The Best Mattresses for Side Sleepers 2026: Expert Tested

Key takeaways from our testing

No pressure buildup at the hips. The Nectar Premier Memory Foam bed is one of the best-performing beds for pressure relief that we’ve ever tested. Donna loved how the foam layers hugged her body. She found they allowed just enough sinkage to cushion her hips and distribute her weight. If you have pressure-sensitive hip pain, you may find this bed comfortable when sleeping on your side.

All-foam design cushions joints and promotes spinal alignment. Testers reported the Nectar Premier Memory Foam delivered a great combination of cushioning foam and firm support to promote comfort while keeping the spine aligned. “I feel firmly supported on the mattress,” Donna said. “I like that the foam feels a little soft but also very supportive. I don’t feel any pressure in my joints.” She rated it a 5 out of 5 for spinal alignment. 

Lukewarm edge support. Since this is an all-foam bed, its edges are weaker than other mattresses we’ve tested, like hybrids (which are made with a combination of foam and coils which provide more stability). Donna rated the mattress a 3 out of 5 for edge support. “The edge support is slightly lacking,” she said. “It’s not the worst, but I’d like to feel more stable sitting on the edge. I can feel it dipping underneath me.”

Best for Side Sleepers with Back Pain: Helix Midnight Luxe with ErgoAlign Layer

Score: 8.9 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Helps ease pressure on the back
• Promotes spinal alignment
• Stable edges

Cons

• Pricey

Features

• Materials: Hybrid
• Firmness: Medium
• Side-sleeping pressure relief: 4 out of 5

Key takeaways from our testing

Eases pressure and supports the spine. Tester Allison loved how this bed eased pressure on her back and while lying on her side. “This mattress feels very supportive, and I am loving the firmness and support,” she said. “My hips feel great lying on my side, my back feels comfortable and my spine is well-aligned.” She rated it a 4 out of 5 for both spinal alignment and pressure relief. The extra support from the Helix Midnight Luxe’s ErgoAlign layer likely contributed to that high score. The ErgoAlign layer, an add-on that costs $250, is a section of ultra-dense foam in the middle of the mattress to prevent your hips from sinking in too much and prevent your spine from curving.

Strong edges. Allison praised the Helix Midnight Luxe’s stable edges. “Sitting on the edge, I don’t feel like I’m tilting at all,” she said. “I feel fully supported on the edge.” She rated the bed a 4 out of 5 for edge support.

High-priced. The Helix Midnight Luxe with ErgoAlign layer is the most expensive mattress on this list — and one of the most expensive we’ve tested overall. It costs nearly $3,000, earning it a 2 out of 5 for affordability. The average price of all the beds we recommend is $1,900. 

Best Adjustable Bed for Side Sleepers: The WinkBed Luxury Firm

Score: 9 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Excellent compatibility for an adjustable base
• Comfortable for those who switch between their side and back
• Reinforced coils provide strong edge support

Cons

• Less bounce, which may make it harder to change positions

Features

• Materials: Hybrid
• Firmness: Luxury firm
• Side-sleeping pressure relief: 3.5 out of 5

Key takeaways from our testing

Flexible enough for an adjustable base. Although it’s a thick mattress, at 13.5 inches tall, the WinkBed Luxury Firm is still flexible enough to use on an adjustable base. Our lab team tested the bed on several different bases and rated it a 5 out of 5 in adjustable base compatibility. The mattress even withstood extreme adjustments, such as moving the head of the bed to a fully upright position (for reading or watching television).

Strong edges. Tester Dana, a 67-year-old combination sleeper who sleeps mostly on her side, said the WinkBed’s edges felt supportive under. “When I’m seated on the edge, I’m supported. Even the foot of the bed is strong,” she said. 

