The Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers
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There’s no such thing as the best mattress for everyone. Not when there are so many different sleeping positions. However, most people are side sleepers. The numbers vary by study and how rigidly you define a side sleeper, but between half and three-quarters of people sleep on their side.
I am one of those side sleepers, and I've tested more than two dozen mattresses over the past year to find one that suits my needs—these are my top eight. Firm mattresses are nice for back sleepers, but side and stomach sleepers may typically prefer a softer bed with some give for hips and knees. Before I started testing mattresses for WIRED, I would've told you the softer the bed the better. But, as I’ve sampled more styles and religiously tracked my sleep on my Apple Watch, I’ve found that the best mattresses for side sleepers offer both cushion and support. The recommendations below have enough give to let your hips sink in for a natural spinal alignment without making you feel like rolling over is an uphill battle. Everything I recommend was put through at least a week of real-life testing in my home. All of the prices shown are for queen-size models.
Be sure to check out our other sleep guides, including the Best Mattresses, Best Organic Mattresses, Best Cooling Mattresses, and our new guide to the Best Body Pillows for Side Sleepers.
Updated July 2024: We've added the new Saatva Contour5, which is the company's successor to the popular Loom & Leaf model which is being phased out.
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- Photograph: Bear
Best Overall
Bear Elite Hybrid MattressHaving tested the original Bear mattress, which is a budget-friendly all-foam offering, I was unprepared for the Bear Elite Hybrid—it’s not just a different animal, but a whole new species. This five-layer hybrid mattress is a full 14 inches thick and firmer than most other side-sleeper mattresses. The top layer is a quilted pillowtop that gives the Bear Elite a luxury feel that’s surprising at this price. The layer of copper-infused foam that keeps you cool during the night and the spring coils for support are also a nice touch.
After a short break-in period—noticeable on all mattresses but especially important with hybrids—I found the Bear Elite in medium firmness gave just the right sag to my hips and elbows while supporting me on my side. Since it’s a hybrid, there’s airflow in the innerspring layer that makes it breathable. It’s among the sturdiest mattresses in this guide, and the outer pillow top gets cooling benefits from Celliant fiber, a trademarked blend that has been studied for its benefits in athletic wear. I have periodic lower back pain, and I seek out medium-firm mattresses that offer the right amount of pressure relief without being so soft that I sink to a spot where my spine is out of alignment—the Bear Elite strikes the perfect balance.
I've been using the Bear Elite for nearly a year anytime I'm not testing a different mattress—I test mattresses for a week at a time for review and usually test one or two a month—and it's still a personal favorite.
Composition Five-layer hybrid with zoned coils Firmness Three options, firm is a 7.5/10 Height 14 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 120 nights - Photograph: Saatva
Best Traditional Mattress for Side Sleepers
Saatva Contour5The Contour5 is Saatva's successor to the popular Loom & Leaf, which the company is discontinuing. (You won't find the Loom & Leaf on the company's site, but it's still for sale here.) Like all Saatva mattresses it comes delivered on a moving truck instead of roll-packed—that makes for a little added hassle in scheduling the delivery but means you can sleep on it right away instead of letting it puff back up.
The Contour5 is quite similar to its predecessor. There are now two firmness options instead of one, and it stands a half-inch taller than its 1-foot-high predecessor. It also has updated cooling tech that utilizes airflow channels in the gel foam layer, and that gel foam is a half-inch thinner than the old version, which means less mass to retain heat. In my two weeks of testing I found it was very good at remaining cool through summer nights when my power company kept hijacking my Ecobee, which is impressive given that it uses extra-dense 5-pound-weight memory foam (that's the 5 in the name).
The Contour5 otherwise performs very much like the other two Saatva mattresses I've tested. It's soft enough for side sleeping without feeling like a saggy hammock. It has excellent build quality and a very sturdy, solid feel. That's especially impressive on the Contour5 given that it's an all-foam mattress without a layer or two of springs. I personally prefer a hybrid with microcoils, but Saatva is popular for a reason, and as all-foam mattresses go it has a true luxury feel (which it should, since it's triple the price of the all-foam Casper below).
Composition Seven-layer foam Firmness Two options, firm is an 8/10 Height 12.5 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 365 nights
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- Photograph: Saatva
Best Side Sleeper Mattress for Battling Back Pain
Saatva Classic MattressUnlike others on this list, the Saatva Classic is not a mattress in a box. This will be delivered to your home by someone in a moving truck. I was sent a queen-size mattress for testing and elected to leave it in my living room for a week rather than lug it up the stairs myself. (You should get someone to help if you need to move it to a different room in your home.)
