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Sleep Supported with the 10 Best Firm Mattresses, According to the Sleep Doctor

January 13, 2022

Let’s start with a simple acknowledgment: The best firm mattresses are excellent for sleepers who are seeking relief from back and joint pain, or simply prefer a more supportive feel. While many top mattresses are categorized as medium-firm, a true firm mattress is especially important for back and stomach sleepers who require extra attention to their natural spine alignment.

But with so many great options on the market today, how should you decide which firm mattress will be right for you? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this comprehensive guide, board-certified sleep specialist Michael Breus, Ph.D., otherwise known as The Sleep Doctor™, Ph.D. weighs in on the best mattress options that will address your specific sleep needs. With help from the team at Mattress Advisor, each of the mattresses selected in this article underwent hours of rigorous testing in their mattress lab based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tests follow 14 criteria points that mattresses have to meet, and are rated on a scale of 1-10, with ten signifying a perfect score. Find out about the Sleep Doctor’s picks for the best firm mattress.

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.

The 10 Best Firm Mattresses

1. Best Overall: Helix Dawn

Helix offers a number of different mattresses, varying in their firmness levels as well as their high-end luxury features. The Helix Dawn, however, is the overall pick for firm mattresses for a number of reasons. Crafted with layers of high-density foam sitting atop innerspring coils, this bed delivers the support of a firm mattress with the cushioning necessary to cradle pressure points. If you find this bed to be too firm, Helix will send a complimentary mattress topper for further pressure relief. 

The Helix Dawn proved itself in testing, scoring a 9 out of 10 for spine alignment. Testers also noted the mattress’s ability to relieve pressure along the hips and shoulders for stomach and back sleepers, achieving an 8.25 out of 10 in this category. 

  • Mattress Type: Hybrid
  • Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
  • Firmness: Firm
  • Trial: 100 Nights
  • Warranty: 10-Year

Buy It, Helix Dawn, $1,099 for a Queen, helixsleep.com

2. Best Extra Firm: Plank by Brooklyn Bedding

For those who want a really firm mattress at the upper end of the firmness scale, the Plank comes highly recommended by the testing team. This aptly named memory foam mattress is flippable, with each side offering a different firmness option. Rest assured that both of them are quite firm: One side of the mattress is about a 7 out of 10, and the flipside falls at a 9 out of 10.

There’s a lot to be said for Plank’s durability and support, as well as its pressure point relief (scoring a 9 out of 10 in testing). If laying down on a firm surface is the only thing that helps your lower back pain, this may be the right product for you. It’s made to evenly distribute your body weight, promoting healthy spine alignment (8.75 out of 10) to prevent back pain. It’s available at a low price point, making it a good option for budget shoppers. 

  • Mattress Type: Memory Foam
  • Customer Rating: 4.4 out of 5
  • Firmness: Firm, Extra-Firm
  • Trial: 120 Nights
  • Warranty: 10-year limited

Buy It, Plank, $1,274 for a Queen, plankmattress.com

3. Best Firm Innerspring: Saatva Classic

The Saatva Classic is a truly top-of-the-line innerspring mattress with a reputation for lavish, yet affordable comfort. If you enjoy sleeping on hotel-style mattresses, Saatva aims to replicate that experience. 

This Saatva mattress is available in three firmness options, including two dedicated firm options. This innerspring mattress works well for sleepers with back pain, as well as heavier sleepers who need extra lumbar support. There are two layers of coils, plus memory foam made for back support–which helped the Saatva Classic get a top score of 9.5 out of 10 for spine alignment. An additional perk that comes with purchasing a Saatva-brand mattress is free white-glove delivery, setup, and mattress removal.

  • Mattress Type: Hybrid
  • Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5
  • Firmness: Luxury-Firm, Firm
  • Trial: 180 Nights
  • Warranty: 15-year limited

Buy It, Saatva Classic, $1,695 for a Queen, saatva.com

4. Best for Combination Sleepers: The Winkbed

If you’re seeking a plush surface to lay your head at night, but without sacrificing firm support, the WinkBed is your best option for those who change positions throughout the night. Out of the four firmness options to choose from, there are three specific “firm” levels: luxury-firm, firm, and extra-firm. The extra firm mattress option is one of the firmest beds tested by Mattress Advisor’s assessors. High responsiveness (9 out of 10) allows sleepers to change positions easily, making this bed the perfect fit for combination sleepers. 

The WinkBed boasts a plush quilted Euro-style pillow top with two layers of coils and memory foam within, plus a cooling cover. In testing, these materials helped the mattress excel with responding to testers moving around on the surface of the bed (9 out of 10) and spinal alignment (8.75 out of 10).

  • Mattress Type: Memory Foam
  • Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
  • Firmness: Soft, Luxury-Firm, Firm, Extra-Firm
  • Trial: 120 Nights
  • Lifetime Warranty

Buy It, The WinkBed, $1,799 for a Queen, winkbed.com

5. Most Affordable Luxury: DreamCloud Original

With a cashmere mattress cover, high-quality materials, a full-year sleep trial, and a lifetime warranty, the DreamCloud original mattress is a luxury medium-firm mattress with a surprisingly affordable price tag. A support layer with coils works to provide excellent spine alignment (this bed scored an impressive 9 out of 10 in this category) and delivers a moderately firm surface that’s excellent for sleepers of all positions. 

