Just to be clear, for all the overachievers out there, no single sleeping position is “best” for everyone. Depending on a laundry list of health, lifestyle, and other body-specific factors, sleeping on your side, stomach, or back may be the ideal-for-you way to clock restful REM cycles. But whatever position helps you drift off, you'll need a mattress that can support you all night long. When it comes to finding the best side sleeper mattress, though, you’ll want to find one that can help relieve back and joint pain and prevent snoring once you snuggle in.

According to Naimish Baxi, MD, a physiatrist and spinal specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Paramus, New Jersey, the best mattresses for side sleepers will include a few key features to support the hips and shoulders. (Pressure-relieving top layers and zoned, or targeted, support are two helpful examples we’ll explain below.) Choosing the right one for you could take a bit of trial and error—and you likely don't have time to spend hours (days) lying on dozens of mattresses. So, we did the legwork for you. This way, you can kick up yours, relax, and doze off—on your side, as the case may be.

Our top picks: Best mattresses for side sleepers

• Best Overall Mattress for Side Sleepers: Helix Midnight
• Best Memory Foam Mattress for Side Sleepers: Nectar
• Best Mattress for Combination Side Sleepers: Saatva Classic
• Best Cooling Mattress for Side Sleepers: WinkBed
• Best Couples Mattress for Side Sleepers: DreamCloud Premier
• Best Hybrid Mattress for Side Sleepers: Leesa Sapira Chill
• Best for Mattress for Side Sleepers With Back Pain: Bear Elite Hybrid
• Best Mattress for Side Sleepers with Hip Pain: Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe
• Best Soft Mattress for Side Sleepers: Nolah Evolution
• Best Mattress for Heavy Side Sleepers: Titan Plus Luxe
• Best Latex Mattress for Side Sleepers: Avocado Green

In this article

• Shop the best mattresses for side sleepers
• How the best mattresses for side sleepers compare
• What should side sleepers look for in a mattress?
• What mattress firmness level do side sleepers need?
• What materials are best in mattresses for side sleepers?
• How we tested these mattresses
• FAQs: The TL;DR digest for fast facts

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• Balanced, medium-firm feel
• Cushioned but supportive
• You won’t feel a bedmate move (a.k.a strong motion transfer)
• Sturdy edges keep you from rolling off
• Helpful customer service
• Low price, compared to similar products

• People of higher weights may need additional support (according to reviewers)
• Some squeaking from springs

Why we picked it: The Helix Midnight is so cozy that one SELF editor went so far as to call it “a side sleeper’s dream” in her review. Why’s it the gold standard for side-sleepers? The Helix serves up a winning trifecta of comfort, support, and pressure relief for your hips and shoulders.

Our testers love it because: This hybrid mattress is made from two layers; one composed of dense memory foam and another of over 1,000 individually wrapped, supportive coils. Both are great for side sleepers because of the way they cushion the hips and shoulders. “The Helix is soft enough for side sleeping but supportive and responsive enough to let me flop around easily, too,” one tester says.

Our fave features: Thanks to its foam top, you won’t feel a bedmate’s nighttime Cirque du Soleil show—aka when they toss and turn in their sleep. Testers gave this pick top marks (4 out of 5) in the motion isolation category. What’s more, while the Helix is a hot pick for side sleepers, it won’t make you sweat. That coiled layer means there's space within the mattress for air to flow through, which helps keep body temps down better than an all-foam bed.

Best Memory Foam Mattress for Side Sleepers: Nectar Memory Foam

Get up to 50% off of a Nectar mattress purchase right now. Plus, save an extra $100 when you spend at least $1,000 on the site.

• Plush memory foam feel
• Great for both back and side sleepers
• Superb motion isolation
• Affordable price point

• You may feel “stuck” in the foam
• Not the best pick for hot sleepers
• Not as much support around the edge

Why we picked it: The Nectar mattress’s stellar motion isolation makes it our top memory foam pick for side sleepers. “I almost never felt my partner moving around, so sleeping through a little chaos shouldn’t be an issue,” one tester says.

