Purchasing the best mattress for couples can be quite a challenge. If you want to make the right decision you need to take into consideration important factors including comfort, motion transfer, durability, responsiveness, and support. Check out our guide to choosing the best mattress for couples and our top picks, based on in-depth research, and make an informed decision.
When buying a new product, especially as a couple, you need to consider several factors, do a little research and pick something that will suit both of you. The same goes when you are buying a new mattress. The most essential factor is the comfort for meaning you need to choose the right firmness factor for both of you. And also, noise and motion are factors that a couple needs to consider. Mattresses that have good motion isolation and make no sound are the best possible option, especially if one or both of you are awakened by noise and movement. And of course, you need to consider a responsive bed that will be great for sex.
Luckily, there are many models available on the market, so you have a wide selection from which to choose. With so many models available, you can surely find a mattress that has comfort, support, thickness, and responsiveness that you need, and durability as well. Testing the bed is very important, and because of that, you have sleep trials available to help you experiment and find the right product. Many brands offer sleep trials that last at least 90 days, in which period you can get a full refund if you are not satisfied.
To find out more about factors that you need to consider if you’re choosing a mattress for you and your partner, read our guidelines in the article and top models for the best mattress a couple can find on the market. Our top 6 best mattress choices for couples are based on in-depth product research and verified owner reviews.
Highlights
Picking a mattress with the perfect firmness setting that will fit you and your partner is very difficult, but luckily, many brands offer two firmness options in the same model. An excellent choice for buying a new mattress with different firmness options would be a flippable mattress. The Layla Mattress. The Layla is one of the best flippable mattress and one of the best memory foam models available on the market. It is a flippable mattress that has two different firmness setting on it. One side is a Soft (4) side and a Firm (7).
The cover is made out of 66% polyester, 30% viscose, and 4% lycra. Viscose, or regenerated cellulose fiber. Viscose is considered to be a unique material, because it is not natural, but not synthetic either, and yet it is very comfortable and soft. On the sides, there are layers of memory foam infused with copper. These layers serve to improve air circulation and keep temperature neutral. Additionally, the bed has great motion isolation, and makes almost no noise, making it an excellent option for couples.
Since it is a flippable mattress, it has two sides with different firmness settings. The Soft side has a convoluted polyfoam layer for improved cushioning. However, both sides share the same support core which is made from polyfoam of high density and maintains an even sleeping surface. It is light and easy to flip.
The product is backed with a lifetime guarantee that includes a 120-day sleep trial. The Layla is very suitable for people who sleep on the back and side, and for every weight group (heavy, average, light), individuals that sleep hot and have back and hip pain problems, sleepers with oscillating firmness preferences and couples.
Highlights
When buying a new mattress, you need to consider relevant factors that a mattress needs to have. For couples, one of the factors and concerns is how responsive the mattress will be for sex. Memory foam models are usually a bit problematic for sex since they have low responsiveness and heat retention problems. However, not all memory foam models are like that. The exception is Loom & Leaf by Saatva.
Loom & Leaf Mattress is the best responsive memory foam mattress available on the market, and it comes in two firmness options, Medium (5.5) and Firm (8). Both of these are good options for sex, although Firm is the one of the most responsive memory foam mattress available on the market.
The bed’s cover is made from a combination of soft and organic cotton. This combination creates a pleasant cooling sensation on your skin and minimizes the sinking feeling. With this model, your sleep won’t feel like you are fighting with the mattress, but instead like you are wrapped in the foam without sinking in it. Below the cover is a high-density visco elastic memory foam that has a slow response to pressure, but contours to your body parts. And the beds have great temperature regulation and motion isolation, so you will be able to sleep without being awakened.
Like with any product, the Saatva has free White Glove delivery available. The product comes with a 180-month warranty and a 120-day sleep trial. The mattress is suitable for individuals who sleep on the back and side, sleepers in the average and heavy-weight groups, people who sleep hot and for individuals with back and hip pain problems.
Highlights
The Avocado Green model is one of the best supportive hybrid mattresses and one of the best natural latex mattresses. It is available in the two most popular firmness options available on the market: Medium (5.5) and Medium Firm (6.5).
