Best Mattress for Pressure Points to Buy in 2024

If you’ve ever slept on your side and woken up with your bottom shoulder and hip joints hurting, you’ve experienced pressure point pain. Everyone has these, but not everyone has to experience pain in these areas. Whether you experience pain depends on whether you’re sleeping on the right mattress.

The best pressure-relieving mattress combines materials that offer deep compression with the right firmness level for your sleep position. This combination can help you wake up pain-free every morning.

Those who want a mattress that has a little something for everyone should consider the AS3 by Amerisleep. It’s got zoned pressure relief for those who suffer pressure point pain and a host of other features for everyone else.

All Amerisleep mattresses ship free and come with a 100-night sleep trial and a 20-year warranty.

Read Our Full Review of the Amerisleep AS3 Mattress

If the pain in your pressure points keeps you from living your active lifestyle, check out the Zoma Hybrid. This performance mattress was made to offer active people the most restorative sleep possible.

Zoma mattresses come with free delivery, a 100-night trial period, and a 10-year warranty.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattresses for Athletes

If you want a mattress that can better alleviate your pressure points without transferring the pain to your wallet, check out the Vaya Hybrid. This mattress has a simple design that allows it to maintain quality and affordability all at once.

All Vaya mattresses ship free and include a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattresses Under $1000

The thicker, softer Zoma Boost may be better for those seeking pressure relief than the original Zoma Hybrid. Standing 15 inches tall with a deep foam top, the responsive, cooling, gentle cushion of the Zoma Boost can feel luxurious on aching and sore bodies, like a cold compress wrapped in a soft towel.

Read Our Full Review of the Zoma Boost Mattress

Those who sleep hot and have these problems should check out this mattress that combines multiple cooling technologies and layers of foam to relieve overheating and pressure alike: the Nolah Evolution 15.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattresses That Won’t Sag

If you’re not sure what firmness level you need or have never found a firmness level that works for you, consider the Saatva Solaire. This mattress offers 50 precise firmness settings that can be changed at the touch of a button.

SEE ALSO: Best Customizable Mattresses

If you suffer from allergies, the microbes in your bed could be contributing to your symptoms. The good news is the Bear Elite Hybrid can help keep you from sharing a bed with your allergy triggers.

SEE ALSO: Zoma vs. Bear – Side-by-Side Mattress Comparison

Side sleepers who want the ultimate pressure relief without sacrificing an ounce of spinal support should check out the supportive and cushioning Helix Midnight Luxe.

SEE ALSO: Best Hybrid Mattress for Side Sleepers

Those who want a hybrid mattress with a classic hybrid feel should check out the Spartan Hybrid by Brooklyn Bedding. This mattress features responsive coils arranged into ergonomic zones that offer ideal support to each area of the body.

SEE ALSO: Mattress Sizes and Bed Dimensions

Best Mattresses for Pressure Points of 2024 Highlights and Comparisons

How to Choose the Best Mattress for Pressure Points

You would think the best mattress for pressure points pain would just be the softest mattress you could find. However, this is not necessarily the case. It won’t do you much good if you have a mattress that’s so soft it relieves your pain but lets your spine fall out of alignment and leaves you with back pain.

This means to find the best mattress for you, you’ll need to choose the right material and mattress firmness to give you the correct balance of support and pressure relief.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattress for Tall People

What Causes Pressure Point Problems?

Everyone has pressure points. These are simply the areas of your body that press down hardest on the mattress. Your sleeping position determines where these areas are.

“The importance of posture in facilitating good sleep is often underestimated,” explains Dr. Nayantara Santhi. “A good sleeping position is critical for sleep because it can impact a person’s breathing, muscles, and even brain activity.”

For example, side sleepers’ pressure points are the hip and shoulder joints that contact the mattress, so they benefit from a pressure-relieving mattress for shoulder pain. Meanwhile, stomach sleepers may have these in the chest or hip bones.