How it stacks up: The Nectar’s 12 inches of foam consists of three different layers: one made out of cooling gel that’s meant to contour to your body; a soft mid-layer that helps relieve joint pressure, and a supportive bottom layer that keeps you lifted and prevents the mattress from swallowing you whole.

Who it’s for:Thanks to the gel-infused foam and cooling cover made with heat-absorbent polyethylene fibers, the Nectar doesn’t trap heat—a win for all-foam lovers who don’t want to overheat on their mattress.

Our fave features: The soft, doughy layers allow for some stellar cushioning around your joints. Our testers noted that “side sleepers will feel like they’re being gently hugged by a large teddy bear”-- and that pressure-relieving hug can help them ease pain from high-pressure areas, like the hips and shoulders.

Best for Mattress for Combination Side Sleepers: Saatva Classic

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• Multiple firmness options
• Lots of bounce makes moving around easy
• Breathable layers keep hot sleepers cool
• Great lumbar support

• You’ll feel a bedmate’s motion
• Higher-than-average price for an online mattress

Why we picked it: The Saatva Classic is an innerspring mattress with some especially luxe features, the most notable being that you can choose how firm you want it—plush soft, luxury firm, or firm—making it a fit for many body types or sleeping styles.

Our testers love it because: Our team found that the Saatva does exactly what we’d expect from a great side-sleeper mattress: It keeps your spine happy in nice, neutral alignment thanks to its makeup of pressure-relieving foam and supportive innerspring coils. One tester even notes, “I felt firmness where it mattered, but the mattress felt soft and plush around the rest of my body.”

On top of the innerspring layer is a soft, organic cotton pillow top cover, which helps you sleep comfy and cozily—an important detail for folks, like one of our testers, who think they don’t like spring mattresses: “I’m generally not the biggest innerspring mattress fan, but the Saatva feels like the kind of dream bed you oversleep on at a hotel and then immediately try to justify buying for your own home,” she says.

Our fave features: The Saatva is especially great for combination sleepers, who switch positions at night, because the two layers of bouncy, responsive innerspring coils make moving around the surface easy. (None of that sinking-into-quicksand feeling you can get with memory foam, here!) Also worth noting is the zone support, meaning the bed’s coils are firmer along the middle of the mattress where most of your body weight lands, and softer at the top and bottom.

Best Cooling Mattress for Side Sleepers: The WinkBed

Now through December, WinkBed is offering up to $300 off any mattress purchase.

• Four firmness options available
• Sleeps exceptionally cool
• Zoned support keeps the spine in alignment, and shoulders and knees cushioned
• Features an extra-soft, pressure-relieving pillow top

• Not the most budget-friendly option
• You’ll feel a bedmate move

Why we picked it: The WinkBed is a hybrid mattress with a distinctly cool feel, so there’s no need to turn your fan to full blast before nodding off. Its moisture-absorbing, breathable cover, along with its layers of cooling gel foam (which doesn’t trap heat like traditional, denser memory foam) and airy coils work together to keep our reviewers’ body temps down during testing—even when they were all tucked in.

Our testers love it because: The WinkBed mattress comes in four firmness levels: softer, luxury firm, firmer, and plus (which carries an upcharge). The version you select will ultimately depend on your preferences and personal factors like body weight. “For side sleeping, the luxury firm was my match,” says one tester who weighs more than 230 pounds. “But if you weigh more and shift around at all to your back or stomach, you’ll likely appreciate the extra firmness of the Plus. My hips felt a lot more supported on that one.”

Our fave features: This mattress is made with zoned support, which helps to keep your spine aligned for a pain-free night of sleep. This, coupled with the pillow top’s cushion, provides the comfort a side sleeper needs at their pressure points in order to get a good night’s rest.

