In a perfect world, you would comfortably fall asleep and wake up the next morning feeling refreshed, revitalized and ready to take on your day.
Sounds like a dream doesn’t it?
Sadly, not everything pans out as well as we might want. And if you’re waking up with back or neck pain, you’re certainly not going to be ready to get up and tackle your day.
The good news is that there is a simple way you can help make this perfect world your reality. And that’s choosing a mattress that will eradicate your pain and help you get the comfortable night’s sleep that you deserve.
Lucky for you, we’ve reviewed some of the best mattresses for bad backs out there and put our top 5 picks for you to explore below.
The 5 best mattresses for bad backs
We’ve explored and tested all of the leading mattresses on the market. These are the 5 best mattresses for back pain that you need to know about.
1. The Ergoflex 5G
- 30-night free trial
- Free collection & returns
- Free next-day or selected date delivery
- 10-year guarantee
- Firmness: Medium/Firm
- Size: Single-Super King
- Price: Range from £479-£899 depending on size.
Recommended by the back doctor himself, Dr Mark Craig, the Ergoflex 5G claims to be the “most supportive, pressure-relieving and comfortable mattress” ever made. It’s a bold claim, but they certainly have the features to back it up.
This mattress is made from a medium-firm memory foam mattress, providing a great level of Orthopaedic pressure-relief without being too harsh on your muscles. In addition, this also absorbs all motion transfer, so you won’t be able to feel your partner moving around in the night.
This memory foam layer is an impressive 9cm deep, which is nearly three times the depth of the top layers provided by competitors. This helps increase both the comfort and support of the mattress.
The Ergoflex 5G has an internal Cool-Sleep airflow system designed to keep the mattress cool. This stops heat from building up in the night, helping regulate your temperatures for a more comfortable and better night’s sleep.
To top it, the outer cover is also machine washable, helping prevent dust-mite infections and keep allergens away.
Delivery is free and a lot more convenient as the Ergoflex Mattress is vacuum-packed into small boxes that will easily fit through any door. Once you unbox them, they’ll grow back out to their correct size.
It also has a pretty competitive price compared to others on the list, making it our top pick as far as the best mattresses for bad backs go. Don’t worry, you get a 30-night trial with each mattress to see if it’s right for you.
Click here to find out more about the Ergoflex 5G
2. The Leesa Mattress
UPDATE: As of 1st May 2020, the Leesa website is saying the company is no longer operating in Europe. We are currently trying to establish whether the company has entered administration.
In the meantime, please consider one of our other recommended online mattress brands instead.
- 10-year guarantee
- Designed for all sleep positions
- 100-night trial
- Firmness: Medium/Firm
- Size: UK Single-EU King
- Price: Range from £450-£850 depending on size.
The Leesa mattress offers fantastic support, no matter what kind of sleeper you are. Back, side, or front, the Leesa mattress is made from a contouring memory foam that moulds to the position you’re in.
The mattress is made from 3 layers of foam, starting with a 15cm base foam layer to add strength, durability and structure to support sleepers without feeling too firm. This is followed by a 5cm pressure-relieving memory foam layer for added muscle support and topped with a 5cm cooling top base to regulate temperature.
It’s reasonably priced and comes with an added feel-good factor. For every 10 mattresses that they sell, they donate 1 to charity and those in need. It’s the only mattress that comes with good karma ready for a soundless night.
Doesn’t have a mattress cover, so it’s worth buying an additional mattress protector to sit on top.
Website is filled with outstanding reviews, such as this one below:
“Ordered a Leesa mattress and I’m very happy with the quality and feel of this bed. It’s the perfect firmness for my chronic back pain and there is just enough bounce where I’m not sinking into the mattress too much. I am a back sleeper and occasionally roll onto my sides. Haven’t tried sleeping on my belly yet. Love my Leesa!”.
Yesenia A.
The Leesa Mattress also comes with one of the longest trial periods on the market, allowing you to test the mattress for 100 whole nights. Now, that’s a confident test run. That helps to cement its place as one of the very best mattresses for back pain.
3. The Nrem Mattress
This mattress is no longer available
- Fully customisable mattress
- 5 adjustable comfort changing zones
- Firmness: Customisable
- Size: Single-Super King
- Price: Range from £595-£1,095 depending on size.
The Nrem mattress is the most customisable mattress out there.
It’s built with 5 different ‘comfort zones’, made from super soft, soft, medium and firm densities. Unzip the mattress and you can swap these foam inserts to build the perfect bed of the right firmness for you.
