When you crawl under the covers, do you want to sink into a soft mattress that conforms to every curve of your body? Or do you think it’s more comfortable when you feel like you’re lifted and supported “on top” of your bed? What we’re describing here is firmness, and it’s one of the main factors you’ll consider when choosing a new mattress.
Typically, mattress companies will provide a firmness score that falls between 1 (softest) and 10 (firmest). There’s no universal right or wrong firmness level; the ideal feel for you will depend on things like your sleeping position, whether or not you’re prone to back or joint pain, and plain old personal preference—and we’ll get into all of that below.
In this mattress firmness guide, sleep researchers and spine experts offer their insights to help you land on the best bed to fit your needs (a.k.a. you’ll be one step closer to achieving a full REM cycle).
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Mattress firmness levels
While mattress firmness is scored on a scale of 1 to 10, it’s not a totally standardized score. That’s because the same bed probably won’t feel identical to two different people due to factors like body size. “A petite person or a child may find a mattress firm when a larger person does not,” Kevin Lees, DC, a chiropractor based in Arizona, tells SELF.
This also helps explain why there’s no single “correct” firmness that applies to all people. With that in mind, having a grasp of what it means for a mattress to be classified as soft, medium-firm, or firm (the most common levels you’ll see when perusing product descriptions—and our recs) can help you pinpoint what will work best for you.
Soft: 1–5.5/10
Just because a mattress is soft doesn’t mean you’ll hit the floor, as if you were hopping on a partially deflated air mattress. Rather, “a softer mattress should still feel supportive but may compress easier under higher-pressure areas,” says Dr. Lees. “It may feel more contouring or adaptive [than a firmer option], and sometimes, it may feel as if the person is sinking in.”
A softer mattress level often suits side sleepers “because [this firmness level can] relieve pressure on the shoulders and hips,” Shelby Harris, PsyD, a board-certified behavioral sleep medicine expert and director of sleep health at Sleepopolis, tells SELF. But because softer beds don’t hold up the spine as well, stomach and back sleepers can find them uncomfortable.
Dr. Lees adds that soft mattresses tend to be great options for kids. “A softer surface may be more adaptable to their body shape and still provide the support they need,” he says.
One of our favorite soft mattresses:
Medium-firm: 6–7/10
Neither too soft nor too firm, medium-firm mattresses would make Goldilocks happy. Research supports that they’re generally the best for easing back pain and promoting good sleep quality too. On these, you can expect a bit of the “sinking” feeling you get on a soft mattress but with more lift.
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