This bed scored impressively high across most of Mattress Advisor’s testing fields, receiving a notable 9.75 out of 10 in edge support, allowing you to sleep near the edges without fear of falling or rolling off. It also scored a 9 out of 10 in durability, so you can rest assured that your new mattress is made of long-lasting, quality materials. A comfort layer made with gel memory foam assists with pressure relief, helping to melt away some of the tension that can accrue in areas like your shoulders and back. 

  • Mattress Type: Hybrid
  • Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5
  • Firmness: Medium-firm
  • Trial: 365 Nights
  • Lifetime Warranty

Buy It, DreamCloud Original, $1,199 for a Queen, dreamcloudsleep.com

6. Best Cooling: GhostBed Luxe

The GhostBed Luxe was engineered to deliver the firm, cooling sleep you expect from an innerspring mattress, but in a memory foam bed. This mattress is incredibly cool, using proprietary fabrics that promote cooling and gel-infused memory foams to keep this bed refreshingly cold as you sleep, helping hot sleepers achieve deeper, more restful sleep. It received a near-perfect score of 9 out of 10 for cooling, keeping sleepers from overheating as they doze off. The GhostBed Luxe also scored a 9.25 out of 10 in spine alignment, providing excellent sleeping posture for back and stomach sleepers. 

While the GhostBed Luxe works to dissipate heat, it’s not the top pick for side sleepers who require more pressure relief. This mattress will work best for combination sleepers–otherwise known as multi-positional sleepers–who need a firm, cooling mattress that can provide nonstop support as they move about. 

  • Mattress Type: Gel Memory Foam
  • Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5
  • Firmness: Medium-firm
  • Trial: 101 Nights
  • Warranty: 25-Year

Buy It, GhostBed Luxe, $2,320 for a Queen, ghostbed.com

7. Best Value: Nectar

For those seeking a truly classic firm feel at an affordable price point, the best overall option is the Nectar. Its cushioning design is perfect for side sleepers and combination sleepers, yet there’s just enough rigidity here to work for stomach and back sleepers, too. That’s due to the Nectar’s solid pressure relief and responsiveness scores (8.5 out of 10 for both categories). Its memory foam layers quickly spring back into shape once pressure is applied, while supporting pressure points like your shoulders, hips, and thighs. With consistent support, it’s an affordable mattress that works for all sleep positions.

What makes the Nectar truly special is that it offers incredible value. It’s not only available at an affordable price point, but also there’s a year-long sleep trial and a lifetime warranty included in your purchase.

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

Buy It, Nectar, $1,298 for a Queen, nectarsleep.com

8. Best for Stomach Sleepers: Layla Memory Foam 

Stomach sleepers require good support to prevent their hips from sinking, and this bed is a great choice for stomach sleepers who still want the memory foam feel. The Layla mattress is a flippable bed with two firmness options, though stomach sleepers will likely prefer the firmer side, a 7 out of 10 on the firmness scale. This bed scored a 9 out of 10 in pressure relief, providing your hips and shoulders that much-needed support and cushion. A high score in responsiveness (9.5 out of 10) means you won’t feel “stuck” if you need to move or shift positions. 

Thanks to its flexibility, this bed is a popular option in guest rooms and among kids and adolescents. 

  • Mattress Type: Memory Foam
  • Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
  • Firmness: Medium-soft, Medium-firm
  • Trial: 120 Nights
  • Lifetime Warranty

Buy It, Layla Memory Foam, $1,099 for a Queen, laylasleep.com

9. Best for Pressure Relief: Puffy

The Puffy mattress earns the title “best for pressure relief” on this list thanks to its three layers of memory foam that conforms to the body’s pressure points while giving it proper support in all the right places. For firm mattress lovers, it falls at about a 7 out of 10 on the firmness scale, while still remaining very responsive (9 out of 10) and keeping the spine supported in all sleep positions (8.75 out of 10 for spine alignment). 

It’s also a great choice for couples who want to keep sleeping soundly and not feel any motion transfer from their partner’s side of the bed (9.25 out of 10 for motion isolation). Puffy mattresses have a lifetime warranty and 101 night sleep trial, which only adds to the value of this mattress.

  • Mattress Type: Memory Foam
  • Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5
  • Firmness: Medium-firm
  • Trial: 101 Nights
  • Lifetime Warranty

Buy It, Puffy, $1,249 for a Queen, puffy.com

10. Best for Back Pain: Loom & Leaf Original 

Finding the right mattress to address back pain is a simple way to sleep better and wake up with less tension and fewer aches. The Loom & Leaf by Saatva boasts two firmness options in one mattress, with the relaxed firm side at a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale and the firm side at an 8 out of 10. This memory foam mattress scored a 9 out of 10 in spine alignment, providing good posture throughout the night and helping to decrease and prevent back pain.

