The Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers
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Most people are side sleepers. The numbers vary across studies and depend on how rigidly you define "side sleeper," but between half and three-quarters of people sleep on their side for at least part of the night.
I am one of those side sleepers, and I've tested and reviewed more than 50 beds from various mattress brands over the past two years to find one that suits my needs. Before I started testing mattresses for WIRED, I would've told you the softer the bed the better. But, as I’ve sampled more styles and religiously tracked my sleep on my Apple Watch, I’ve found that the best mattresses for side sleepers offer cushioning along with plenty of support.
Our recommendations have enough give to let your hips sink in for a natural spinal alignment without making it difficult to roll over. Everything we recommend was put through at least a week of real-life testing in our reviewer's home. We have provided our own independent ratings for the firmness of each mattress tested, since the ratings from manufacturers don't always line up with our experiences.
Be sure to check out our other sleep guides, including Best Mattresses, Best Organic Mattresses, and our new guide to the Best Body Pillows for Side Sleepers.
Updated May 21, 2025: We made the Nolah Evolution our best overall pick, and adjusted Bear Elite Hybrid as our pick as the best for back pain. We also added the Naturepedic EOS Classic mattress as our pick for the best latex mattress for side sleepers.
Best Overall
One mattress made specially for side sleepers, coming right up. The design of the Nolah Evolution is meant to promote pressure relief, from the Euro pillow top to the pocketed coils in the very center of the mattress.
Of the three firmness levels offered, luxury firm does well with keeping the shoulders and hips level so that the lower back doesn't dip into odd angles (can't have lower back pain, now, can we?). When it comes to lower-back support, the middle of the bed is purposefully firmer, thanks to zoned AirFoam right under the Euro pillow top and firmer zoned coils at the bottom. The pillow top hugged around my body, but the overall bed still retained a noticeably firmer feel to it. If you are a side sleeper who needs something softer, either for hip or shoulder pain, or that's just what you prefer, the plush soft version may be a better fit for you.
Spine alignment and pressure relief are two standout features side sleepers need, and it's not the only area where the Nolah Evolution stands out. The coil core makes it incredibly responsive, which is great, since I move around seemingly nonstop as I sleep. It also stays relatively cool, especially when I throw on cooling sheets. —Julia Forbes
Nolah Evolution ranges from $1,460 for a twin mattress to $3,454 for a split king.
Composition Seven-layer hybrid with zoned coils and zoned foam Firmness Three options, luxury firm is a 7.5/10 Height 15 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 365 nights Best for Back Pain
The Bear Elite Hybrid is a five-layer hybrid mattress that stands 14 inches tall and is firmer than many other side-sleeper mattresses. The top layer is a quilted pillowtop that gives the Bear Elite a luxury feel that’s surprising at this price, and the layer of copper-infused foam keeps you cool during the night. I liked this hybrid mattress so much that I used it for nearly a year between testing other mattresses.
After a short break-in period—noticeable on all mattresses but especially important with hybrids—I found the Bear Elite in medium firmness gave just the right sag to my hips and elbows while supporting me on my side. This lighter cushioning didn't interfere with lumbar support. I have periodic lower back pain, and I seek out medium-firm mattresses that offer the right amount of pressure relief without being so soft that I sink to a spot where my spine is out of alignment. The Bear Elite strikes the perfect balance. I sometimes roll off my side, and I appreciate that because the Bear is not employing any aggressive features aimed at making your spine conform to a certain shape, meaning it's good for the times I'm on my stomach or back.
Since it’s a hybrid, there’s airflow in the innerspring layer that makes it breathable. It’s among the sturdiest mattresses in this guide, and the outer pillow top gets cooling benefits from Celliant fiber, a trademarked blend that has been studied for its benefits in athletic wear.
Bear Elite Hybrid ranges from $1,998 for a twin mattress to $4,282 for a split king.
Composition Five-layer hybrid with zoned coils Firmness Three options, firm is a 7.5/10 Height 14 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 120 nights
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Best for Spinal Alignment
The Helix Midnight Luxe is our favorite overall mattress and has been for years. Other testers rate this best hybrid as a popular pick for side sleepers, and with the ErgoAlign layer, you get serious spinal alignment.
This layer of super-dense foam along your torso offers lots of support while leaving plenty of give for your hips and shoulders. I tuck my arm under my pillow while on my side, and it slipped in perfectly on this mattress, leaving me with no shoulder pain.
The only downside is that such a dense layer of foam means that if you roll far enough out of position, you end up with a relatively firm section under the wrong part of your body. I sometimes roll halfway across the bed and sideways, and found myself with a creaky back after doing so. But if you're looking for spinal alignment and will stay relatively close to the same position throughout the night, this is just the right mattress.
