The best mattress for side sleepers

If you sleep in the foetal position, you’re in with the in crowd, because the majority of British snoozers do too. Still, that doesn’t make it any easier, and finding the best mattress for side sleepers, i.e. one that won’t leave you with a dead arm and a sore hip when wake-up time rolls around, can be a challenge. That’s where our list comes in.

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Generally speaking, combination mattresses provide a perfect meeting of softness and support, making them the best mattresses for side sleepers. The combination in question will usually be one of springs and foam, however you’ll also find some clever maverick materials in our list, from cooling gel pads to cotton and even wool.

Our best buy mattress overall is the Tempur Cloud Elite 25, for its supportive base layer, sinkingly soft upper and low-level maintenance, but each of our picks is adept at seeing off a particular complaint, so keep reading to find the one that’ll give you the best night’s sleep.

Tempur call this mattress “the perfect balance of softness and support” which, to us side sleepers, sounds just about ideal. The patented Extra Soft material moulds to your shape for a comfortable, cradling sleep, backed up by a supportive lower layer for the best of both worlds, without any overt firmness that could exacerbate tenderness or soreness in side sleepers. The removable cover can also be washed at up to 60 degrees to keep things feeling fresh for what is, from Tempur, usually a considerable lifespan.

100% cotton might not seem like the most high-tech material in a sea of active gels and hybrid foams, but as the name suggests, it really is nature’s finest when it comes to natural breathability. As a mattress filling, it’s intended to keep sleepers cool and feeling fresh over the course of the night, and in this Flaxby mattress is followed by layers wool sourced from Yorkshire farms, used for its soft, springy, supportive and naturally antibacterial nature. These time-tested natural materials, plus pocket springs for just the right level of support, result in one multi-talented mattress.

It stands to reason that our top three mattresses come with prestige, but it’s the ‘2800’ in the name of this Sealy mattress that really interests us. It refers to the almost three thousand pocket springs on board, giving complete coverage that adjusts minutely to each of your movements, even if you’re a particularly fidgety sleeper. As such, it’s said to be great at relieving pressure, wherever you feel the niggle. This zoned support also means that you won’t go flying if your partner turns over in the night, keeping everyone happily asleep.

Combining traditional (spring-based) and new (memory foam) sleep technologies, the Dormeo Octaspring Hybrid is all things to all sleepers. Springs too hard? Memory foam too hot and sticky? Say no more: the bonkers sleep scientists at Dormeo have actually made springs out of memory foam to offer three-dimensional movement and support that somehow knows when to sink and when to support. Said to be eight times more breathable than a pure memory foam mattress, it’s a great shout for anyone who find conventional foam makes them overheat.

Many of us find ourselves overheating in the night, and it might not all be down to an unseasonably thick duvet or any problems with your interior thermostat. Over-warm side sleepers may find respite in something like this TheraPur ActiGel mattress, which prides itself on allowing superior airflow and properly regulating the body temperature of its charges with a layer of smart gel, as well as providing the medium-soft sleeping surface that’s ideal for side sleepers. In good news for allergy sufferers, the gel is also hypoallergenic, meaning no interruptions from dust mites and nasty reactions.

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