Best Couples Mattress for Side Sleepers: DreamCloud Premier

Get up to 50% off on a DreamCloud mattress purchase during the brand’s Black Friday sale. Plus, save an extra $100 when you spend $1,000 on the site.

DreamCloud Premier

$1,299

DreamCloud

• Generous cushion for pressure-point relief
• Excellent couple’s mattress thanks to bounce and cooling properties
• Medium-firmness works well for side and back sleepers
• DreamCloud often offers steep mattress discounts (keep an eye out!)

• High price before discounts
• Not great for stomach sleepers

Why we picked it: Couples should be able to have it all: a surface that’s both sturdy and stops one partner’s tossing and turning from waking the other; materials to help keep cuddling sweat-free; and a bouncy enough surface to make your sure your mattress also doubles as a good bed for sex, a.k.a one that you can easily change positions on. Our testers gave the DreamCloud Premier 4 out of 5 stars in cooling, responsiveness, and motion isolation, so we can confidently say it checks all of the boxes for a great couples mattress.

Our fave features: The Premier’s cooling materials—including coils and breathable cashmere fabric—kept our bed-sharing testers comfortably chill, which is ideal for snuggling with a toasty partner. And if you get down to business, a creaky bed won’t blow your cover: “The Premier is one of the quietest mattresses I’ve tried,” one tester says. “The wrapped coils add airflow, but also a nice, durable experience that won’t annoy you with spring noises.”

Who it’s for: In her review, one SELF staffer noted that the DreamCloud Premier Mattress has a “slight springiness that made it easy to shift positions,” making it a great option for combo sleepers in addition to couples.

Best Hybrid Mattress for Side Sleepers: Leesa Sapira Chill

Leesa is offering up to 30% off select mattresses, including the Sapira Chill. Plus, score a free sleep bundle (two pillows and a microfiber sheet set) with a bed purchase.

Leesa Sapira Chill

$2,159 $1,511 (30% off)

Leesa

• Multiple firmness options
• Sleeps cool
• Reinforced edges to prevent falling
• Bouncy, but you won’t feel a bedmate move
• Ultra-soft pillow top

• More expensive than others
• Doesn’t give the body-hugging feel of an all-foam mattress

Why we picked it: The Leesa Sapira Chill nails the balance of comfort and support that side-sleepers need for a good night’s sleep, thanks to its soft, doughy layer of foam and bouncy, supportive layer of coils underneath. “I felt cushioned, aligned, and supported, and the mattress nestled perfectly into my spine,” one tester notes.

Our fave features: The Leesa Sapira Chill lives up to its name, so you’ll be free to snuggle up with your partner or pet without waking up sweaty in the middle of the night. Innerspring and hybrid mattresses are inherently cooler than full-foam, which is known to trap in body heat. But the Leesa takes things a step further by infusing its foam layer with a cooling gel so you can stay sweat-free all night.

Who it’s for: In addition to hot sleepers, the Sapira Chill is a great pick for people who deal with aches and pains: its quilted, plush, marshmallow-y surface has enough give for your body to sink right in, while the coils in the mattress hold up your hips for support. One tester, who has lumbar lordosis—a condition where the spine curves inward above the rear end—found the quilted design to be an unexpected standout feature: “The pattern of the soft foam fit in the lower region of my spine perfectly. This helps prevent any excess pain I normally feel while lying down.”

Best Mattress for Side Sleepers With Back Pain: Bear Elite Hybrid

Use code BLACK35 for 35% off the entire Bear site and two free pillows with a mattress purchase.

Bear Elite Hybrid

$2,305 $1,499 (35% off)

Bear

• Exceptional lumbar support
• Helps keep hot sleepers cool
• Co-sleepers won’t feel bedmates move
• Offers three firmness options that all cushion pressure points

• More expensive than others

Why we picked it: It’s not an exaggeration to say that finding the right mattress can be life-changing for people who deal with back pain—and the Bear Elite Hybrid is a pressure-relieving (a.k.a back-ache-busting) option that our side sleeping testers love. The mattress is softer at the knees and shoulders to ease discomfort, yet firm enough along the core of the body to keep the back supported.

