Here Are 10 of the Best Mattresses for Stomach Sleepers in 2020

If you’ve been struggling to find the best mattress for stomach sleepers, you’re not alone. Stomach sleepers are a rare breed—which makes finding the ideal mattress all the more challenging. In fact, they’re the fewest in number out of all the other sleeper types. But despite being the smallest sized group around, they face the largest pushback from healthcare professionals and sleep experts when it comes to their preferred sleeping position. That’s because, as noted by the Cleveland Clinic, sleeping on your stomach places extra strain on your neck and spine.

“I think we can all agree, stomach sleepers have the most challenges with both back and neck strain and eventual pain,” says Michael Breus, Ph.D board-certified sleep specialist known as The Sleep Doctor. “I encourage stomach sleepers to change positions, but it can be extremely difficult to break that habit—I can barely do it myself—so we try to find solutions with mattresses and pillows that allow them to stay in their preferred position.”

The wrong mattress—no matter how well designed it may be for multiple sleeping positions—will only make matters worse. So, if you’re a stomach sleeper shopping around because you think your aches and pains are the result of an older and possibly worn-out mattress, the reality is there are many more factors you have to take into account.

Dr. Breus recently teamed up with Mattress Advisor to put together a list of the 11 best mattresses for stomach sleepers based on testing conducted in the Mattress Advisor lab in North Carolina. All mattresses tested by Mattress Advisor are rated on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the perfect score, based on 14 different pieces of criteria related to the mattress materials, performance, and brand overall. If you want to learn more about what we test, check out our Mattress Advisor resource center discussing our testing methodology.

Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.

Here are the top picks worth considering:

• Editor’s Pick: Saatva
• Best Hybrid Mattress for Stomach Sleepers: DreamCloud Premier
• Best Memory Foam Mattress for Stomach Sleepers: Nectar
• Best Affordable Mattress for Stomach Sleepers: Casper Element
• Best Mattress for Heavier Sleepers: Loom & Leaf
• Best Latex Mattress for Stomach Sleepers: Saatva Latex Hybrid
• Best Firm Mattress for Stomach Sleepers: Plank by Brooklyn Bedding
• Best Flippable Mattress: Layla Hybrid
• Best Cooling Mattress for Stomach Sleepers: Bear
• Best Organic Mattress: Awara

What to Look for in the Best Mattress for Stomach Sleepers

Before we get to our stomach sleeper mattress showcase, let’s run through some of the mattress basics that can help you get a good night’s rest. According to the Mayo Clinic, sleeping on your stomach is especially hard on your back, so you need a mattress that supports your curves and prevents your spine from sinking out of alignment. You’ll not only sleep better throughout the night, but you should also notice better posture throughout the day—not to mention the fact that you’ll probably wake up with fewer aches and pains in the morning.

As Dr. Breus notes, “For stomach sleepers it’s all about getting the right support layer that meets their personal needs for spinal alignment, once that part has been decided upon the rest is all about comfort.”

If you’re a stomach sleeper, the mattress you choose will have to work a little harder to alleviate the pressure on your muscles and joints. So, what characteristics should you look for when picking the perfect mattress for you? We’ve broken them down below.

Quick bonus tips: Whatever mattress you land on, try using a thin pillow – or even no pillow at all. The flatter the pillow, the more your neck stays aligned with your spine and prevents upper shoulder pain. This also removes the downward pressure your angled head would otherwise put against your neck.

Mattress Type

There are so many types of mattresses available on the market today. And most of them aren’t really designed with stomach sleepers as the primary audience. Many of them are built to support back and side sleepers. Still, stomach sleepers deserve a good night’s rest too—and they definitely don’t deserve a day full of back pain due to a non-supportive sleeping surface. The type of mattress you choose is truly up to your preferred firmness level, and what will be most supportive as a stomach sleeper.

Memory Foam

A memory foam mattress can lend support to areas of the body where you’d otherwise have pressure points, including your shoulders and hips. Because of the nature of foam, this mattress type does a great job of cradling your curves and reducing motion transfer. But stomach sleepers beware: An all-foam mattress that’s too soft won’t provide enough support for your lower back, which can be harmful. Your spine will sink out of alignment and your neck will become more angled and forced into more of an awkward position. Fortunately, there are plenty of memory foam mattresses out there (some are even on this list!) which offer support without skipping on comfort.