The bed is entirely made from natural materials, which will enable you to sleep fairly cool in the bed. The comfort layers are made from a combination of natural organic New Zealand wool and Dunlop latex that gives good pressure relief and conforming for your body. And within the support core, there is more than one layer of natural latex over the pocketed coils. Because of this, the bed has the best cushioning and support, good motion isolation, and makes much less noise than the other hybrids.
With the mattress comes a 240-month warranty with a 100-day sleep trial period to try out the mattress. The shipping of the product is free anywhere in the U.S. You can also have the old mattress removed from your home and the new one assembled for an extra cost with the White Glove Delivery. Since it is made from natural materials, it is suitable for all eco-friendly buyers. Except for couples and eco-friendly buyers, the product is also suitable for all types of sleepers (stomach, back, side, or combination), people all weight groups (heavy, average, light) who sleep hot and have back pain problems.
Highlights
The Zenhaven mattress by Saatva is the best latex mattress that comes with two different firmness settings on each of the sides. It is not a flippable mattress, but instead, the bed has one side that is Medium Delicate (4) and the other that is Firm (7).
What makes the Zenhaven mattress unique is that its layers are made from all-natural Talalay latex. This type of latex is not like regular latex. It is made from rubber trees, and it has the ability to absorb CO2 during its production. The Talalay latex has many health benefits due to its hypoallergenic properties and resistance to dust mites, mold and microbe organisms. And the material is very natural, with no resilient organic blends or any other unhealthy substances you will usually find chemical-based bed foam mattresses.
The cover, made from entirely organic cotton, is very soft and breathable, allowing airflow throughout the bed. The natural wool located on top of the cover is responsible for temperature regulation and keeping the bed cool while you sleep. Although the bed has two firmness settings, the comfort layers of both sides share the support core that also has Talalay latex, but a firmer and denser kind that has a more consistent cell structure. Thanks to this layer, the bed is soft, and it gives pressure-free support the body by quickly responding to pressure and adapting to all the curves of the body.
It’s important to note that the price of the Zenhaven mattress is slightly high, so it is more suitable for buyers with bigger budgets. And because of its natural blend, it is also a great option for eco-friendly buyers. However, the Zenhaven has free White Glove delivery, a 240-month warranty with a 120-day sleep trial. Along with the mattress comes the option to have the old mattress removed from your home and the new one assembled. The mattress is suitable for back and side sleepers, individuals in all weight groups (heavy, average, light), individuals who have fluctuating firmness preferences and, of course, couples.
Highlights
The WinkBed is one of best luxury mattresses and best hybrid mattresses sold today. You can choose between three firmness levels – Medium Soft (4.5), Medium Firm (6.5), and Firm (7.5). The bed features a thick comfort system with layers of gel memory foam, pocketed mini-coils and polyfoam. It was made for sleepers of all sizes, people with back pain and especially for individuals that have above-average weight.
Like it was mentioned, the comfort system has layers of gel memory foam, pocketed mini-coils, polyfoam and compressed-cotton ‘lumbar pad.’ The coils in combination with the comfort layers give a sleep surface with good responsiveness, but with great conforming ability too. The lumbar pad is there to minimize lower back and hip pain. What makes the mattress unique is the fact that it has latex layers instead of the memory foam and mini-coil layers. The latex layer gives the same responsiveness and temperature control, but also offers excellent conforming to the body. And the bed has great edge support that has minimal sinkage on the areas where people tend to sit.
The WinkBed’s price is higher than the other average mattresses, making it a good choice for buyers with bigger budgets. However, it should be noted that the WinkBed costs less than the average hybrid model. The product comes with a warranty that lasts a lifetime, a 120-day sleep trial, and free shipping for the U.S. The bed is good for all types of sleepers (stomach, back, side or combination), individuals of different weights (heavy, average, light) and individuals who have back and hip pain.
Highlights
An ideal option for couples that can’t agree on which firmness rating to choose is the Helix mattress. Helix is the best mattress with differing firmness preferences that is fully customizable and allows buyers to select their mattress by filling out an online questionnaire with relevant information like sleep position, height, and weight. Based on the results, Helix will give recommendations with the best firmness rating.