Helix Midnight Luxe ranges from $1,436 for a twin mattress to $2,873 for an RV king.
Composition Five-layer hybrid with zoned coils Firmness One option is 6.5/10 Height 13.5 inches Cooling Availible as GlacioTex Trial period 100 nights Best Cooling Side-Sleeper Mattress
Most mattresses aiming to solve sleeping problems target one issue—back problems, say, or motion isolation to stop disturbances from a partner who tosses and turns. The Leesa Sapira Chill Hybrid is special for solving two big problems by offering excellent spinal alignment for side sleepers and using cooling fibers that work to maintain a surface temperature of 88 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Sapira Chill has an attractive European-style quilted top with nice deep divots from the stitching, which also seems to help hot air escape. The cooling cover is made from polyethylene and polyester with a dash of Lycra, and while it's not icy to the touch, it did keep me comfortable during two weeks of testing. What I really liked, though, was the way two layers of springs separated by one of three layers of foam added up to a medium-firm feel, with my hips sinking deep but not too deep. It was the best at cooling among the side sleeper mattresses I've tested though a few others were close. There's a 100-night trial period, so you can see for yourself.
Leesa Sapira Chill ranges from $1,499 for a twin mattress to $2,589 for a California king.
Composition Seven-layer hybrid with zoned coils Firmness Three options, firm is an 7/10 Height 14 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 100 nights
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Best Latex Mattress for Side Sleepers
Before I started testing mattresses professionally, I spent a decade sleeping on a heavy old latex mattress that slowly grew to have a me-shaped divot in it. The Naturepedic EOS reminds me a lot of that mattress—partly because it has a 3-inch layer of natural latex, and partly because it's aged very well over nearly a year of long-term use anytime I'm not actively testing something else.
The EOS is an organic hybrid that puts the latex layer on top of 8-inch encased coils and below a cover made from organic cotton with wool batting. This bed is extremely comfortable for me as a side sleeper, with the springs helping dissipate body heat in a way an all-latex mattress does not, and the only real downside is that because the parts of this bed need to be zipped together, its edges can get a little wonky unless you're very careful about how you arrange the parts.
Naturepedic EOC Classic ranges from $2,199 for a twin mattress to $4,299 for a California king.
Composition 6 inches of latex over 8-inch coils Firmness Customizable firmness for each side Height 12 inches Cooling Yes; naturally via organic materials Trial period 100 nights Best Traditional Mattress for Side Sleepers
The Contour5 is Saatva's successor to the discontinued Loom & Leaf, which you will no longer find on the menu of the company's site, but it's still for sale here. Like all Saatva mattresses, it comes delivered on a moving truck instead of roll-packed—you have to schedule a delivery, but you can sleep on it right away instead of letting it puff back up.
The Contour5 is quite similar to its predecessor and the Saatva Classic I've tested. There are now two firmness options instead of one, and it stands a half-inch taller than its predecessor. It also has updated cooling tech that utilizes airflow channels in the gel foam layer, and that gel foam is a half-inch thinner than the old version, which means less mass to retain heat. In my two weeks of testing, I found it was very good at remaining cool through summer nights when my power company kept hijacking my Ecobee, which is impressive given that it uses extra-dense 5-pound-weight memory foam (that's the 5 in the name).
The Contour5 performs very much like the other two Saatva mattresses I've tested. It's soft enough for side sleeping without feeling like a saggy hammock. It has excellent build quality and a very sturdy, solid feel. That's especially impressive on the Contour5 given that it's an all-foam mattress without a layer or two of springs. I prefer a hybrid with microcoils, but Saatva is popular for a reason, and as all-foam mattresses go, it has a true luxury feel.
Saatva Contour5 ranges from $1,899 for a twin mattress to $3,599 for a California king.
Composition Seven-layer foam Firmness Two options, firm is an 8/10 Height 12.5 inches Cooling Yes Trial period 365 nights
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Best Organic Side-Sleeper Mattress
The standard model from Birch has long been our pick for side sleepers who want an organic mattress, but Birch's new higher-end Luxe Natural model impressed over my month of testing, thanks to its medium-firm feel and structured support. The Luxe Natural is GOTS-certified organic and uses natural latex with no polyurethane-based foams.
Like the standard Birch, the Luxe has multiple layers of wool plus a layer of individually wrapped coils for support and cushioning. It adds a pillowy Euro top for firmer edges. For side sleepers, the coils offer full lumbar support and are arranged to effectively cradle you after a break-in period of two weeks.
Birch Luxe Natural ranges from $1,624 for a twin mattress to $3,124 for a California king.