Hybrid

A hybrid mattress is constructed with a combination of materials, such as latex, memory foam, and coils. While a bit more on the pricey side than an all-foam mattress, a hybrid model can give you the comfort of foam with the added support and longevity of an innerspring mattress. If you tend to sweat at night when you sleep, hybrid mattresses also do a better job of keeping you cooler than their memory foam cousins, which often lack the proper construction in which heat needs to escape.

The support layers of a hybrid mattress are often strong enough to stop your midsection from sinking, better keeping your spine in a neutral position. If you find yourself intrigued by the perks of a hybrid mattress, be on the lookout for one with a soft layer on top. This will give you the comfort of foam with the firm support of an innerspring design underneath.

Innerspring

If it’s back pain from a sagging midsection you want to avoid, the tried and true innerspring mattress still holds up. The defining feature of this type of mattress is the layer of coils at its core. Innerspring designs have come a long way through the years, and there are multiple types of coils being incorporated into mattresses today—from individually pocketed coils to continuous-wire coils and so on. What makes an innerspring mattress great for stomach sleepers is its relatively even support it provides, so a quality innerspring mattress shouldn’t give you a lot of sag. A lot of innerspring designs have also followed in the footsteps of hybrid models, adding a soft layer on top for extra comfort that a traditional innerspring mattress would otherwise lack.

Latex

A latex mattress can be made out of natural or synthetic latex foam. Some models are a blend of both. Regardless, a mattress made from latex materials can cushion your body while keeping your spine in alignment. For stomach sleepers, this kind of mattress evenly distributes your weight over a wider surface than all-foam mattresses. This means you get pressure relief without the sinkage that results from a softer mattress material. And if you’re a stomach sleeper who likes to move around during the night, the fact that latex responds and adapts to your body as you shuffle around should be a huge plus.

Mattress Firmness

Generally, you want a mattress soft enough to conform to the unique shape of your body while being firm enough to keep your spine in neutral alignment. When it comes to stomach sleepers, you need a firm mattress, one ideally with a soft layer on top to provide added pressure relief and comfort. Perhaps most importantly, it should support your body evenly so your torso doesn’t sink.

“Especially for stomach sleepers, having the right firmness so that your torso allows for spinal alignment,” says Dr. Breus. “It’s the most important factor.”

The 10 Best Mattresses for Stomach Sleepers, According to Experts

1. Editor’s Pick: Saatva Classic

Mattress Advisor rates the Saatva Classic their top pick for stomach sleepers, combining luxury with remarkable mattress features. What makes this hybrid mattress a clear standout from the pack are the middle support layers that prevent the kind of sagging that stomach sleepers need to steer clear of while adding extra lumbar support.

There are 884 individually wrapped coils in a Saatva mattress that are designed to contour to your body. These coils are contained across two layers, a dual-coil system, which promotes great neutral spine alignment—in fact, the Saatva scored a nearly perfect 9.5 out of 10 in this category during the Mattress Advisor testing. During the evaluation, testers mimic sleeping on their stomachs (as well as their sides and backs) to ensure the most accurate data is being recorded.

• Mattress Type: Luxury Hybrid
• Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5
• Firmness: Plush, Luxury Firm, and Firm
• Warranty: 15-Year Limited

Saatva Classic Mattress, $1,299 for a Queen

2. Best Hybrid Mattress: DreamCloud Premier

A lot of thought went into the design and construction of the DreamCloud Premier mattress. This innerspring hybrid mattress utilizes foam and individually wrapped innerspring coils with a six-layer design as seen below.

Its euro top cover uses quilted foam and cashmere for a luxurious, comfortable feel, followed by a gel memory foam layer that contours to the shape of your body.

The DreamCloud Premier is a medium-firm mattress, and it’s highly responsive (scoring a 9/10 in Mattress Advisor’s testing). That means it will easily adjust to your movements as you shift around through the night. Beneath the third layer of high-density memory foam, the mattress has a fourth layer constructed to provide targeted support around your midsection. It also helps to evenly distribute your weight, further eliminating pressure points.

• Mattress Type: Hybrid
• Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5
• Firmness: Medium-Firm
• Trial: 365-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: Lifetime

DreamCloud Premier, $1,199 for a Queen

3. Best Memory Foam Mattress: Nectar

The Nectar mattress takes all the great perks about a gel memory foam mattress and makes them even greater—and that includes the price. This is a premium foam mattress with a more budget-friendly price tag than comparable models. Made with layers of cooling gel foam and traditional memory foam, the Nectar provides decent pressure relief (8.5 out of 10) and excellent edge support (nearly perfect 9 out of 10). It also does fairly well at minimizing motion transfer, ranking an 8.5 out of 10, so it’s still worth considering if you sleep with a partner or pet.