These mattresses have comfort layers with memory foam and polyfoam with different densities that depend on the firmness. On top of that, there is a coiled support system responsible for giving your body the proper support for all areas. The bed also has very good motion isolation, so you won’t feel your partner moving. And with the foam being the primary material of the bed, the bed is silent, so you won’t hear your partner.
In their offer, Helix also has two flippable mattresses and products with four foam layers for people that have above-average weight. And the best part is that you can customize the model to give a different firmness setting on one side of the bed.
The price for the Helix bed is below the average, with free shipping available in the U.S. It is also backed with a 120-month warranty that includes a 100-day sleep trial. The mattress is suitable for every type of sleeper (stomach, back, side, combination), individuals of different weights (heavy, average, light), individuals who suffer from back pain and those seeking value.
When sleeping with a partner, you need to think about many factors if you want to buy a new mattress. You need to consider whether it will have good support and firmness to fit both of you and whether it isolates motion and makes no noise. In the next part, we will explore essential factors that you need to think about when buying a new bed and we will compare different types and how they suit couples.
Choosing a mattress that is suitable for one person is hard, but choosing a model that will fit you and your partner is even harder. When looking for a new mattress for you and your partner, you will need to consider the following criteria before making your final choice.
Motion transfer has a crucial role when buying a mattress as a couple. When you move around in your bed, your body creates motion that is spread through the mattress and can rattle your partner. It’s generally hard to move around the bed when sleeping with someone. Nobody likes getting woken up by their partner’s movements. Motion transfer is also a big factor if one person is much heavier than the other because the person with less weight could have trouble sleeping if the other person is prone to repositioning during the night. You should note that there are models made to isolate motion only in certain parts of the bed. Those mattresses are usually latex and memory foam beds that isolate movement in the essential elements of the bed. However, other models don’t isolate motion at all or isolate it in a minimal amount. This is most common for innerspring models. A mattress that is thicker has excellent motion isolation, while thinner models absorb motion well, so it is recommended to buy thicker models. However, if the bed has good motion isolation, it usually has lousy responsiveness, a factor that is important for sex, while beds with bad motion isolation have good responsiveness.
Motion transfer and noise are factors that are linked. Mattresses that have good motion isolation, usually have good noise control, as well. Noise control is an essential factor when buying a bed as a couple. When sleeping with a partner in the same bed, it would be best to be able to move around the bed without making any noise that could wake up your partner, and the other way around. Foam and latex models are remarkably silent when in contact with weight due to the foam placed in the support layers, while innerspring and hybrid models are usually noisier due to the coils and metal springs, and airbeds are probably the noisiest due to their electrical components and air pumps.
The firmness level of the mattress shows how firm the bed feels when you sleep on it. Measuring the firmness level is done on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 as the least firm level and 10 as the firmest level. Most models made today have their firmness level in a range from 3 (or ‘Soft’) to 8 (or ‘Extra Firm’). Firmness is a significant factor that influences your sleep and depends on many individual factors like your sleep position, height, and weight. Sleeping on the back is best for spine alignment, and back sleepers might not need a mattress for spine alignment. However, people who sleep on the side create a spine curvature that is not natural, and because of that require a product with improved support in the lower back, hips, neck, and shoulders, to help reduce pressure and pain. That’s why people who sleep on the side usually prefer mattresses with a medium or soft firmness. As for those who sleep on their stomachs, it’s common that the majority of them don’t like sleeping on soft beds. Stomach sleepers often find soft models uncomfortable because of the profound sinking, due to which they are forced to turn their heads instead of laying face down, and they experience increased pain and pressure in this kind of position. This is especially problematic for heavier stomach sleepers. However, people weight below average might feel comfortable on a Medium Soft mattress because they give very good conforming with very little sinking.