It was still a great week of sleep, as the Saatva classic (in the “Luxury” firmness level) is comfortable, with features designed specifically to help those who struggle with back pain. There’s a pillow top made from organic cotton that’s quilted in zones to promote lumbar support. Below that, there’s a well-positioned high-density foam layer in the middle of the mattress for lumbar support. There’s a layer of pocketed coils made with 14.5-gauge steel that are zoned to support your back and are separate from the base layer made with heavier 13-gauge steel coils. All those springs do make it a bit more bouncy than others on this list, but in a good way. The entire mattress is lined with high-density foam, meaning you get peerless edge support. The company says it's built to last 15 years, and the build quality sure seems to back that claim up. Time will tell. Just don’t throw out your back trying to move it yourself.
Composition Five-layer hybrid with zoned foam Firmness Three options, firm is a 7.5/10 Height 11.5 inches or 14.5 inches Cooling No Trial period 365 nights - Photograph: Martin Cizmar
Best Cooling Side-Sleeper Mattress
Leesa Sapira ChillMost mattresses aiming to solve sleeping problems target one issue—back problems, say, or motion isolation to stop disturbances from a partner who tosses and turns. The Leesa Sapira Chill Hybrid is special for solving two big problems by offering excellent spinal alignment for side sleepers and using cooling fibers that work to maintain a surface temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Sapira Chill has an attractive European-style quilted top with nice deep divots from the stitching, which also seems to help hot air escape. The cooling cover is made from polyethylene and polyester with a dash of Lycra, and while it's not icy to the touch, it did keep me comfortable during two weeks of testing. What I really liked, though, was the way two layers of springs separated by one of three layers of foam added up to a medium-firm feel, with my hips sinking deep but not too deep. It was the best at cooling among the side sleeper mattresses I've tested though a few others were close. There's a 100-night trial period, so you can see for yourself.
Composition Seven-layer hybrid with zoned coils Firmness Three options, firm is an 7/10 Height 14 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 100 nights
- Photograph: Nectar
Best for Pressure Relief
Nectar Sleep MattressesThe regular mattress from Nectar has been our top pick for side sleepers in our Best Mattresses guide for years. That mattress is all foam, but we’re finding ourselves moving more toward hybrids that have a layer of coils for support. Enter the Nectar Premium Copper. For anyone who likes a softer mattress to slowly sink into, this is a great option given its excellent contouring and pressure relief. It has five layers of foam and gel and is softer than the original. This mattress is 13 inches thick with a satisfying squishiness and a cooling layer that’s a must for anyone who sleeps hot. All this foam does give the Nectar Premier unmatched motion isolation—your partner could tap dance next to you and you're unlikely to notice.
This mattress is best for true side sleepers. If you are a combo sleeper who often rolls over to your stomach or back, it may be too soft for comfort, given the deep cushion that could turn your arms or knees into new pressure points. Two nice things about Nectar are that the company offers a full year of trial and a forever warranty, so if you feel like you made the wrong choice, you can ask for a do-over. I tested the copper version with added cooling which helped keep this all-foam mattress from overheating me.
Composition Five-layer foam Firmness Two options, firm is a 4.5/10 Height 14 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 365 nights - Photograph: Casper
Best Budget Mattress for Side Sleepers
Casper OneCasper was one of the first big mattress-in-a-box sellers to make inroads in the US (roll-packing mattresses has a longer history in Europe), and the brand's marketing may well have been your introduction to the concept. Casper relaunched its entire line this spring, including this modestly priced entry-level all-foam model. To be honest, my expectations weren't high—all-foam mattresses don't have springy coils to soften specific zones, so they tend to be either overly stiff or overly soft, which is why we usually recommend hybrids (see below). But after a week of sleeping on the One, I was very impressed at how well it cradled my hips and brought my spine into alignment without the help of springs.
The One is the successor to the Casper and the Original from the line, and it has a medium-firm feel with three levels of foam, which increase in density as you move down. It's 11 inches tall, and the queen weighs just 66 pounds, meaning you can lug it around with relative ease. It does sleep a little hotter than the hybrids on this list, which is another issue with all-foam mattresses. I started out skeptical, but I ended up swapping this mattress for the expensive organic latex one in my 9-year-old daughter's room at her request. If you're in the market for a relatively inexpensive but well-made foam mattress, Casper remains at the top of the game.
Composition Four-layer foam Firmness Three options, firm is a 5.5/10 Height 11 inches Cooling No Trial period 100 nights
- Photograph: Cole Slutzky/Birch
Best Organic Side-Sleeper Mattress
Birch Luxe Natural MattressThe standard model from Birch has long been our pick for side sleepers who want an organic mattress, but Birch's new higher-end Luxe model impressed me over my month of testing, thanks to its medium-firm feel and structured support. The Luxe is GOTS-certified organic and uses natural latex with no polyurethane-based foams.