Stomach sleepers will find support for their lower back with the Nectar memory foam mattress – without sinking all of their money into the purchase. And if you want proof on how well Nectar is received by its owners, less than 3% of customers end up returning the mattress.

• Mattress Type: Gel Memory Foam
• Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5
• Firmness: Medium-Firm
• Trial: 365-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: Lifetime

Nectar Mattress, $1,198 for a Queen

4. Best Affordable Mattress: Casper Element

This is a clear case of a quality mattress offered at a low price. The Casper Element features a durable base as its second layer, designed to prevent sinking and sagging while supporting your whole body. This second layer gives the mattress a firm feel, more than many other all-foam mattresses available on the market today. It sets the bar for what a stomach sleeper should look for if they’re seeking a great price on a mattress that will still provide a decent level of spinal alignment (the Element scored an 8/10).

That being said, remember that the mattress still consists entirely of foam. So, while generally not the absolute ideal choice for stomach sleepers in need of something a bit firmer, especially around their midsection, it’s certainly a great option for those who want to get a solid mattress without overextending their budget.

• Mattress Type: Memory foam
• Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5
• Firmness: Medium-Firm
• Trial: 100-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: 10-Year Limited

Casper Element Mattress, $595 for a Queen

5. Best Mattress for Heavier Sleepers: Loom & Leaf

Don’t be leery of its sticker price; Saatva’s Loom & Leaf gel memory foam mattress is an investment that yields a big return for years to come. Heavier stomach sleepers will be amazed at Loom & Leaf’s ability to maintain the natural curvature of their spines throughout the night.

Mattress Advisor experts found that test subjects of all different body types reported near-perfect spine alignment regardless of their size, earning the Loom & Leaf a 9 out of 10 in this category.

The Loom & Leaf high-quality foam construction also responds pretty well to movement, which is a plus if you tend to shift around or even change up your sleep position while you sleep. It scored an 8 out of 10 during testing for responsiveness.

The Loom & Leaf mattress has two firmness levels to choose from, either relaxed firm or firm. While the firmer option is better for heavier people who sleep on their stomach, the relaxed firm is still a good choice if you insist on something a touch softer.

• Mattress Type: Gel Memory Foam
• Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5
• Firmness: Relaxed Firm, Firm
• Trial: 100-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: 10-Year Limited

Loom & Leaf Mattress, $1,699 for a Queen

6. Best Latex Mattress: Saatva Latex Hybrid

The Saatva Latex Hybrid is an all-natural, organic mattress that gives stomach sleepers the buoyant support of latex with the help of the classic firmness of innerspring coils that won’t leave them sinking. And this isn’t just a well-built mattress that feels good to sleep on; it’s also a mattress you can feel good about. Its latex layer is made out of 100% sustainably harvested Talalay latex, an all-natural and organic material that makes the Latex Hybrid an exceptionally consistent, resilient, and durable mattress free of harmful chemicals and pollutants. In other words, the Saatva Latex Hybrid is a mattress that’s great for you and good for the environment.

Keep an eye out for more details about how this mattress fares in the Mattress Advisor test in October 2020.

• Mattress Type: All-Natural Latex
• Customer Rating: Coming soon!
• Firmness: Firm
• Trial: 120-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: 10-Year Limited

Saatva Latex Hybrid Mattress, $1,799 for a Queen

7. Best Firm Mattress: Plank by Brooklyn Bedding

Take your pick: Firm or ultra-firm? That’s the choice you have with the Brooklyn Bedding Plank mattress. It’s designed to be flippable, so you can sleep on both sides. One side is your standard firmness (a 7 out of 10) and the other is ultra-firm (9 out of 10). The great news for stomach sleepers is that either side will help keep the spine decently straight—the Plank ranks at an 8.75 out of 10 for spinal alignment on both sides. So, it really just boils down to your personal needs and preferences.

And even if you do go ultra-firm, the Plank will still provide pressure point relief (scoring a 9 out of 10 in testing) and adapt to your movements while you sleep (8.75 out of 10 in  ), so this is a solid option if you switch from your stomach to your side or your back. During Mattress Advisor testing, sleep experts lay side by side and mimic sleeping on their backs, sides, and stomachs. They tested the Plank on the firm side first, and then the ultra-firm side. The group consensus? The Plank stayed consistently responsive and supportive no matter what sleep position the testers chose.