Couples tend to have difficulties agreeing on the firmness rating. When picking a firmness rating, compromises will probably have to be made, because many couples have sleep problems which make choosing the right mattress for both sides difficult, especially if you and your partner have utterly different firmness preferences. With this issue being present, some manufacturers have made models that have different firmness setting on each side, to fulfill the request of couples who can’t agree on a firmness level. These dual-firmness beds are very comfortable and practical but can be relatively pricey, and not every brand has this option. Many airbeds that are available on the market have adjustable firmness settings, along with the dual-firmness option.
The feel of the mattress depends on the firmness, and it includes the confirming ability of the bel. It depends on your preferences. But, if the bed conforms closely, it might help you with your back and spine alignment. Firmer beds don’t conform closely, but they do feel better for certain individuals, especially heavier sleepers. The best solution is to try out different types and see which feel you prefer, and ultimately see which feel your partner prefers, and find the best option for both of you.
When buying a new mattress, couples take sex as a significant consideration. There is no universal model for couples to use, it differs significantly from couple to couple. Couples need to consider multiple factors and choose what their priorities are and try out the different types and materials to find the one that would suit them best. But of course, there are some very important factors to be considered, and with this guide, you can get informed about these factors and find an excellent mattress for sex.
Responsiveness is a factor that applies to how rapidly or gradually the bed responds or adjust to your body. Foundations that react quickly give a steady surface to sleep on, but those with less responsiveness are not as stable and can have an uncomfortable, sinking feeling when sleeping on them. Bouncy mattresses deliver a bouncing back effect that is helpful for consistent rhythm and sexual fulfillment, according to many couples. Numerous models are intended to seclude movement and minimize its effects on the surface of the bed. This quality aspect is great for certain people, like those wake up easily because of movement or noise from other people. However, motion isolation also creates a surface that is less bouncy, which can be bad during sex. Comfort is the most crucial factor for both individuals and couples. It is especially useful for people who have problems with back pain. Numerous beds fit in with your body to target pressure points at the back, shoulders, neck, legs, hips and other sensitive areas. Foundations that tend to conform less to your body do not have the same pressure-relieving comfort. Many of the models are made to have minimal sinkage at the edges because people usually tend to lay or sit there. Many features can enhance edge support, including putting foam encasements around the support core or low-gauge steel coils in innerspring and hybrid mattresses. Other models have very little support. Because of that, sexual activity can add to premature sinkage at the edges, especially when couples change their sexual positions. The average lifespan of the mattress is from six to seven years. It is important to note that sexual activity usually does not, and should not affect the lifespan.
Support of a mattress is the bed’s ability to be even and flat with weight applied to it, in order to properly align the spine of a sleeper. If the bed does not have good firmness, it can affect the support of the bed and cause a lot of sleep problems. Mattresses that don’t have good support have a tendency to sag in some places, which can increase pressure and pain in the hips, back, shoulders and neck. If there is more than one person on the bed, there is much more compression, and the mattress needs more support to handle more weight properly.
Any mattress will absorb the heat from your body while you sleep. However, some can retain the minimal amount of heat, and you can sleep cool in them, while others will hold the heat and your sleep will be warm or hot, which can cause restless sleep and other sleep problems. Innerspring mattresses are the best for sleeping cool, as opposed to memory foam models that are the warmest. While airbeds and latex tend to be hot, they have not had any complaints so far.
Mattresses that are available on the market today have a certain weight limit that usually amounts to 600 pounds or more for a Queen-size or a King-size model. The weight limit tends to differ, depending on the model, so it is essential that you compare different models and research about this as much as possible.
It takes a certain period for your body to adapt to a mattress. The minimum time for you to sleep on a mattress is considered to be 30 days. Because of that, there are a lot of manufacturers that give sleep trials with their products. Sleep trial is a period, usually between 90 and 120 days, in which you can test out the product in your own home. If you are not happy with the product during this trial period, you can either return the model for a partial or full refund or exchange it for a different model. These sleep trials are a great way to be sure you can trust the product and that you can buy it. There are also cases where you must have the product and test it for 30 days before being able to get a refund because that is the minimum of days for the break-in period and for you to determine if it suits you or not.