Like the standard Birch, the Luxe has multiple layers of wool plus a layer of individually wrapped coils for support and cushioning. It adds a pillowy Euro top for firmer edges. For side sleepers, the coils offer full lumbar support and are arranged to effectively cradle you after a break-in period of two weeks. I enjoyed my time with this mattress, but not as much as my 9-year-old daughter, who fell in love with the soft organic cotton top and slight springiness. She would not let me take the Birch Luxe out of the house after testing, and instead used it as an auxiliary couch in our living room.
Composition Nine-layer organic hybrid Firmness One option is a 7/10 Height 11.5 inches Cooling Sort of (natural wool) Trial period 100 nights - Photograph: Nolah
Best for Spine Alignment
Nolah EvolutionWe test mattresses over a number of weeks for a reason. Rarely is the break-in period as pronounced as it was with the Nolah Evolution 15 in the “Luxury Firm” option. This thick and tightly structured hybrid felt like an overstuffed balloon out of the box and took two full weeks to break in. By the end of the month, I was sad to send it away.
The Nolah Evolution has seven layers, notably a full inch of high-density foam and a layer of heavy-duty 13.75-gauge coils. Both take some time to soften up. After the break-in though, they provided just the right support and brought my spine into perfect alignment. The top three layers of this mattress promise cooling via thermal conductivity and air circulation, but it ultimately slept neither warm nor cool. This is a big, heavy mattress (the queen weighs 115 pounds!), but it feels super durable. Just be warned that your initial impression may be that it’s a little too stiff. Nolah has a 120-night trial, but you'll have to pay a $99 fee for mattress pickup.
Composition Seven-layer hybrid with zoned coils and zoned foam Firmness Three options, luxury firm is a 7.5/10 Height 15 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 365 nights
Photograph: BearWhat You Should Know When Shopping for a Side Sleeper Mattress
Is sleeping on your side good for you?
If you've ever tried to consciously change your sleeping position (maybe because of a medical procedure or odd bed) you probably know it's tough to fight your natural inclinations. The good news for side sleepers is the broad consensus among experts is that it's at least as good as any other option.
Sleep experts at Houston Methodist say side sleeping has “the least negative impact on health." Which is great! The only things worse for you than sleeping on your side are not sleeping enough or sleeping in any other position!
I have always envied back sleepers but sleeping on your back is the “worst position” according to the Mayo Clinic, which calls side sleeping “a good way to sleep.”
What type of mattress is best for side sleepers, hybrid or memory foam?
We prefer hybrids for side sleepers. Given that you're putting more weight on a smaller surface area you might think that memory foam is nicer than a hybrid mattress that has a layer of springs (often called coils). On memory foam, you sink into a fluffy little cloud and get support on the sides. The problem is that when you’re sleeping well and not moving much, over the course of a night, that foam will slowly but surely compress under you. If it’s just one layer of cheap foam, after a while it will feel like you're sleeping on a yoga mat. That's why mattresses with multiple layers of foam of different weights are better, and why we like hybrids better yet. That layer of springs means the foam doesn't compact nearly as much in my experience. A good hybrid gives you a chance to sleep for a solid six hours without needing to change position, which isn't necessarily the case for me on an all-foam mattress. Hybrids also tend to sleep cooler because there's less mass of solid foam absorbing heat.
What's the ideal firmness for side sleepers?
Most side sleepers gravitate toward softer mattresses, which usually means memory foam instead of innerspring mattresses. Over the course of a night, though, you want to be sure you have a mattress with enough support. All types of mattresses can offer that, but be sure to pay close attention to the firmness scale the company advertises and the firmness options within it. Also take your body type into account, as the more body weight you have, the firmer the mattress you’ll want.
What’s the best type of mattress for heavy people who are side-sleepers?
I am a bigger guy—smaller now than when I started testing mattresses, thanks to semaglutide, but still a bigger guy. I've found that the bigger you are the firmer you want your mattress, as otherwise your body weight will compress the foam and springs below you too much.
How I Test Side Sleeper Mattresses
I review dozens of mattresses every year and I personally tested every pick in this guide, plus a few other contenders that didn't make the cut. I slept on each mattress here in my own home for at least one week and have been long-term testing the top pick, the Bear Elite Hybrid, for nearly a year when I'm not actively testing something else. When there are multiple models available, I usually ask for the firmest option available and grade the firmness based on my impressions after a full week of sleep. In addition to my subjective assessment I closely track my sleep stats using an Apple Watch Ultra.
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