Composition Nine-layer organic hybrid Firmness One option is a 7/10 Height 11.5 inches Cooling Sort of (natural wool) Trial period 100 nights Best Budget Mattress for Side Sleepers
Casper was one of the first big mattress-in-a-box sellers to make inroads in the US, and the brand's marketing may well have been your introduction to the concept. Casper relaunched its entire line this spring, including this modestly priced entry-level all-foam model. To be honest, my expectations weren't high—all-foam mattresses don't have springy coils to soften specific zones, so they tend to be either overly stiff or overly soft, which is why we usually recommend hybrids (see below). But after a week of sleeping on the One, I was very impressed at how well it cradled my hips and brought my spine into alignment without the help of springs.
The One is the successor to the Casper and the Original from the line, and it has a medium-firm feel with three levels of foam, which increase in density as you move down. It's 11 inches tall, and the queen weighs just 66 pounds, meaning you can lug it around with relative ease. It does sleep a little hotter than the hybrids on this list, which is another issue with all-foam mattresses. I started out skeptical, but I ended up swapping this mattress for the expensive organic latex one in my 10-year-old daughter's room at her request.
Casper The One ranges from $749 for a twin mattress to $1,498 for a split king.
Composition Four-layer foam Firmness Three options, firm is a 5.5/10 Height 11 inches Cooling No Trial period 100 nights
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How I Test Mattresses
I have reviewed more than fifty mattresses and I have personally tested every pick in this guide, even the ones someone else wrote about. I slept on each pick mattress here in my own home for at least one week. I am a bigger guy so when there are multiple models available, I usually ask for the firmest option available and grade the firmness based on my impressions after a full week of sleep. If you're a lighter person you may want to go down to a medium firmness, though I always suggesting erroring on the side of having a mattress that is too firm and softening it up with a mattress topper. In addition to my subjective assessment I closely track my sleep stats using an Apple Watch Ultra.
Is Sleeping on Your Side Good for You?
If you've ever tried to consciously change your sleeping position because of something like a medical procedure, you know how hard it is to fight your natural inclinations. The good news for side sleepers is most experts agree sleeping on your side is at least as good as any other position.
Sleep experts at Houston Methodist say side sleeping has “the least negative impact on health." Meaning, yes, the only things worse for you than sleeping on your side are not sleeping enough or sleeping in any other position.
I always envied back sleepers but sleeping on your back is the “worst position” according to the Mayo Clinic, which calls side sleeping “a good way to sleep.”
How Firm Should a Mattress Be for Side Sleepers?
My short answer is firmest you can go while remaining comfortable.
The long answer is that many side sleepers gravitate toward a soft mattresses, which usually means medium-soft memory foam. But it's important to be sure you have a mattress with enough support. Be sure to pay close attention to the firmness level the company advertises and take your body type into account, as the more body weight you have, the firmer the mattress you’ll want. I've offered my own subjective scale of how firm the mattresses I tested are above, noting which variant I tried in each case.
One other thing worth considering is that it's easier to make a mattress softer with a topper. If you're spending a lot of money on a high-quality mattress made with good materials and you feel it's too firm it's relatively cheap and easy to add a mattress topper, since almost every mattress topper has the effect of softening your sleeping surface. However, you can't make a mattress firmer—if you found a firm mattress topper and put it on a soft foam bed it would still have a squishy base which would lead to sinkage and likely pull your back out of alignment. So my advice as a mattress tester who has slept on many, many bed-in-a-box mattresses shipped to my home is to always error toward too firm.
What Kind of Mattress is Best for Side Sleepers: Memory Foam or Hybrid?
Side sleepers should stick with hybrids in most cases. Given that you're putting more weight on a smaller surface area you might think that memory foam is nicer than a hybrid mattress that has a layer of springs (often called coils), imagining that memory foam allows you to sink into a fluffy little cloud.
The problem is that when you’re sleeping well and not moving much, over the course of a night, that foam will slowly but surely compress under you. If it’s just one layer of foam, after a while it will feel like you're sleeping on a yoga mat. That's why mattresses with multiple comfort layers of foam of various weights are better, and why we like hybrids better yet. That layer of springs means the foam doesn't compact nearly as much in my experience.
A good hybrid gives you a chance to sleep for a solid six hours without needing to change position, which isn't necessarily the case for me on an all-foam mattress. Hybrids also tend to sleep cooler because there's less mass of solid foam absorbing heat throughout the night.
What About a Mattress Topper?
We are big fans of mattress toppers at WIRED because they often give you that “new bed” feel at a fraction of the price, and because they can help correct issues with a mattress you generally like.
For side sleepers, pairing a very supportive firm mattress with a cushy topper is often just the right blend of softness and support. This is why I hope that if you only take one piece of advice from this article that I've spend hundreds of hours working on, it's that you should always buy the firmest mattress you think you can tolerate and then soften it up with a topper later if you have issues.