Our testers love it because: Our mattress testers of different body types felt well-supported on this mattress, which is available in three firmness levels (soft, medium, and firm), meaning there’s a comfort option that’ll suit most people. It also holds up for a long time; one tester who’s been sleeping on the Bear for three years says it shows no signs of wear and provides “above-average pressure relief for [her] side-sleeping position.”

Our fave features: Bear’s Elite Hybrid is constructed with five support zones at various points along the mattress and an ample comfort layer on top—which is an especially important detail if you live with back pain.

Best Mattress for Side Sleepers With Hip Pain: Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe

When you shop Brooklyn Bedding, use code BFRIDAY30 to score 30% off sitewide.

Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Cooling

$1,200 $840 (30% off)

Brooklyn Bedding

• High responsiveness makes moving around on it easy
• Thick, pressure-relieving foam cushions hips and shoulders
• Optional pillow top adds extra softness
• Cool feel makes sweaty nights less likely
• Customizable firmness levels work for many sleep positions

• You might feel a sleep partner toss and turn
• Might be too firm for lighter people, according to reviewers
• Not the best edge support, according to testers

Why we picked it: The Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe is a hybrid mattress with thick layers of responsive foam that act as a salve for achy hips and shoulders: One tester says she loves the bed’s contouring effect, which helps her lower back pain but doesn’t restrict movement.

Our fave features: The Aurora Luxe features standout temperature-regulating materials, too, like a cover made from heat-removing fabric. “Sleeping on the Aurora Luxe is a pretty chill experience, both for temperature and for sleep,” says one tester, with another noting the bed is the most “cool-to-the-touch” she’s ever felt.

Who it’s for: Testers noted that it was essentially effortless to move around on the Aurora Luxe, making it a great choice for people who change positions in their sleep. (The springy surface also makes this a good pick for other nighttime activities, if you catch our drift.)

Best Soft Mattress for Side Sleepers: Nolah Evolution

Nolah is currently offering up to 35% off sitewide; plus, you can get two free pillows and $150 off a BedJet when you buy a mattress.

Nolah Evolution

$2,499 $1,624 (35% off)

Nolah

• Multiple firmnesses levels to choose from
• Zoned support helps keep your spine in alignment
• Easy to move around
• Doesn’t sag or lose support over time

• Plush model may not be supportive enough for heavier people
• Higher price than others

Why we picked it: If you’re in the market for a softer mattress, the Nolah Evolution—a hybrid innerspring and foam option—is about as squishy as it gets while still having enough support for side-sleepers’ lower backs. The bed offers plenty of cushion without skimping on pressure-relieving support for your hips and shoulders.

How it stacks up: This bed comes in three firmness levels (plush, luxury firm, and firm); one tester who felt best on the middle tier said she’d recommend the softest version for people who weigh less, and therefore might not sink as deeply into the bed.

Our fave features: The Nolah Evolution helps to keep your pressure points from feeling jammed up thanks to the bed’s zoned support—meaning the mattress is firmer in the middle where most of your body weight lands. So while it’s a doughy-feeling mattress, particularly because of the extra-soft foam around the shoulders, you’ll get a lift along your hips and spine, helping to keep your body aligned. Our testers noted, “While on my side, the comfort layer on top was super cushy in the best way. I woke up with zero stiffness in my joints and back.”

Best Mattress for Heavy Side Sleepers: Titan Plus Luxe

Titan is offering up to 30% off sitewide with code BFRIDAY30.

Titan Plus Luxe

$1,599 $1,199 (25% off)

Titan

• Provides pressure relief and support for people at higher weights
• Isolates motion well for sound sleep with a pet or partner
• Sleeps cool, especially with the add-on cooling panel

• May be too firm for people who weigh less

Why we picked it: While we understand that every person will have a unique firmness preference, our heavier testers (weighing over 230 pounds) loved the Titan Plus Luxe.

