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When buying a mattress, there are a few key things to consider such as proper support, universal comfort and pressure relief; but the most important of all is mattress firmness. How a mattress feels is the main selling point in choosing a mattress but it can sometimes get confusing. If you get it wrong, you may end up buying a brand that is too soft or too firm. This guide may help you choose not just the overall best mattress but the right mattress for you.
How a mattress feels vary wildly. Body weight, body type and sleeping positions can affect how a bed feels for everyone. The general rule is that as long as a mattress is comfortable, then you’re good to go. But it’s no longer as simple as that.
The right mattress firmness can help one achieve optimum sleep health by providing adequate support, spinal alignment while relieving pressure off the body’s main pressure points which are the back, shoulders and hips. If you choose a mattress that’s wrong for your body type and sleeping position, it may just cause you further problems in the long run. Add to that the various aches and ailments us mere mortals experience on the daily, or worse, something chronic such as fibromyalgia, then firmness preferences can become a little bit too confusing.
Fortunately, mattress companies nowadays have created specific mattress types that cater to each body type and sleeping position as well as continuing to churn out mattresses that can be a ‘one size fits all’.
What is Mattress Firmness?
Simply put, mattress firmness refers to how hard (or how soft) a mattress feels. In the mattress firmness scale, it goes from 1 to 10 with 1 being the softest and 10 the firmest.
As mentioned above, how a mattress feels is different for everyone. What could be firm for some people could be soft for others. Take a medium-firm mattress for example. Heavier individuals, because their bodies give off more pressure, tend to feel a medium-firm mattress to be softer whereas lighter, more petite individuals would say that a medium-firm mattress may feel more like a firmer mattress than average.
Most mattress brands include a mattress firmness guide for each of their mattresses but nothing beats actually trying one out for yourself. Luckily, a lot of these mattress brands now offer risk free sleep trials so you could try out a mattress in the comfort of your own home.
Firmness Levels Defined
The mattress firmness scale was created by the mattress industry to help sleepers identify which mattress firmness is right for them. While we may define soft and firm quite easily, the mattress firmness scale helps us define the nuances that lie in between – from soft to medium-soft to medium and medium-firm and so on. Today, companies even offer a plush mattress which can be extra-soft mattresses.
The scale goes from 1 to 10 with 10 being the firmest. Most mattress brands use the scale below to define their mattress firmness levels. Bear in mind that some companies may thrown in a fraction or two like a .5 to define their own mattress firmnesses further.
1 = Extra Soft
An extra-soft mattress is exactly that – extra soft. These mattresses offer little to no support and are usually not recommended for any type of sleeper.
2 – 3 = Soft
A soft mattress provides a deep, cushiony feel or in the case of memory foam, maximum sinkage which is good for strict side sleepers of average weight. Softer mattresses are also good for those who suffer form chronic pain. Amerisleep AS5 is a good example of a soft mattress.
3 – 4 = Medium-Soft
Medium-soft mattresses are soft mattresses with slightly less give. These are also targeted towards side sleepers and could also be a good option for combination sleepers. Comfy is a good choice for a medium-soft mattress.
4 – 6 = Medium
Probably the most popular firmness level, every mattress brand offers a medium as this suits most types of sleepers. This firmness level offers spinal support, comfort and pressure relief equally. Casper makes the best medium mattress.
6 – 7 = Medium-Firm
Delving slightly into the firm mattress category, medium-firm mattresses offer a little less sinkage and a little less cuddles than medium to medium-soft mattresses. Our favorite medium-firm brand is Idle Latex Hybrid.
7 – 8 = Firm
Firmer mattresses offer an even, firm sleeping surface that has little to no give. Firm mattresses are usually recommended for those who need proper support, especially for the back. When it comes to firm mattresses, we recommend Nolah Evolution 15.
9- 10 = Extra Firm
Some mattress brands jokingly refer to this firmness level as rock hard and they’re sometimes not wrong. With thinner comfort layers and a very solid support core, extra-firm mattresses fall into the not so comfortable category. Firmer beds are usually and only recommended to those who need it therapeutically.
Mattress Firmness and Sleeping Positions
Why is mattress firmness so important when choosing a mattress, you might ask? First of all, mattress firmness is tantamount to a sleeper’s comfortability. You wouldn’t want to lie on a mattress that’s too soft or too firm, do you? We all want something that’s just right.