For example, if you’re suffering from lower back pain, you can create super soft, medium, soft, soft, firm. If you have a double mattress, each side can be configured with different setups. That means that both you and your partner can have your own dream bed that’s right for you.
It’s been tried and tested on those that are suffering from pain. And according to their own website, “94% of customers have improved their sleep after just 1 night on their Nrem Mattress”. That’s pretty impressive.
The only downside? It’s a pretty expensive mattress. But if you’ve got the budget for it, it’s the best money can buy.
4. Relyon Heyford Ortho 1500 Pocket Mattress
- Double-sided mattress
- Free next day delivery & two-man delivery upgrade
- 8-year guarantee
- Firmness: Extra Firm
- Size: Single-Super King
- Price: Range from £649-£1,109 depending on size.
If you’re looking for a firm mattress, the Relyon Heyford Ortho 1500 Pocket Mattress is the best money can buy. Just make sure you have the budget for it, as unfortunately, it’s also one of the most pricy options of the best mattresses for bad backs.
This mattress is made from over 1500 pocket springs and a durable cotton foundation, giving firm orthopaedic support for those who need it. Each of these springs reacts to your shape while preventing motion transfer to make sure your partner is not disturbed.
The mattress is also hypoallergenic, making it a perfect match from those who suffer from allergies.
Rather uniquely, the design of the mattress also ensures that you’ll never roll over the edge. It’s also double-sided, making the mattress last longer and be easier to care for. Just make sure you turn it over every month to get the longest life from it.
Just keep in mind that a firm mattress isn’t the best option for everyone suffering from back or neck pain. For some people, having a firm mattress can make the pain worse. Before you invest in a mattress like this, we would recommend testing firm ones to see how you feel.
Click here to find out more about this mattress
5. Bed Butler Emperor Supreme 3000 Pocket Mattress
- Over 3000 pocket springs
- Made from natural cotton, cashmere & pure wool
- 5-year guarantee
- Firmness: Firm
- Size: Double-Super King
- Price: Range from £959-£1,139 depending on size.
The Bed Butler Emperor Supreme 3000 Pocket Mattress is the most expensive model on this list of the best mattresses for back pain, but it’s perfect for those who are looking for a little extra luxury.
It uses natural cotton for temperature regulating as well as top-quality cashmere. It’s also filled with wool, creating a soft, cushioned feel. This is also great for those that want their mattress to be made with natural materials.
It’s topped in a luxurious silk layer, creating the ultimate comfort.
Luxury materials inside, this mattress is also good at providing support for those that need it. It’s made from 3000 individual pocket springs in a double layer, giving you firm muscle support on all the pressure points that you need it. Because the pocket springs are all individual, they are great at motion control.
This means that if you’re moving about in the middle of the night, your partner won’t be able to feel a thing.
Click here to find out more about this mattress
Which Mattress Is Best For You?
Answer 4 simple questions below to get a personal recommendation on which mattress may work best for you:
Can mattresses really ease back and muscle pain?
Yes, the best mattresses for back pain can ease back and muscle pain. It’s all about the support that your mattress can offer to your body while you’re sleeping.
When you go to sleep, you’re laying in the same position for hours. This creates a lot of stress and pressure on those parts of your body and reduces the flow of blood to that particular area. With a restricted blood flow, you’re depriving your skin of oxygen and nutrients. This is what causes pain.
Think about one the last time you were on your feet all day long. Having your body weight on your feet for hours at a time causes them to ache and hurt – much in the same way as sleeping does at night.
If you’re on a bad mattress, this will be like standing on your feet all day, day after day. It’s no wonder that you’re suffering from back and muscle pain.
The best mattresses for bad backs will help ease these pressure points while you sleep. This prevents your blood flow is restricted, allowing you to sleep in one position for longer.
That’s the power of a good mattress.
Are hard or soft mattresses best for back pain?
There’s no straight forward answer to knowing whether a firm mattress or a soft one is best for back pain. It depends entirely on you and your preference.
Most experts would recommend going somewhere in between a soft and firm mattress if you’re suffering from back and neck pain. That’s because soft mattresses don’t offer the support you need to ease the pressure on your muscles, instead letting you sink into the bed during the night.
Meanwhile, firm mattresses can actually make the pain worse by putting too much pressure on your head, shoulders and lower back.
Factors like your height, weight and the position that you sleep in at night will also make a big difference to the support your muscles get.