Who it’s for: Body weight and size are important factors to consider when picking the best mattress for you. If you’re smaller, you’ll naturally sink less into a mattress (because, gravity), and might get enough support from a softer option. If you weigh more, you’ll descend deeper into a mattress, and a firmer bed might provide better support.“The Titan isn’t super-firm, but it’s firm enough to let both me and my partner sink in just enough to stay supported,” one tester says. “Side sleepers—especially tall and larger folks—will likely love this. If you’re much lighter or you shift to your stomach a lot, it will most likely be too firm for you.”

Our fave features: As hard as the bed is, it’s not just a firm box. The bouncy, responsive hybrid mattress features two contouring foam layers above its innerspring coils (which help it stay cool). The Titan Plus Luxe’s materials are specifically designed to be durable, made with high-density foams and high-grade steel coils, and those features live up to our expectations—our team gave it 5 out of 5 stars for support.

Best Latex Mattress for Side Sleepers: Avocado Green

Avocado is offering up to 20% off mattresses sitewide right now, and up to 50% off bedding.

Avocado Green Mattress (Queen)

$1,999 $1,799 (10% off)

Avocado

Pros

• It’s made with all-natural materials
• The latex foam layer makes it bouncy and responsive
• The wool and latex layers help wick away moisture to keep you cool at night

Cons

• It’s expensive

Why we picked it: Mattresses made with latex foam are known for being squishy to the touch but supportive enough to help relieve pressure from your joints. With the Avocado Green mattress, you’re getting those benefits and then some. The bed is structured with a soft cover made from organic cotton and wool—perfect for keeping you cool through the night—two layers of latex, and a layer of individually wrapped coils for added support.

Our fave features: According to our testers, the Avocado Green is as bouncy as a trampoline (one covered in a soft, pillow top, that is), making it easy to switch positions; they gave it a score of 5 out of 5 in the responsiveness category. This bed also earned a perfect score in support, meaning it should keep your spine aligned as you’re catching zzz’s.

When it comes to firmness—a.k.a how hard or soft a mattress feels when you get into it—the name of the game for side sleepers is balance: A too-firm mattress won’t conform to your body, which can put extra pressure on your joints that come into contact with the bed and lead to an achy, uncradled lower back. “For side sleepers, mattresses with some amount of give can be optimal to alleviate pressure through the hip and shoulder,” Dr. Baxi says. A too-soft mattress, on the other hand, may throw your spine alignment out of whack.

Pressure relief is a mattress’s ability to cushion your joints and distribute weight evenly throughout the bed to prevent aches in your body’s pressure points. Timothy Roberts, MD, an orthopedic spine specialist at NY Spine Institute, previously told SELF that pressure relief is an especially important consideration for side sleepers because their hips and shoulders will dig into the mattress in this position. The best solution to prevent this? A medium-firm mattress that contours your body.

A mattress’s “support” refers to how well it can hold your body up. The most supportive mattresses are usually innerspring and hybrid beds thanks to their sturdy coil layers, but some all-foam beds are made with dense foundational layers to help keep your body from sinking in too far.

According to Nick Jain, MD, a board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon at DISC Sports & Spine Center, a mattress that’s too soft might offer less support and cause muscles to do more work to keep the body bolstered. On the flip side, Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, director of the behavioral sleep medicine program at Montefiore Medical Center tells SELF that a mattress that’s too firm can cause pressure build-up. So, for a perfectly supportive surface, look for a medium-firm bed.

Gerard Girasole, MD, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, previously told SELF that a medium-firm mattress is a good starting point for side sleepers. That’s because with this firmness, you’re unlikely to sink into your mattress like it’s a beanbag chair, but you also shouldn’t feel like your body is pushing against its surface. Finding a bed that strikes that balance for you will come down to personal preference and body shape and size.s.