But just right for me may not necessarily mean it’s just right for you, even if we may share the same preferred sleeping position. Body weight comes into play. A lot of other preferences come into play too, such as one’s lifestyle and one’s beliefs (such as vegans who might prefer an all vegan bed) but in this article we focus on mattress firmness.
Sleep positions are fairly straightforward. You can either be a:
- Back sleeper – back and stomach sleepers need a firmer mattress. Firmer mattresses tend to offer more support for the hips and spine as well as the lower back. These areas are the main pressure points for those who sleep on their stomachs and backs. Some people could be strict back sleepers. If this is the case, they would often need a firmer mattress than average, usually around a 7- 10 on the firmness scale. Funny enough, back sleepers only account for 10 percent of the population currently but this is the most supportive sleeping position, especially for those who are experiencing back and neck problems.
- Stomach sleeper – Just like most back sleepers, stomach sleepers need firm mattresses. The hips and lower back are the first things to go for stomach sleepers. If a stomach sleeper – especially a strict stomach sleeper – sleeps on a softer mattress, the hips and lower back sink into the mattress, throwing their spinal alignment entirely off-balance. This could cause discomfort, pain or even more serious issues if left unchecked. Stomach sleepers need around a mattress that’s a 6-9 on the firmness scale, depending on their body weight. Only 16 percent of the population fall into this category of sleeping positions.
- Side sleeper – Side sleepers account for 74 percent of the population in the United States. That’s a lot of side sleepers. If you’re strict side sleeper, you would need a soft mattress and if you are on the petite side, you may need a softer mattress than average. But here’s the flip side, if you are heavier than 250 lbs and sleep on your side, then you would need medium to medium-firm mattresses. This is because, as we’ve mentioned previously, heavier sleepers sink into the mattress more than lighter ones. People of average weight though would feel comfortable on a soft to medium mattresses, even if they sleep strictly on their sides. Soft mattresses allow side sleepers to keep their weight of their shoulders and hips, which bear their weight the most when they sleep. Ever wonder why your shoulders (and sometimes even your neck) feel sore in the morning? The answer could be as simple as changing your mattress.
- Combination sleeper – Combination sleepers are sleepers who shift between different sleeping positions throughout the night, without committing to one single sleeping position. Most people actually shift their positions but end up sleeping on one position the longest – this is your sleep position and you should choose a mattress firmness based on that sleep position. Combination or combo sleepers usually do well with a mattress firmness level that either a medium-soft to medium-firm – once again, depending on body weight.
Mattress Types and Firmness Levels
The firmness of a mattress depends mostly on the type of mattress it is and what it’s made up of. Most modern mattresses are made up of either one or two or all of the following: memory foam, latex foam, or innersprings.
These days, mattress companies have come to rely on technology to create proprietary foam and foam alternatives. The ubiquitous innerspring mattresses of yore have paved the way for hybrid mattresses, which combine foam and spring coils, which are usually individually pocketed for better motion isolation. That’s not to say that the innerspring mattress has lost its allure – there are still some staunch fans out there.
While each mattress type can be engineered to be either firm or soft, certain foam types such as latex or its derivatives or alternatives tend to be more responsive than any other type of foam. This means that they bounce back fairly quickly, much more so than regular memory foam mattresses. Latex mattresses, such as the Saatva Classic tend to skew slightly towards the spectrum of softer mattresses.
When you combine foam and spring coils, you get comfort from the foam comfort layers and support from the springs. Springs are naturally, well, springy and also tend to be more responsive compared to an all-foam mattress.
Memory foam mattresses are probably the most popular mattress of this day and age. Traditional memory foam hugs and cradles the curves and contours of the body and helps relieve pressure while providing ample support.
Like firmness level, the type of mattress you choose is a personal preference. When choosing a new mattress, it is key to do a little mattress research while keeping your preferences in mind. And remember, always try it out to see if it’s the right mattress for you.
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Michelline loves nothing more than a cozy bed, with a stack of books at her side. She loves getting lost when she travels, can bake an entire British afternoon tea from scratch, is obsessed with all things analogue and does calligraphy on the side. She currently suffers from mild insomnia and is more than happy to be your guinea pig, so you won’t have to go through all the trouble of finding out what works best for you.
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