Whether you experience pressure point pain depends on your mattress. Mattresses that are too firm can push back on the pressure points, causing you to experience pain in them when you wake and sometimes even throughout the day.

Ideal Mattress Materials for People with Pressure Point Pain

If you have pressure point pain, you’ll need a type of mattress that’s good at absorbing pressure to ensure you get sufficient relief. However, you don’t want to sacrifice spinal support to get pressure relief. That will just leave you with a whole new set of problems.

Getting the right balance of pressure relief and support means getting a mattress that’s good at contouring. Mattresses that can contour mold themselves to your shape to align the spine and relieve pressure at the same time – and some mattress materials are much better at contouring than others.

Memory Foam

Flexible polyurethane foam – memory foam – is made using processed petroleum products. These products are whipped into a synthetic foam that is more flexible and adaptable than virtually any other.

Memory foam is perhaps the best material for contouring on the market. A memory foam mattress compresses under your pressure points to absorb pressure, and it rises to meet inward curves in your body to support your spinal column.

This means it is one of the best materials to relieve pressure point pain without sacrificing spinal support. The material has even been used in mattresses for bed sores that hospitals rely upon to keep patients in long-term comfort.

The main issues with memory foam spring from its synthetic composition. It’s not the most responsive foam on the market, so it can develop issues with body impressions and be slow to spring back into place. It also tends to retain heat more than other mattress types.

So hot sleepers and active sleepers should take note. If you often wake up. In a sweat or like to toss and turn at night, you may do better with a hybrid or a latex foam mattress than with a memory foam one.

Latex Foam

Hot sleepers and active sleepers who want an all-foam mattress should check out natural latex. Natural latex foam comes from the sap of the rubber tree. The liquid sap is whipped into a foam and processed into one of two main types of foam: Talalay and Dunlop.

For pressure relief, a Talalay latex mattress is best. It’s lighter and more flexible than Dunlop latex, which allows it to contour and compress better. However, Dunlop latex cannot be beaten in the buoyancy category. This dense and sturdy foam is also the most durable material on the market.

Both Talalay and Dunlop are highly responsive, and they’re also much more breathable than memory foam. This makes a latex mattress a much better alternative for those who sleep hot or like to change positions during the night.

There are a couple of things to watch out for when it comes to latex. First, latex wants to hold its own shape more than memory foam. This means it’s not quite as contouring. Most people won’t notice a difference, but if you’re a side sleeper, you might.

Another issue with latex is its potential to trigger allergies. If you have a latex allergy, it’s best to stick to other materials because there’s always a risk of coming into contact with the rubber in your mattress. Cost is another drawback for many, particularly when it comes to organic latex mattresses.

Hybrid

For those who need the most intense pressure relief of all, a hybrid mattress might be the best option. Hybrid mattresses combine pocketed coils with comfort foams to create a mattress that offers the best of both springs and foam. Hybrids can come with latex or memory foam comfort layers – some hybrids have both!

Hybrid mattresses offer lots of pressure relief, thanks to their ability to contour all the way through the mattress. Pocketed coils can move independently because they’re individually wrapped. This means each coil can compress in its own way to take your shape, providing pressure relief and support all at the same time.

Hybrids are also fantastic cooling mattresses for hot sleepers and active sleepers. The pocketed coils circulate cooling air throughout the mattress, and they also bounce right back as soon as you move. That means hybrid mattresses can be a good alternative for hot and active sleepers who still want memory foam.

The main issue with hybrid mattresses is their expense. The coils break down and lose tension faster than base foam, which means hybrids don’t last as long as foam mattresses.

Furthermore, they’re also among the most expensive mattresses on the market. Combined with their lowered durability, hybrids’ high average upfront cost leaves them as the most expensive mattress type of all.

Innerspring

Innerspring mattresses are not the best when it comes to pressure relief. They combine a thinner comfort layer with a support core of open coils. Open coils are wired together with steel cable, which poses a lot of problems that can interrupt your sleep.