Warranties are essential for any product you wish to buy. For mattresses, it is especially important because of the effects of sagging that happen over time. Too much sagging can thwart the comfort and the support of the bed. Because of that, mattresses can also include warranties that state how deep the sagging can get to be qualified as a defect. The best warranties need to cover sagging of one inch or even less because sagging that is deeper has a massive impact on pain and pressure, although some of the warranties do not cover sagging that is less than one and a half inches. And of course, not all warranties give the same amount of coverage, they can be entirely nonprorated, or just nonprorated and prorated. Nonprorated coverage warranties are the ones that agree to repair or replace defective mattresses, without the owner having to pay anything except for shipping and handling costs. The warranties can be completely nonprorated or split into nonprorated and prorated coverage periods. When the warranty is nonprorated and prorated, it means that you have to pay a certain percentage of the price to repair or replace the product. Prorated charges have a tendency to increase with every year that you own it. For example, if you have a mattress for 10 years or even with a prorated coverage period, you are expected to pay from 50% to 95% of the price of the product. However, there are those warranties that are primarily prorated and have only 2 to 3 years of nonprorated coverage. You should note that the average performance and lifespan of the mattress are a maximum of seven to eight years, which means that 10 years of nonprorated warranty coverage is more than enough for your product.
The market has many available mattress types. In the next part, we will compare different couple-related criteria that you can look for in the with the most popular types: foam, latex, innerspring, airbed and hybrid.
Memory foam mattresses have a comfort layer that has at least one layer of polyfoam or memory foam, high-density polyfoam in the support layer, and poor edge support. Its thickness ranges from 7″ to 14″, and the motion isolation and noise range from very good to excellent, making it a good option for discreet sex. The average firmness is from Medium Soft to Medium Firm, with a dual firmness option somewhat available and with the average lifespan from 6 to 7 years.
Latex mattresses have a comfort layer that has at least one layer of latex with the possibility of memory foam or polyfoam layers, latex or high-density polyfoam in the support core, and poor edge support. Its thickness ranges from 7″ to 13″, and the motion isolation and noise range from very good to excellent, making it a good option for discreet sex. The average firmness is from Medium Soft to Medium Firm, with a dual firmness option available from select manufacturers, and the average lifespan of 8 years or longer.
Innerspring mattresses have a comfort layer that has at least one layer of foam, at least one layer of latex, at least one layer of memory foam or polyfoam, a steel coils based polyfoam layer, and very good edge support. Its thickness ranges from 9″ to 15″, and the motion isolation and noise range from poor to fair, so it is not good for discreet sex, but it does have good cushioning for sex. The average firmness is from Medium Firm to Firm, without a dual firmness option available and with the average lifespan from 5 to 6 years.
Airbed mattresses have a comfort layer with one to two polyfoam or memory foam layers, individually adjustable air chambers in the support core, and poor edge support. Its thickness ranges from 8″ to 15″, and the motion isolation and noise range from fair to good, so it is not good for discreet sex. The average firmness varies because most airbeds have adjustable firmness, but the average lifespan lasts 8 years or longer.
Hybrid mattresses have a comfort layer that has least two inches of memory foam and latex, with the possibility of polyfoam and micro-coil layers. They also feature a pocketed coils base polyfoam layer in the support core and excellent edge support. Its thickness ranges from 10″ to 16″, and the motion isolation and noise range from good to very good, making it a good option for discreet sex. The average firmness is from Medium to Medium Firm, with a dual firmness option somewhat common, and with the average lifespan from 6 to 7 years.
Buying a new mattress requires a lot of research, with the factors mentioned as your key guidelines. You need to find the optimal choice for you and your partner. This choice can be difficult, especially if you have different sleeping preferences. However, the market is full of various types and models, enabling you to find the product that is suitable for both of you. Of course, some comprises will be made, but with options like dual firmness and customizable mattress models, you won’t have to sacrifice all of your preferences. The best option is to research and try out different models to see which one incorporates the sleeping preferences of you and your partner.
Iva is an art historian and an art lover who always had a passion for writing and sleep! When she is not researching and testing new mattresses on the market, you can find her binge-watching TV shows, eating tons of junk food or playing with her dog Bart.