Many types of mattress materials can work well for side sleepers, so long as its firmness suits you, Dr. Baxi says. Because the right choice for you comes down to your specific sleeping habits—Do you share your bed? Do you overheat at night?—it’s helpful to know the key differences between the two types.

These tend to be softer and feel like they’re cradling your body. This can be a win for people who share their bed because the extra cushion means you’re less likely to feel rumblings if your partner tosses and turns. However, foam mattresses also often trap body heat; so if you get night sweats but love a squishy bed, we recommend you look for a mattress made with cooling-gel memory foam.

These are made of both foam and innersprings: The top foam layer contours to the body while the supportive coils beneath prevent you from sinking too far into the bed. Hybrid mattresses are usually a safe bet for hot sleepers because the coils allow for air to flow through the mattress, keeping things cool.

These are all-natural, foam-like beds made with materials derived from rubber trees. While they’re similar to memory foam mattresses in that they feel squishy, unlike their polyurethane counterparts, latex isn’t known to trap heat. Latex mattresses also offer pressure-relieving benefits and tend to be on the firmer side, so you won’t sink too far into the material.

A whole bunch happens behind the scenes to make sure the mattresses on this list really are the best of the best for side sleepers. To find the most comfortable options, SELF’s vetted team of experts, who have slept on hundreds of mattresses, considered three main qualities when testing: firmness, pressure relief, and materials.

Is the mattress soft enough to contour to the neck, shoulders, and hips, but firm enough to support the spine and keep it in alignment? (More on the best firmness for side sleepers below!)

Research connects sleeping on your side with pain in your shoulders and hips, because those areas dig into the mattress. We use a pressure-mapping mat to determine whether these sensitive body parts get enough cushion while you snooze.

How cool does a mattress sleep? Is it made with dense materials that are apt to trap heat, or does it have unique features, like gel-infused foam or airy, breathable coils? Our team uses a thermal imaging camera to measure exactly how hot a mattress is after a tester lies on it.

We literally cut them open to see what’s inside. Memory foam or hybrid (meaning, made from both foam and coils) mattresses are generally the best for side sleepers because they can offer pressure relief.

On top of comparing mattress prices to ensure we’re recommending great deals, we also personally order every mattress we test so that we get an idea of all costs, inclusive of shipping, setup, and fees for removing your old bed.

For more intel on how, exactly, we test for these factors, along with more details about what goes into our mattress testing for all sleepers, check out our sleep products methodology page.

TL;DR? Listen, we get that sometimes you just want fast facts to help you make a quick choice. Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about the best mattresses for side sleepers; if you skip everything else, read this:

The best type of mattress for side sleepers has enough cushion to ease pain and pressure, but firm enough to help your spine stay in a neutral position. Hybrid and all-foam mattresses are typically the best beds for side sleepers, thanks to foam comfort layers that cradle pressure points.

The right level of mattress firmness for side sleepers depends on body size and general comfort preferences—but you’ll want to start your search with a medium-firm option.

It sure can be. Many side-sleeping testers and online reviewers love the way foam molds to the body and cushions their joints, which research shows can ease or prevent pain caused by added pressure on the shoulders and hips in the side-sleeping position.

A hybrid or memory foam mattress is a great choice for side sleepers who need pressure relief and comfort from back pain, so we recommend the Bear Elite Hybrid if you wake up with an achy spine. Scroll up to learn more about it!

Many online mattress brands, including a number of selects in this roundup, ship their beds compressed in boxes—but that doesn’t mean they’re all thin and flimsy. Many feature thick, pressure-relieving comfort layers side sleepers love. These include the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe, Helix Midnight, Nectar, and Nolah Evolution.

With reporting from Sara Coughlin

Related:

• 11 Best Memory Foam Mattresses of 2024
• Mattress Firmness Guide: Everything You Need to Know
• The 11 Best Mattresses-in-a-Box of 2024