• Mattress Type: Memory foam
• Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5
• Firmness: Dual-Sided: Firm and Ultra Firm
• Trial: 100-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: 10-Year Limited

Plank Mattress, $1249 for a Queen

8. Best Flippable Mattress: Layla Hybrid

The Layla Hybrid is another flippable mattress with a wider range of firmness than some of its competitors, offering a soft and firm side. The softer side, a 4-5 out of 10 on the firmness scale, is a medium-firm mattress for stomach sleepers looking for a balance between support and plushness. The firmer mattress side comes in as a 7 out of 10 and has a little less give for anyone who wants more stability or may be a bit heavier. Either way, both sides are surrounded by a gel memory foam cover that designed to keep you cool and comfortable. The topper is thicker on the softer side but thinner on the firmer side to enable a surprising amount of contouring, regardless of which side you flip to.

The Layla Hybrid mattress also features a high-density foam that surrounds its innerspring core, so stomach sleepers have a little extra support in their middle. And, despite it being a flippable mattress, the Layla Hybrid still earned a 9/10 in Mattress Advisor’s durability testing, so you don’t have to worry about damaging it while you’re testing both sides.

• Mattress Type: Hybrid
• Customer Rating: 5 out of 5
• Firmness: Soft (4-5/10) and Firm (7/10)
• Trial: 120-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: 10-Year

Layla Hybrid, $1649 for a Queen

9. Best Cooling Mattress for Stomach Sleepers: Bear

Are you a stomach sleeper who needs to stay cool? If so, then the Bear mattress is a great choice to help you cool off, recharge at night, and hit the ground running when you wake up. This memory foam mattress has been infused with graphite gel, and its cover incorporates FDA approved Celliant. This special cover and mattress design work to pull away body heat, keeping you resting at a comfortable temperature. They also assist with blood flow and muscle recovery to help you wake up refreshed and restored.

With a medium firmness, the Bear mattress provides the kind of back support you need while sleeping on your stomach. The Bear is highly responsive (a 9 out of 10 in tests) thanks to its transition foam and the high-density support foam at its base provides long-lasting durability (scoring an 8 out of 10).

• Mattress Type: Memory Foam with Graphite Gel
• Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5
• Firmness: Medium-Firm
• Trial: 100-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: 10-Year Limited

Bear Mattress, $800 for a Queen

10. Best Organic Mattress: Awara

The Awara is one of the top-rated hybrid mattresses that the Mattress Advisor team has ever reviewed—and with good cause. Its blend of organic latex foam and individually wrapped micro coils provides total body support. And its coils are part of a five-zoned support system that support the spine fairly well (8.5/10).

Stomach sleepers will enjoy the feeling of weightless sleep on an organic, supportive mattress that strikes a nice balance between foam and innersprings. The mattress isn’t too firm, but you also won’t feel like you’re sinking. And its medium firmness helps to keep your spine from twisting and contorting as you move around in the night. But what eco-conscious stomach sleepers will appreciate most is that the Awara is built green, thanks to Dunlop Latex, humanely sourced New Zealand wool and cotton.

• Mattress Type: Hybrid
• Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5
• Firmness: Medium-Firm
• Trial: 365-Night Sleep Trial
• Warranty: Lifetime

Awara Mattress, $1,499 for a Queen

Final Thoughts on Choosing the Right Mattress for Stomach Sleepers

Stomach sleepers admittedly have their work cut out for them. There may be a ton of mattresses out there to choose from, but with stomach sleepers being in the sleep minority, not too many mattresses out there are well suited to give you the back support you need to get a good night’s sleep and have an ache-free morning. Luckily, you can use The Sleep Doctor’s mattress review to find the right bed for you.

 

Sources for this article

Cleveland Clinic, 2016. “Back, Side or Stomach: Which Sleep Position Is Best for You?” health.clevelandclinic.org, June 15, 2016. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/back-side-stomach-sleep-position-best/

Mayo Clinic, 2020. “Slide show: Sleeping positions that reduce back pain.” Mayoclinic.org, April 22, 2020. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/back-pain/multimedia/sleeping-positions/sls-20076452 s=3#:~:text=Sleeping%20on%20your%20stomach%20can,much%20strain%20on%20your%20back.

 

The post Here Are 10 of the Best Mattresses for Stomach Sleepers in 2020 appeared first on Your Guide to Better Sleep.

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