Lacks bounce. Our lab team was surprised by the WinkBed’s weak bounce, since it’s a hybrid made with a combination of foam and coils. When we conducted our bounce test, which involved dropping a 15-pound ball onto the bed’s surface and measuring how high it bounced,  the mattress registered only a 14-inch bounce (19 inches is the average). This earned it a poor bounce score of 1 out of 5. Dana reported she had to use her hands to get out of bed and would’ve liked to feel more bounce assisting her movemnt.

Best Cooling for Side Sleepers: Leesa Sapira Chill Hybrid

Score: 9.6 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Limits heat buildup
• Excellent pressure relief and support for side sleepers
• Easy to move on

Cons

• Worse-than-expected motion isolation

Features

• Materials: Hybrid
• Firmness: Medium firm
• Side-sleeping pressure relief: 5 out of 5

Key takeaways from our testing

Stays cool. The Leesa Sapira Chill Hybrid is one of our lab team’s favorite beds for hot sleepers. During our cooling gun test, the surface absorbed only about 45 degrees of heat and cooled to its near-starting temperature faster than most beds. In fact, it retained only 8 degrees — less than any other bed we’ve tested to date.

Eases pressure for side sleepers. Tester Donna usually prefers a soft bed, but found this medium-firm mattress soft enough to cushion her body. “I love the cushiness of the pillow topper, but I also feel like everything is uniformly supported,” she said, awarding it perfect marks for both spinal alignment and pressure relief.

Not for motion-sensitive couples. While this bed earned an average score in our motion isolation test, we expected better performance given its construction. Each coil is individually wrapped to prevent movement from rippling across the bed. Combined with a quilted cooling cover and four foam layers, this mattress should provide top-notch motion isolation, but it falls short. “When my testing partner changed positions, I could feel some bouncing and pulling at the cover,” Donna said. If you’re a light sleeper, consider the Nectar Premier Memory Foam, which scored a 5 out of 5 in our motion isolation test.

Best Soft Mattress for Side Sleepers: Nolah Evolution Luxury Firm

Score: 9.8 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Soft pillow top offers cushioning under shoulders and hips
• Coils provides extra support for the spine

Cons

• 14-inch height may be a challenge for shorter people or those with limited mobility

Features

• Materials: Hybrid
• Firmness: Luxury firm (but feels softer)
• Side-sleeping pressure relief: 4 out of 5

Key takeaways from our testing

Soft and comfortable for side sleepers. Dana had a hard time finding drawbacks to the Nolah Evolution’s comfort features. She loved how soft the quilted foam layer felt around her joints when sleeping on her side. “It’s like the [bed] I have at home. It cradles me,” she said. Our lab team agreed that the bed felt light and cushioned, but noted that it felt more like a medium-soft mattress than the brand’s firm label.

Coils help support the spine. The Nolah Evolution Luxury Firm has five layers of foam above a base layer of individually wrapped coils. The combination of the soft foam and supportive coils helped Dana’s spine stay neutral. “I feel very good on my side. My hips are supported and my spine is aligned,” she said. “The cover is cradling me, and there is great support underneath.” She rated the bed a 4 out of 5 for both side sleeping pressure relief and spinal alignment, which is above-average for a softer mattress.

Taller than many other mattresses. The 14-inch Nolah Evolution is one of the highest beds on this list. The top of the mattress sits 23 to 39 inches off the ground when stacked on a platform or bed frame. If you’re shorter or have limited mobility, consider purchasing a bed frame with adjustable legs so that you can set the mattress at a safer height for getting in and out of bed. 

Best Edge Support for Side Sleepers: Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Cooling

Score: 9.5 out of 10

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Perfect score for edge support
• Great all-around pressure relief
• Impressive cooling

Cons

• Doesn’t work well with an adjustable base

Features

• Materials: Hybrid
• Firmness: Medium
• Side-sleeping pressure relief: 5 out of 5

Key takeaways from our testing

Thick, firm perimeter. Our testers raved about the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Cooling’s edge support. “I’m hardly sinking in at all when I’m seated. When I’m lying close to the edge, it keeps its integrity. I don’t feel like I’m sliding or tilting off at all,” said Donna, who rated its edge support a perfect 5 out of 5 score. 

