“Having a quality mattress is a good investment because it helps make sure you wake up feeling healthy and energized,” says Steven Shoshany, DC, Director and Founder of NYC Chiropractic and Spinal Decompression Center. And since humans spend over a third of their lives sleeping, it only makes sense to buy a comfortable mattress that makes your life a little easier.
When looking for a mattress for arthritis, there are a few factors to keep in mind. You’ll want to take the mattress’s firmness level, materials, and ability to relieve pressure into consideration in order to best alleviate pain. We researched dozens of mattresses and evaluated them for mattress type, materials, thickness and firmness levels, and return policies.
Here are the best mattresses for arthritis on the market today.
The Tuft & Needle hybrid is a medium-firm mattress, which makes it a perfect fit for the majority of users. Speaking of users, many reviewers rave about never wanting to leave this bed in the morning (and, most importantly, waking up pain free).
Price at time of publication: $1,395
Nectar is a foam-only mattress, meaning it has no springs or coils, which people either love or hate; if you want a closely-conforming sleep surface that’s supremely gentle on your joints and pressure points, an all-foam mattress like the Nectar is exactly what you need (but people who really need the “bounce” of a traditional mattress may be less than thrilled). Still, the Nectar has more than a few things to love, like multiple layers designated for cooling, a stable base layer, and almost no motion transfer between co-sleepers.
Price at time of publication: $899
Price at time of publication: $1,795
The mattress also features antimicrobial odor protection, a removable cover for easy washing, and could be used by all kinds of sleepers, from stomach to back to side, and fits any type of bed, including adjustable beds.
Price at time of publication: $1,099
Using patented Triple Layer Heat Dispersion technology, The WinkBed’s top half is made with eucalyptus-based Tencel fabric, a gel-infused memory foam pillow top that doesn’t retain heat, and an airflow-promoting system of pocketed coils. Together, these three features help wick away moisture, increase breathability, and encourage an overall cool, dry sensation while you sleep. To top it all off, its edge system is reinforced to provide maximum support if you’re a “half out of the sheets at night” kind of sleeper.
Price at time of publication: $1,799
On top of that, the Wave includes a perforated gel layer for cooling, an upper foam layer that hugs your curves, and deep-set, sturdy springs meant to maintain the shape and integrity of your mattress for years. Reviewers don’t hold back when it comes to the Casper Wave, comparing it to sleeping on a cloud and claiming it’s helped them sleep longer and better through the night.
Price at time of publication: $2,895
By taking the two-minute questionnaire (answering questions about how you sleep, who you sleep with, and how often you feel pain after sleeping all night), Helix narrows down your mattress options to hone in on that “just right” choice. Or, if you prefer to search the options for yourself, Helix makes it easy to identify the right mattress for you based on your preferred firmness level, your pressure point and body contouring needs, and your preferred sleeping position.
Regardless of the mattress you choose, you have 100 days to decide if you want to keep it or switch it out for another style.
For budget-minded shoppers, the The Nectar Memory Foam Mattress (view at Nectar) boasts similar features as the Tuft & Needle, but with a lower price point and a longer trial period (365 days). Finally, if it’s back pain relief you’re looking for, we recommend the Casper Wave Hybrid Mattress (view at Casper); its zoned support is made to reduce pressure points and move with you as you sleep.
Dr. Shoshany says it’s important to avoid a sinking bed because if it sags with time it “will start canopying and that’ll create a whole list of problems down the road.” According to the Sleep Foundation, sagging mattresses can throw your spinal alignment out of whack, increasing pain and pressure in your neck and back.
At the same time, you can’t go so overboard with the firmness level that it feels like you’re sleeping on a rock. According to Siddharth Tambar, MD, a rheumatologist with Chicago Arthritis and Regenerative Medicine, “you should be looking for a mattress that is firm enough to offer adequate support for your neck and lower back, but soft enough to allow you to lie on your side without causing aches in your hips and shoulders.”
Pressure Relief
Buying a mattress to help with arthritic pain is a very purposeful process. You will want to look for a mattress that highlights the specific target areas for relieving aches and pains, such as the shoulders, hips, and lower back.
For many consumers, a major source of pressure relief comes from memory foam mattresses rather than coiled mattresses. Foam helps to relieve pressure points in the body without feeling too soft, which is helpful for anyone suffering from joint pain.
“We don’t want sagging in any specific areas,” explains Dr. Shoshany. “I think for someone that has arthritis, memory foam over coils is really good.”
Interestingly, there is some debate over whether latex foam or memory foam is better for relieving painful pressure points; while most people opt right for memory foam, assuming it to be superior, a 2017 study in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine suggests that latex foam may outperform the traditional polyurethane memory foam, better reducing body pressure and more evenly distributing pressure points as well.
Trial Period
In an ideal world, you would buy a mattress in person so you can test it out by lying on it in the position you sleep in at home before committing, says Vinicius Domingues, MD, rheumatologist from Florida and a medical advisor to CreakyJoints.
“While there are a lot of new options for mattresses now, like hot and cool temperatures or variable, adjustable firmness, for the person with arthritis the most important factor is whether you have enough support to achieve a neutral angle,” he explains.
But it may not be affordable or even feasible for you to drive around from store to store testing out mattresses—and the market for online mattress retailers has been booming lately, making it easier than ever to buy online, try the mattress out in your own home, and then decide if you like it enough to keep it.
Considering the trial period on your mattress is particularly important when you’re buying your mattress online and haven’t gotten the chance to test it out in-person. It takes a while to “break in” a new mattress, so the longer the trial period the better. Most online mattress retailers offer at least a 100-day trial period, while some offer as long as 365 days to send it back if you don’t like it.
However long the trial period, we suggest looking into the terms and conditions of any return policy: while a company may say you can simply return it if you hate it, there may be restrictions or exclusions that apply to your purchase.
Your Preferred Sleep Position
Mattress manufacturers often design mattresses to accommodate back, side, or stomach sleepers since different sleeping positions usually require different types of support. One 2010 study in Applied Ergonomics suggests that sleeping-related pain can be reduced in people with lower back pain when they choose the right sleeping surface for their preferred sleep position.
It’s important to purchase a mattress made for the type of sleeping you usually do, especially if you suffer from arthritis.
“A mattress cannot affect arthritis, but your quality of sleep and whether you experience increased pain because of how the mattress supports you are reasons to concentrate on finding a comfortable position on the mattress,” says Dr. Domingues. “People with lordosis…may find that stomach sleeping is uncomfortable [while] people living with spondylitis or ankylosing spondylitis need to especially support their back.”
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We can help you determine the level of support that would be the most beneficial for you, though. Dr. Domingues recommends considering your weight, for one: he says a person weighing 400 pounds will have a different experience on a soft mattress than a person weighing 150 pounds. (In general, a higher weight requires a firmer mattress to avoid sinking or sagging.)
You also have to consider whether the mattress is the right firmness for the amount of pressure you tend to place on your spine when you sleep.
“It’s important that the mattress be firm enough to allow a person to maintain a neutral angle, where the hip and spine, and the neck and spine, are aligned,” says Dr. Domingues. “It’s all about the pressure you make from hip to spine that determines whether you might experience more pain.”
Basically, mattresses aren’t made “bad” or “good.” The only bad mattress is one that doesn’t support you enough to allow for proper alignment, or which causes or worsens chronic pain.