The only way to know for sure what type of mattress you need is to test them. Head down to your nearest mattress store and test ones of different hardness. But don’t just feel it and walk away. Lay on it for at least 20 minutes and note how you’re feeling. If you feel comfortable and relaxed without any soreness or pain, then that mattress is a winner.
3 more benefits of using the right mattresses
As well as helping ease muscle aches and pains, having the right mattress offers a whole host of benefits to help you sleep better at night.
To help convince you that it might be the right time for an upgrade, we’ve listed the top 3 extra benefits of having one of the best mattresses for back pain:
They reduce stress
According to a study, having brand new mattresses were shown to lower stress levels and help participants get to sleep quicker compared to using their regular old mattresses.
Part of this might have to do with the comfort of a new mattress, which can help shut off your mind and turn off those racing thoughts as you get into bed for the night.
They reduce allergies
The longer you have a mattress, the more likely they are to be infected with dust mites.
For those that are unfamiliar, dust mites are microscopic creatures that feed on dead skin cells that you naturally shed each night. They’re also the biggest causes of allergies, meaning an old mattress is the last thing someone suffering from asthma or allergies needs.
Because dust mites are microscopic, you can’t see if your mattress is infected. But if you’re waking up with a cough, runny nose or itching, you might be due a new mattress.
They can increase the quality of your sleep
There is nothing like having a long, refreshing sleep on a brand new mattress. This is because the support of a new mattress won’t just help ease muscle pain, but prevent you from waking up in the night.
Without proper support, the nerves in your body will tell your brain to roll over when you’ve been laid in one place for a long time to relieve the pressure. This will temporarily wake you up – even if you don’t remember it.
If your sleep keeps being interrupted, you won’t cycle through all 5 stages of the sleep cycle. This means that you won’t get all the rest that your body needs, making you feel tired and groggy even if you’re in bed for 8 hours a day.
It’s not just about the time you’re sleeping, it’s about the quality of your sleep as well. Making sure you have one of the best mattresses for bad backs is making sure that you’ve got the equipment you need for a quality night’s sleep.
Choosing your next mattress: each mattress type explained
We’ve listed our top 5 best mattresses for bad backs above. But when it comes to mattresses, it’s important to find the perfect match just for you.
That’s why we’ve put together a guide to each mattress type, helping you understand the jargon and know which type is right for you.
To quickly refresh your memory, these are the most common mattress types:
Innerspring mattresses
Innerspring mattresses are traditional mattresses made from several steel coils. When you put weight on them, they compress and then ‘spring’ back into shape when you stand up.
Having existed since the 1900s, these are often seen as the most common and cheapest option out there. But there are several types of innerspring beds, including those with individual coils like the Bed Butler Emperor Supreme and the Relyon Heyford Ortho 1500 Pocket Mattress.
Having individual springs means that the mattress can last longer and doesn’t bother your partner when you move.
Memory foam
Memory foam is a type of soft foam that will contour around your shape as you lay on it. Once you leave, it will bounce back and ‘remember’ its original shape.
The softness makes it perfect for sinking back and relaxing into it, while the cushioning is great at adding extra support to your muscles. This mix of comfort and support is why this mattress type is usually on the expensive side.
You’ll find memory foam in some of the best mattresses for bad backs such as the Ergoflex 5G and the Nrem mattress.
Hybrid
A hybrid combines the soft comfort of a memory foam mattress with the firm bounce of an innerspring one.
It’s made from a layer of coiled springs, topped with several layers of latex or memory foam. This means you get extra firm support if you need it, without sacrificing the sinking comfort of a memory foam mattress.
Latex
Innerspring and memory foam mattresses aren’t the only options out there. A popular choice is also a latex mattress, which is perfect for those looking for something more natural and environmentally friendly.
Just make sure you get 100% natural latex mattress though. Some latex mattresses are mixed with synthetic materials, which are worse for the environment and are less durable.
Generally, a latex mattress offers a similar level of support and comfort as a memory foam mattress – at a cheaper price. So, if you’re looking for a memory foam mattress to support your back but you don’t have the budget for it, latex might be the choice for you.
Sleep peacefully on your brand new mattress
And there you have it, our top 5 picks of the best mattress for back pain that are currently available on the market. And of course, all the tips and information you need to know to find the right solution for you.
The most important thing when selecting your brand new mattress is to give it time to see if it makes a difference. You can’t make a decision by only sitting on a mattress for a few minutes.
Most of the best mattresses for back pain come with a trial or return window, letting you test out the mattresses and see if they were right for you.
Looking for other ways to improve your sleep? Discover our range of sleeping tips here.