Relieves pressure and feels cool. Donna also gave the Aurora Luxe Cooling perfect marks for both pressure relief and spinal alignment. “My hips feel aligned with my shoulders, and my body feels supported but in a gentle way,” she said. “My spine is perfectly aligned all the way down.” The mattress also boasts excellent temperature regulation, earning a first-rate score in our cooling test. 

Not compatible with an adjustable base. The drawback of a bed with strong edges is it likely won’t bend enough to work on an adjustable base. When our lab team tested how well the Aurora Luxe Cooling conforms to an adjustable base, we found it was too rigid and inflexible. “There wasn’t enough bend with the mattress, so I felt unstable in the upright and zero gravity positions,” one lab tester said.

How we tested the best mattresses for side sleepers

We started our process by researching the market. What mattresses are popular and why? Who has the best customer reviews — and are the reviews legitimate? After talking with medical experts, we narrowed our list from 50 mattresses to the more than 30 we tested in our lab.

To identify their strengths and weaknesses, we used controlled tests to assess performance metrics like edge support, bounce and temperature regulation. Then we recruited more than 15 testers ages 50 and older to give us their unbiased feedback. 

These testers answered questions like: Did the mattresses provide good pressure relief on your shoulders and hips? (Those are common areas of pressure buildup for side sleepers) Do you feel stable lying on your side near the bed’s edge? Do your shoulders and spine feel aligned when lying on your side? Beds that excelled in our tests made our list of the best mattresses for side sleepers. For more details, see our mattress testing methodology.

How to choose the best mattress for side sleeping

The best mattress for side sleeping depends on your personal comfort preferences. However, our testing results, research and consultations with medical experts identified several mattress traits that can lead to a better night’s sleep for side sleepers.

Firmness

A bed’s firmness level plays a large role in its overall comfort, according to medical experts and our focus group participants. Most mattress brands measure firmness on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the firmest. Between 5 to 6.5 out of 10 (medium to medium firm) is the common firmness for most models. 

The focus group participants who slept on their side told us that, before switching to their new mattresses, they slept on firmer beds. When they switched to softer beds — between medium soft and medium firm — they noticed an immediate improvement in sleep quality.

How firm a bed feels, though, can vary based on your body weight. Lower-weight people may perceive softer mattresses as firmer than they are, and higher-weight people may perceive firmer mattresses as softer than they are. Also, consider your body shape — if you have a curvy figure, you may prefer a softer bed that allows your curves to sink more into the surface, which can help prevent your spine from curving too much.

Pressure relief

This is one of the most important factors to consider when shopping for a mattress for side sleepers. Our focus group participants reported pressure points at their hips and shoulders in their previous beds. “I finally said that I need to get something new. My new bed is more pressure-relieving, and it’s way more comfortable,” said one participant, who went with a hybrid mattress with a medium firmness.

The mattresses on our list score a 3.5 out of 5 or higher in pressure relief for side sleepers, who need materials that conform to the body and direct pressure away from their joints. 

Spinal alignment

A mattress with strong layers of support — like hybrids with a base layer of metal coils — creates a durable sleeping surface that helps keep your spine neutral throughout the night. Many people find a supportive mattress that prevents excessive sinkage more comfortable. 

A mattress that supports your spine also helps ease pressure on your neck and shoulders if you’re a side sleeper, says Dr. Emeka Nwodim, a board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon at The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics in Baltimore.

The beds on our list score a minimum of 3 out of 5 in spinal alignment for side sleepers, supporting the body in a more neutral sleeping position without uncomfortable sinkage that can twist your back.

Materials

While there is no one ideal mattress type for side sleepers, a mattress’s construction can have certain characteristics that support comfortable sleep. Here are the four most common materials.

