Mattress preferences differ from person to person. Many individuals like beds that conform closely to the body, while others prefer models that conform to a minimal extent. Read on to find out how to select the best firm mattress for you!
People have varying tastes when it comes to mattresses. Some enjoy mattresses that mold snugly around their bodies, whereas some favor those that offer minimal contouring. Individuals with a heavier build often opt for firmer mattresses, as they tend to sink more into softer ones. This article will cover the essentials of firm mattresses, recommend the best firm options, and delve into how firmness levels impact sleep.
Qualities:
PlushBeds Botanical Bliss Collection offers one of the best latex mattresses. The comfort layers are made from organic wool and organic Dunlop latex, and this natural blend of materials makes this mattress perfect for environmentally-friendly buyers who want a natural product. These materials provide a cool and very comfortable surface. This mattress has excellent conforming and provides proper spinal alignment without the whole body sinking too deeply. It also has fair motion isolation, and it does not make any sound with weight applied.
It is the most durable mattress that you can find on the market. It comes with a longer-than-average warranty that lasts for 300 months, and a has 100-day sleep trial. This model is customizable and available in three thickness profiles – 9 inches, 10 inches, and 12 inches, and in four firmness options for each of these – ‘Soft’ (3.5), ‘Medium’ (5.5), ‘Medium Firm’ (6.5), and ‘Extra Firm’ (9). With its slightly higher price, it is suitable for eco-friendly shoppers with a bigger budget, and side and back sleepers of all weight groups (light, average, heavy).
Qualities:
One of the best hybrid mattresses you can find on the market is the luxurious DreamCloud mattress. With its eight layers of springs and foam that provide robust support, it is available in the most popular firmness settings – Medium Firm (6.5). This luxury hand tufted bed is especially popular among people who sleep on their backs.
This model has a solid comfort system that spreads through all of its eight layers. These layers also include four layers of gel memory foam and one layer of latex on top of the coil system. This dense comfort system adapts quickly and very close to the person’s body and it is suitable for individuals who sleep on their back and experience back pain. With the cashmere blend and flax yarns, the mattress helps ease pain and pressure points without bending or sagging, and provides great support, even for heavyweight individuals.
The DreamCloud has a relatively expensive price. However, the price is much lower than the average hybrid model, and you have free shipping for any location in the U.S. The mattress comes with a lifetime warranty, a 365-day sleep trial, and a paid mattress cleaning service after one year of ownership. This product is one of the best mattresses for back sleepers and those who suffer from back and hip pain, people in all weight groups (heavy, average, light), and sleepers who tend to sleep hot.
Qualities:
The Allswell Luxe Hybrid is the best value mattress for firm models and for sleeping hot. With its Firm (7) level of firmness and excellent temperature neutrality, this bed is a great choice for both individuals that seek firmer beds and sleepers that tend to sleep hot.
The bed’s cover is made from quilted memory and super soft foam that provides immediate pressure relief without sinkage. The comfort layers use a material called Airflow Foam that is very similar to memory foam but with a slow response to pressure that gives great contouring to the body without any excessive sinkage. The individually wrapped pocketed coils provide excellent airflow and motion isolation.
The Allswell Luxe Hybrid is also very affordable due to the price being much lower than for the average hybrid mattress. This hybrid model also has free delivery for the U.S. The product is beneficial for people with more than 230 pounds who sleep on their back and stomach, and for lighter sleepers who like their beds to be firmer.
Qualities:
For buyers with a bigger budget that want to purchase one of the best luxury mattresses, we suggest you take a look at the WinkBed mattress. It is available in multiple firmness levels from which you can choose the one that suits you best – Medium Soft (4.5), Medium Firm (6.5), and Firm (7.5). There is also a Medium Firm option with the WinkBed Plus available for heavier sleepers, where memory foam and mini-coil layers replace the latex layers.
All models’ thick comfort system has gel memory foam layers and pocketed mini-coils. Unlike other hybrid models, the bed is very quiet. It has great motion isolation, great edge support and you can sleep fairly cool in it.
Like we have mentioned, the bed is more suitable for buyers with bigger budgets because of its high price. However, you have a lifetime warranty, 120-day sleep trial, and free shipping for any location in the U.S. The mattress is very good for all types of sleepers (stomach, back, side or combination), and for individuals of different weights (heavy, average, light) with multiple firmness options to pick.
