If you’ve got a sinking feeling about your mattress, continue reading. We break down how to spot the best mattress for side sleepers.

Best Side Sleeper Mattress Must-Haves

1. Comfort Level (Softness or Firmness)

Mattresses come in plush, medium, firm, and even up to extra firm. And your personal preference plays a role in which mattress you buy.

Some may love the feeling of a plush mattress. It’s comfortable, and it absorbs your weight when you plop onto your bed. Akin to a warm hug, it is a popular choice for those that like to sleep cozy.

Others prefer a firm mattress that keeps them stable and supports their movement. After an exhausting day in the boardroom, you want a bed that relieves your stress, not add to it.

But the best mattress for side sleepers, more often than not, is a medium or soft mattress.

A soft or mid-plush mattress has enough give to cradle your pressure points. For side sleepers, these are your hips and shoulders. Absorbing your shoulders and hips helps keep your spine aligned and may help prevent muscle pain.

Today’s mattresses have several helpful layers, springs, and coils, all of which contribute to a well-supported spine.

2. Pressure Relieving Comfort

Sink and pressure relief are terms we in the industry like to throw around a lot. But it’s because these two factors play a tremendous role in cradling your pressure points while still supporting your spine. And these are what set side sleepers apart from back or stomach sleepers.

Pressure relief could be a bit more challenging for side sleepers. Sleeping on your sides compresses your muscles and places plenty of pressure on your shoulders and hips.

Your shoulders and hips should sink deep enough into the mattress such that it keeps your spine aligned and posture straight.

But it may be a different story for sleepers with back or hip pain.

If a mattress is rigid, it may not provide ample support for your lumbar region. It may leave your muscles working the night shift to keep your spine aligned, which could lead to back pain in the morning.

A soft mattress might cause or worsen shoulder and hip pain by allowing your body to sink into the foam and spine to misalign.

There are other ways your mattress can provide support and pressure relief.

3. Accommodating Pocket Springs

A mattress with fine-tuned pocket springs may also support spinal alignment as it conforms to the curves of your body. And if you experience muscle pain, it could reinforce proper posture and ease your pain.

Mattresses with pocketed coils provide precise body contouring. Individual coils act independently to adjust to your natural (and correct) posture and cradle all your curves.

We recommend the Serta Freya with a 7-zone honeycomb pocket on pocket coils, lifting the burden from your shoulders—literally.

4. Additional Contouring Layers

Your mattress is a comprehensive system with different working parts.

In addition to checking out the coils and firmness, look for a side sleeper mattress with refined contouring features and materials.

Memory foam is popular with people that put a premium on back support. It molds to your body, precisely cradling your pressure points. On the other hand, some sleepers find that it contours too much to their body. Instead of getting spine support, it may like it melts under their weight.

Some memory foam polymer layers also gather heat throughout the night. If you are interested in memory foam, make sure your mattress has an adaptive cooling feature.

Latex provides the same body-responsive and pressure relief features as the memory foam but with a denser feel.

The best mattress for side sleepers cradles your muscles, supports spinal alignment, and supports your movements whichever way you turn.

The iProminence features KoolComfort™ memory foam and a latex layer, giving you twice as much contouring and pressure relief. And because Serta works thrice as hard, it includes an adaptive dynamic cooling system.

5. Temperature Regulation

One of the keys to a cozy night is a mattress that maintains optimal sleeping temperature. Your body temperature dips at night, helping you fall—and stay—asleep.

Materials like polymer memory foams typically retain heat. So when you are lounging on a warm summer day, your bed may not be the most comfortable spot at home.

Some sleepers also tend to run warm at night. It could lead to a night full of tossing and turning and shifting over to the cooler side of the mattress.

Many mattresses have cooling features and ventilation systems within the layers. Ones with a temperature-regulating surface contribute to an undisturbed siesta. Ventilation systems allow air to pass through the foam encasement, keeping your mattress dry and moisture-free.

The best mattress for side sleepers (and all types of sleepers) promotes undisturbed sleep.

Our recommendation? The iBreeze boasts an adaptive dynamic cooling system that will keep your bed cool and fresh and your slumber deeply refreshing.

6. Anti Skid Surface

An anti-skid feature may not contribute to pressure relief, but it may keep your sleep stress-free.

As you switch between sides, you do not want your mattress to toss and turn with you. An unsecured one could create a gap between you might slip into in the middle of the night. And the only thing you should fall into at night is sleep.

The best mattress for side sleepers should stay still even when you can’t.

7. Consider Your Weight

Your weight determines the softness or firmness of your mattress. So while softer mattresses are the top recommendations for side sleepers, they may not be ideal for heavier sleepers.

A soft mattress might have too much give or sag for heavier sleepers. While it may provide relief on their pressure points, it may not promote proper spinal alignment.

Because of this, it becomes more important to look for a mattress that provides an exhaustive system of contouring layers.

The best mattress for side sleepers will adapt to the contours of your body and provide pressure relief for your shoulders and hips.

Can’t decide which mattress is best for you? No pressure. Literally.

With a duet of sturdy and soft support and pressure relief, Serta mattresses are positioned to provide you with indulgent sleep.

Serta offers mattresses crafted with high-quality materials and the latest innovations in sleep technology. Number one at earning firsts and with over 80 years of experience and expertise, trust only Serta.

Does your current mattress meet your needs? Or do you need to meet with a Serta sales rep? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!