The main problem with open coils vs pocketed coils is the fact that open coils cannot contour all that well. They tend to sag underneath your heavier parts and don’t compress well underneath your pressure points. This means they can allow your spine to fall out of alignment and also exert a lot of pressure on places where they shouldn’t.

Additionally, open coils have issues with motion transfer, low durability, squeaking and creaking, and even breakage and poking through the comfort layers. You also cannot use innerspring mattresses with adjustable beds because they’re too stiff. For all these reasons, we suggest going with a hybrid if you want a coil support core.

Ideal Firmness Level for People with Pressure Point Pain

Mattress firmness is measured on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the firmest. Mattresses do not cover the entire firmness range. Rather, the overwhelming majority of mattresses fall between a three and an eight. This is because no one wants a mattress with no support or no pressure relief. Every mattress needs to have a little of both.

The balance you need depends on a couple of factors, namely your sleep style and your body type.

Sleep Position

Your sleeping position is the most important factor in your decision on your mattress’s firmness. The position you prefer to sleep in decides how your spine lines up and where your pressure points are. This means the way you sleep most impacts where and how your mattress needs to compress.

Back Sleepers

Back sleepers don’t tend to have as many issues with their pressure points as people with other sleep preferences. This is because the body weight is fairly evenly distributed across the back. Most back sleepers have problems with spinal alignment instead.

An overly firm mattress won’t compress under the buttocks, letting the lower back slouch and misaligning the lumbar region. An overly soft mattress will allow the whole body to sink, which bends the spine out of alignment.

For this reason, back sleepers need medium-firm mattresses (6). These mattresses for back sleeping offer a balance of support and pressure relief that will keep the spine optimally aligned.

Combo Sleepers

Combination sleepers don’t have a strong preference for a single sleeping position. They may adopt any sleep position on any given night or even several times throughout the night. This can pose a problem for those who suffer pressure point pain because it means they have multiple pressure points all over the body.

The best way to deal with this is to get a medium mattress (5). Such mattresses for combination sleepers offer a good balance of cushioning and support that can help prevent spinal misalignment and pressure point pain in multiple sleeping positions.

Side Sleepers

Side sleepers have the most pressure point problems of all. Sleeping on your side presses the hip and shoulder joints into the mattress. Hours upon hours of your body weight pushing these pressure points into the mattress can lead to severe pain and stiffness – especially for those who can only sleep on one side.

That’s not to say side sleeping is a bad position. On the contrary, it’s often regarded as one of the best sleep positions.

“The physiotherapist Michael Tetley grew up among tribal people in Africa, and they taught him to side-sleep so he could listen for danger signals with both ears,” notes Dr. Santhi. “While we probably don’t have to listen for danger signals in the relative comfort and safety of our homes, side-sleeping is still one of the healthier sleep postures to adopt.”

Soft mattresses (3) are the best way to counter the pressure of side sleeping. Soft mattresses offer deep compression and tons of pressure absorption.

Side sleepers who need a little extra support can consider a medium-soft mattress (4) or medium as an alternative. These mattresses for side sleeping still provide tons of pressure relief, but they also offer a bit more support.

Stomach Sleepers

Like back sleepers, stomach sleepers have more problems with spinal misalignment than pressure point pain. Sleeping on your stomach causes your pelvis to sink into the mattress. This overarches the spine and causes lower back pain. A supportive mattress for stomach sleeping counters the effects of gravity on the torso.

Firm and extra-firm mattresses (7 and 8) counter this sinkage to help keep your spine in proper alignment. If you have pressure points in your hips, chest, or knees from stomach sleeping, a true firm mattress may be best for you. Avoid going lower than a medium-firm to prevent back pain.

Body Type

Not everyone’s body type impacts their firmness needs, but it sometimes can. The mattress industry considers the average human body weight range to be between 130 and 230 pounds. This means they create mattresses with that standard in mind.

If your weight falls between these two numbers, you don’t need to worry about your body weight impacting your firmness needs. It isn’t a factor for you. If your weight falls outside of these numbers, you’ll need to take that into consideration.