Qualities:
The Brooklyn Bedding Plank is one of the best flippable mattresses for individuals that prefer firmer mattresses. One side is Firm (7), and the other is Extra Firm (9), so you can pick how firm do you want the bed to be. This model gives you an ultra-firm and even sleep surface that ensures your spine stays in a neutral spine position while also providing excellent support.
The cover is made from cotton-polyester, with a very stylish design that has excellent breathability. The bed has firm layers of foam on both of its sides. Along with that, there is a quilted layer of foam on the top that gives the bed some cushioning. This very durable model has great motion isolation and makes no noise when weight is applied. The bed sleeps fairly cool.
The Plank is one of the firmest mattresses sold today and ideal for individuals that prefer models that do not conform so closely to the body. It is very suitable for stomach sleepers and people who have more than 230 pounds. With the mattress, you have a 120-month warranty with a 120-night sleep trial and free shipping available for anywhere in the U.S.
Qualities:
The Loom & Leaf from the environmentally-friendly company Saatva is the best memory foam mattress that has better responsiveness than any other memory foam model on the market. It comes in two firmness options, Medium (5.5) and Firm (8), with the Firm being one of the most responsive memory foam mattresses.
The Loom & Leaf Mattress is made from natural materials that provide a cool and stable sleep surface. You have a combination of soft and organic cotton in the cover and high-density visco elastic memory foam below the cover. These materials have an excellent temperature regulation and give a pleasant cooling feeling when you sleep on the bed. It also conforms to the body without the sinking feeling, and slowly responds to pressure with excellent motion isolation.
The bed is very suitable for back and side sleepers in the average and heavy-weight groups, and individuals with back and hip pain problems. There is free White Glove delivery available in the U.S. for any Saatva product. And you also get a 180-month warranty and a 120-day sleep trial.
Firmness is a term used to define if the mattress feels more soft or more firm to the sleeper. A firmness level is measured on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the least firm level and 10 being the firmest level. It is linked to the materials used in the comfort layer on the top of the bed. Most of the mattresses available on the market today are between a 3 (Soft) and an 8 (Firm). Mattresses with a firmness level below 5 (Medium) have a tendency to sink under your body and give you a cradle-shaped feeling. The models that have a firmness level between 6 (Medium Firm) and 8 (Firm) do not conform deeply to your body, but they do sleep much cooler than the softer mattresses.
The weight of the sleeper is directly linked to the firmness level. The soft firmness (1-3) is suitable for people with below-average weight (less than 130 pounds) because anybody with more than 130 pounds will have excessive sinking when in the bed, reducing the support of the mattress and causing the sleeper pain. Medium firmness (4-7) has excellent support for most weight groups, but those with above-average weight (more than 230 pounds) are at risk of sinking too deeply into the mattress and having pain. For these heavier individuals, the ideal firmness level would be Firm (8-10).
Firmer mattresses offer better support for people who have more weight. Heavier individuals can get proper pressure relief without sinking into the bed. Lighter individuals that have less than 130 pounds most commonly prefer Medium Soft (4) or lower firmness settings, people that have average weight from 130 to 230 pound most commonly prefer Medium (5) or Medium Firm (6), while sleeper with more than 230 pounds most commonly prefer Firm (7) or higher.
Apart from the weight of the body, the position you sleep in bed also affects the firmness preference. If you sleep on the side, you need to have proper spinal alignment, which softer mattresses offer. However, people that sleep on their backs already have good spinal alignment, and they don’t need a soft mattress and tend to feel more comfortable on firmer models. Stomach sleepers might also prefer firmer mattresses for the same reason as heavier individuals – they won’t sink. When sleeping on your stomach, additional weight is applied to your stomach area, causing you to sink on softer mattresses.
On top of that, softer mattresses have a shorter lifespan than firmer models, because they tend to sag after short ownership. On the other hand, firmer mattresses are less susceptible to getting indentations or to sag and they have longer lifespans because of that. Firmer models are also lighter, and easier to move because they have fewer layers that contribute to the weight of the mattress.
Of course, all of this may not apply to your preference. Every person is different and has different mattress preferences, so it is important to try different types of firmness to see if you prefer softer or firmer models. You can also find mattresses with dual firmness options to accommodate couples and individuals with oscillating sleeping preferences.
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.
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