435: This mattress is made with a truly comfortable organic latex support core that has holes for ventilation (and to aid cooling), and an active organic foam core helps align the spine and support pinpoint pressure points. It doesn’t have coils or springs, but it’s still surprisingly supportive.
Sattva Classic for $1879: This was a previous pick in our guide to the best mattresses. It’s a good choice for back support, especially at the “deluxe” firmness level.
Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid $1,799: Marketed as durable, the Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid is designed to support your lower back with cushioning in the middle. WIRED contributor Nicole Kenning found it too short at 5’2″ for lumbar support, but it might be fine for average-sized people. There are also cooling properties, but they didn’t stand out compared to other cooling mattresses.
Nectar Premier $949: WIRED reviewer Martin Cizmar is a side sleeper who suffers from sciatica-related back pain from time to time, and says this hybrid mattress is a great option for anyone who wants a softer mattress to sink into while still getting plenty of pressure relief and excellent contouring while sleeping.
Plank Company for $1,072: Adrienne So, one of WIRED’s reviewers, says it takes a few days to reach full firmness levels, as she thought it was very soft after she initially unboxed it, but it became firmer after a little longer. Plank Firm describes sleeping on a clean wood floor (which she loves). It’s all foam, reversible with two different firmness levels on each side.
Purple to restore the cool touch for $2,700: This is the best cooling mattress ever, says WIRED contributor Nicole Kenning. They also have a gel mesh layer called GelFlex, which adds extra support and makes it easier to get out of bed in the morning.
WinkBeds The WinkBed for $1,799: WIRED reviewer Julian Choccato recommends this mattress to fellow stomach and back sleepers. There are three levels of packages. He tried the Luxury Firm and liked that the plush pillow also adds a luxurious, hotel-like feel to a relatively firm bed.
Wolf 12-Inch Medium Hybrid Memory Foam Mattress $749: WIRED reviewer Molly Higgins found herself surprisingly impressed with this affordable mattress. She says the medium-firm memory foam hybrid mattress feels more luxurious than its price suggests, and that the individually wrapped coils provide great support and help with overall structure, while the gel top foam conforms to the curves of your body and helps relieve pressure.
Mattresses should be avoided
While the horrible futon mattress that started haunting me is no longer there – praise God for that! – There are plenty of other mattresses that have triggered back pain for me or other WIRED reviewers.
Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Adapt for $2,199: This mattress was super soft and compliant, but it wasn’t supportive at all and felt sinking when lying on it. The muscle pain in my right side was worse after spending nights on this mattress, and my damaged spine felt distinctly unhappy. My sister also tried sleeping on it, describing it as “sleeping on an air mattress that loses air all night.”
Magniflex Magnistretch 12 for $3,699: This Italian-made mattress advertises itself as stretching the spine. They’re endorsed by retired Italian soccer player Giorgio Chiellini and current professional basketball player Stefano Tonotte, who plays for the Italian equivalent of the Boston Celtics. Well, Magniflex certainly does something for the spine, although WIRED reviewer Martin Cizmar found it not at all welcome. He only lasted two nights on Magnistretch before his uncle cried and limped to the next test rank. He describes the sensation the next morning as being like sleeping in a hammock made of chain-link fencing.
Frequently asked questions
How does a mattress help treat back pain?
What makes the mattress ideal for solving back pain? A common rule of thumb is to aim for a medium-firm mattress. “A medium-firm mattress may be better for people with back pain rather than a soft or firm mattress,” says Sean Mackey, but these are based on low-quality studies. Harvard also recommends avoiding mattresses that are too soft and too hard if you have back pain.
You’re looking for something that can provide spinal support if your pain is originating in your spine, or pressure relief if your pain is coming from pressure points you’re sleeping on. The firmness of the mattress plays a big role, as does the overall design of the coils, foam layers, and any additional support measures added.
During my testing, I was amazed to find that the firmer mattress actually led to significant improvements in my back pain. I expected the firmer surface to cause bouts of pain or even throw my back out of place, which has happened before with cheap firm mattresses. However, I slept well and woke up without any pain or soreness. Although a softer sleeping surface is what I go for since I’m a side sleeper, choosing a firmer style of mattress supports my spine better and keeps the pain away, rather than igniting it like I assumed.
McKee also recommends checking with your doctor or occupational therapist. “In chronic conditions, we don’t have the idea of, ‘This is what’s best for you,'” he says. He also recommends trying out certain things while you sleep, whether it’s different pillows or mattresses of different firmness. You can also try physical therapy or stretching exercises before bed: Mattress maker Charles P. Rogers has an entire area of its site dedicated to pain-free sleep. It’s not just about what you sleep on, it’s about how well you take care of yourself before you go to bed, too.
I will probably always live with my spinal conditions, and there are things that help, like stretching before bed and staying very active during the day. But sleeping on a better mattress is a good first step to staying active and pain-free, at least in 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 Sean Mackey, MD, neurologist, chair of the Department of Pain Medicine at Stanford University, and past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), gave me when I asked him how to reduce pain during sleep. He explained that one source of pain could be spinal misalignment, or spinal misalignment. “In general, you should either sleep on your back or place a pillow or brace under your knees in order to align your spine,” Mackey says.
As a side sleeper, I went out and tried some knee pillows designed for side sleepers with the crappy original foam mattress I’ve been sleeping on for the past five years. Mackey wasn’t kidding, he was being helpful. I felt more comfortable and fell asleep faster. I liked both the Everlasting Comfort Knee Pillow (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 bulky like a pillow cube in your bed. I found that the smaller Everlast was more likely to end up on the floor, though the Cube Pillow was easier to transport and return to my knees in the middle of the night. Both helped align my spine and eased my back pain a little, but I still found switching to a more supportive mattress to be a bigger improvement.
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