• Innerspring. Innerspring mattresses are bouncy and supportive. Combination sleepers who switch between sleeping on their side and back may prefer an innerspring because they’re easier to move on. However, couples may wake each other due to movement, since many innersprings lack motion isolation. Also, unless an innerspring mattress has a thick foam cover, it could feel too firm and may not relieve pressure for side sleepers as well as other materials.
• Memory foam. All-foam beds are often forgiving and pressure-relieving. Side sleepers may appreciate how the material conforms to their bodies, but combination sleepers or those with limited mobility may not like the “sinking” feeling of memory foam. These mattresses are best when they include layers of responsive memory foam that provide support and promote movement.
• Hybrid. Most hybrids combine layers of foam and coils. Since these beds can include any combination of these materials, their feel can vary — some may feel firmer or softer than advertised. Still, they often offer a great balance between pressure relief and support for side sleepers, and they’re one of the most popular types of mattresses on the market. Most beds on our list are hybrids.
• Latex. Natural rubber (latex) beds are a sustainable alternative to memory foam. Latex mattresses mold similarly to foam, but they’re more resilient, responsive and breathable. Like hybrids, they typically offer a decent balance of cushioning and support for side sleepers, but they’re often more expensive than mattresses made from other materials.

What are the pros and cons of side sleeping?

Choosing to sleep on your side is a comfort preference. Most adults prefer it, especially as they age. Here are a few advantages and disadvantages of side sleeping.

Pros

• Easier breathing. Side sleeping may help you breathe easier than sleeping on your back or stomach. It can also reduce snoring and alleviate sleep apnea symptoms.
• Improved acid reflux. If you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is chronic acid reflux, lying on your left side can help reduce nighttime symptoms by allowing acid to drain away from your esophagus, preventing the burning sensation in your chest.

Cons

• Prone to pressure in hips and shoulders. When side sleeping, your shoulders and hips are in direct contact with the mattress. That makes those body parts more prone to pressure buildup because they’re supporting your weight. For people with pressure-sensitive joints, like those with arthritis, side sleeping may feel uncomfortable or painful.
• May tilt the neck at awkward angles. Resting on your side can strain your neck if your pillow is too firm (tilting it upward) or too flat (titling it down). That’s why side sleepers purchasing a new bed may want to buy a new pillow to provide more neck support. “Most side sleepers do best with thicker, firmer pillows,” Nwodim says. He tells patients that their pillow needs to fill the space between their ear and the mattress to promote spinal alignment. Without the right pillow, your neck may tilt uncomfortably as you sleep. He also recommends replacing pillows every three to six months for consistent neck support, ensuring the pillows don’t lose their firmness or support over time.

What is the best type of mattress for side sleepers?

Our test results found mattresses in the soft to medium-firm range (4 to 6.5 out of 10) are often the most comfortable for side sleepers, but there is no single best type of mattress for side sleepers.

The Saatva Classic Luxury Firm, a medium-firm innerspring with a soft Euro pillow top and zoned support, is our best mattress overall for side sleepers. However, most mattresses that made the cut are hybrids, and a few offer zoned support to prevent sagging around the midsection.

How to sleep comfortably on your side

If you’re having trouble sleeping on your side, try these tips:

• Place a pillow between your knees. Many side sleepers find it comfortable to sleep with a pillow between their knees or under their arm. This can help ease pressure on your hips and prevent your spine from curving too much.
• Change sides. If you experience pressure-sensitive pain more on one side of your body than the other, try swapping sides to see if symptoms subside.
  

Note: Mattress and sleep-position recommendations are based on comfort, ergonomics and tester feedback — not clinical guidelines. If you’re having trouble sleeping due to aches, pains or other issues, see a health care professional who can provide a treatment plan that’s tailored to your symptoms.

Which side should you sleep on?

There is no ideal side to sleep on — comfort can vary by individual. People with specific conditions, like GERD, may want to discuss their sleep positioning with a health care provider.

How much do the best mattresses for side sleepers cost?

Questions or feedback? Email us at AARPSmartPicks@aarp.org