Petite Sleepers

Petite sleepers weigh less than 130 pounds. Those who fall into this category tend to have problems getting enough compression to alleviate their pressure points.

This means they can wind up with pressure-related pain on a mattress that corresponds to their sleep position. This is why petite sleepers usually need to go one firmness level lower than the one that goes with their preferred sleep position. Softer mattresses for lightweight sleepers are quick to hug the body.

Plus-Size Sleepers

If you weigh more than 230 pounds, you’re a plus-size sleeper. Plus-size sleepers tend to have the opposite problem as petite sleepers. Mattresses that correspond to their sleep position often don’t offer enough support to counter sinkage, which leads to spinal misalignment.

This means heavier sleepers need to go one level firmer than the typical mattress that would correspond to their sleep position. Firmer mattresses for heavy sleepers can withstand the added wear and tear better and softens up underneath a plus-sized body.

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FAQs

Why do I have pressure points?

The short answer to this question is that everyone has pressure points. Pressure points are just the areas where your body presses down on the bed, depending on how you sleep.

Pain can occur in these areas if you sleep on a mattress that doesn’t work for your sleep style and body type. Overly firm mattresses are the most common cause of pressure point pain, though too-soft mattresses made of materials that can’t contour can cause pressure point issues as well.

Most of the time, finding a mattress or mattress topper that better fits your sleep needs can fix the problem. For example, if you have a medium-firm mattress but are looking for a mattress for side sleeper, you’d need to either find a plush mattress topper or replace your mattress with a medium-soft or soft mattress.

Which mattress material is best for pressure points?

There are several different materials that can help ease pressure point pain, but the best of these are memory foam mattresses. Memory foam offers the deepest compression, which translates into the most pressure relief at each firmness level. This means you’re more likely to get sufficient pressure relief at the right firmness level for you.

If you take issue with the heat retention and slow response time of memory foam mattresses, check out a hybrid mattress instead. It will have all the contouring of memory foam mattresses, but it’ll be much more responsive and cooling than an all-foam mattress.

Can an adjustable bed help my pressure point pain?

Adjustable beds can help your pressure points because they’re so great at relieving pressure. Sleeping on an adjustable bed allows your body to achieve a natural bend that pulls your weight off of your joints, which can relieve pressure.

The zero-gravity pose is among the best positions for pressure relief. Elevating the head and feet above the heart helps take some of the weight off of common areas that experience pressure-related pain, like shoulders, hips, and knees. It also helps alleviate back pain, so it offers a one-two punch of pain relief.

Which firmness level is best to relieve my pressure points?

The firmness level you need depends mostly on your sleep position. Side sleepers have the most problems with pressure points. Side sleepers also need the softest mattresses of all sleep positions.

So side sleepers who have pain in their hips and shoulders should consider a true-soft mattress (read more about best mattresses for hip pain here). Side sleepers who are heavier or have back pain should go up to a medium-soft. If you’re a stomach or back sleeper, be careful with how soft you go. Back sleepers and, especially, stomach sleepers need a lot more support than side sleepers.

Back sleepers should stick to a medium-firm mattress, and stomach sleepers should go with firm mattresses. If you’re waking up with pressure point pain with these firmnesses, consider a soft mattress topper to provide more pressure relief without losing the support of your correct firmness.

What causes pressure point problems?

In a word: pressure. When you sleep on any surface in any position, certain areas of your body will contact the sleep surface more than others. Your body weight pushes these areas against the sleep surface, and if the sleep surface pushes back, the areas against it will experience pain. It’s that simple. This is why getting the correct firmness level is so important.

Bottom Line

Pressure points are a part of life. Everyone has them, and anyone can experience pain in them. The good news is there’s a simple solution – a comfortable and pressure-relieving mattress!

Dr. Burns tests each mattress at eachnight’s facility to make sure the recommendations are based on real, expert reviews.