The “flippable” design of this bed offers more customization in sleep experience, stomach and back sleepers who need a firm surface with extra support will benefit from the firm side, while side sleepers will sleep better on the relaxed firm side. Saatva provides free white glove delivery and mattress removal services for an all-around luxury experience. 

  •  Mattress Type: Gel Memory Foam
  • Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5
  • Firmness: Relaxed firm, Firm
  • Trial: 180 Nights
  • Warranty: 15-Year Limited

Buy It, Loom & Leaf, $2,099 for a Queen, saatva.com

Searching for Your Best Firm Mattress

Something that can’t be overstated is that not all firm mattresses are created equal. In fact, just because you’re concentrating your research on the upper end of the firmness scale, that doesn’t mean all the products you see are going to be similar. There’s a lot of variation in materials, edge support, motion isolation, pressure relief and of course, price point. 

Who’s a Good Match for a Firm Mattress?

Heavier Sleepers: Plus-size sleepers are great candidates for a firm mattress, which will give the support they need as opposed to feeling too soft. 

Back Sleepers: Firm mattresses are important for back sleepers who need to maintain a healthy posture as they rest, keeping the spine lifted up and supported.

Stomach Sleepers: Like back sleepers, stomach sleepers typically need a firmer bed. Indeed, the firmness is vital in to preventing a stomach sleeper’s back from curving up into a painful or unnatural position.

Who Should Skip a Firm Mattress?

Side Sleepers: Statistically speaking, a majority of Americans prefer sleeping on their side. If that’s you, then we’d actually recommend thinking twice before purchasing too firm of a mattress. Most side sleepers want something more plush that will offer a contouring sensation for their body. 

Sleepers with Joint Pain: Sleepers with hip pain, arthritis, and any overall aches and sensitive joints need to seek a mattress with a little more cushion, such as a pillow top. A firm mattress may not yield enough pressure relief for these areas.  

Mattress Firmness

Mattress firmness can fall anywhere from “plush” to “firm,” with most products somewhere in between. Consider a scale of 1 to 10, where one is the softest option and 10 is the firmest. Most popular mattress models are in the 5 to 7 range. Mattresses included in this roundup fall between an 8 or 9 on this scale.

Health Conditions that Firm Mattresses Benefit

One of the main reasons to choose a firm mattress is because you struggle with back pain. According to the American Chiropractic Association, about 80 percent of adults find themselves with back pain at some point in their lives. For about 20 percent of adults, that pain becomes a chronic occurrence.

Switching to a firmer mattress may help to alleviate some of this pain. The reason for this has everything to do with pressure relief and support. When you lay down, your body weight naturally presses down on certain joints and pressure points, including your lower back and hips. This can exacerbate pain and stiffness, when not properly supported. A pressure relieving mattress will actually help to distribute your body weight more evenly, meaning your pressure points won’t be under as much strain while aligned. For many people this can help mediate chronic back pain.

“Overall I am often recommending a firm bed, especially for my patients who suffer from back pain,” says Dr. Breus. “A firm bed will allow you to have a consistent sleep posture, or healthy sleep position. Softer models allow for too much flexibility, and lower support in many cases.”

Mattress Type

As you think about firmness level, also think about mattress type. Again, there are a number of options to choose from, and it really comes down to your comfort preferences, sleep position, and budget.

Memory Foam

Memory foam mattresses have been very popular in recent decades. An all-foam mattress should give you a “sinking feeling” as your body is cushioned and hugged to sleep. Foam mattresses don’t creak or make noise like innerspring beds sometimes do, and they tend to offer great motion isolation, which makes them perfect for couples who share a bed. The downside: Memory foam often traps and retains body heat. Gel memory foam can sometimes alleviate this, and offer a cooler sleep experience, but you must understand the details of the materials to find the right one.

Hybrid

If you see a mattress marked as a hybrid, it just means that it’s made from a combination of materials such as foam, innerspring coils and latex. Ideally, hybrid mattresses unite the best aspects of their source materials, and give you the best of each mattress type.

Innerspring

An innerspring mattress is made with a system of springs, or coils. Innerspring mattresses tend to promote air circulation and keep you cool. They also offer some “bounce,” which is important for combination sleepers. The biggest downside is that they can sometimes be a little noisy. Overall innerspring mattresses tend to be on the firmer side.

Latex

Natural and synthetic latex are both cool and supportive, and an all-organic option is ideal for eco-friendly shoppers. A lot of the time, latex mattresses are on the pricey side, so that’s something to be aware of. They have a good bit of “give” in the material while still maintaining excellent support. 

Picking the Right Firm Mattress for You

There’s not just one perfect mattress out there that works for everyone. All of us have our own unique preferences, and there are a lot of factors to juggle, from sleep position to body type. As you consider these questions on your search for a new bed, consider the options available on the Sleep Doctor’s list of highly recommended firm mattresses. 

Sources for this article

American Chiropractic Association, 2020. “Back Pain Facts and Statistics” American Chiropractic Association. https://www.acatoday.org/Patients/What-is-Chiropractic/Back-Pain-Facts-and-Statistics

The post Sleep Supported with the 10 Best Firm Mattresses, According to the Sleep Doctor appeared first on The Sleep Doctor.



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