The 8 Most Comfortable Mattresses According To Our Editors And Testers
The Helix Midnight Luxe is a top favorite among our editors, who think it's one of the most ... More comfortable mattresses they've tested.
Every body is different, and what feels comfortable to some may be unpleasant to others, so we've included a range of mattresses in this list intended to appeal to a variety of needs. For instance, if you experience regular back pain, the Saatva Classic might be an ideal fit for you; if you sleep hot and are looking for a cooling mattress, we recommend the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Cooling. Many of our editor-approved picks below have also been personally tested by our team.
Helix Sleep
Type: Hybrid | Firmness: Medium | Delivery: Free shipping | Trial: 100 nights | Warranty: 15 years
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The Helix Midnight Luxe is one of those beds that appeals to 9 out of 10 people who try it because it's so objectively comfortable; who doesn't love a pillowy, plush sleeping surface? With a medium firmness level, it accommodates back, side and combination sleepers best, according to our team of testers who tried the Helix Midnight Luxe and compared it against 28 other beds. 'It's cushiony and plush, with what I'd consider a medium firmness,' says one tester. 'There's not a ton of sinkage but it's also not overly firm.' Another says, 'This bed offers a great mix of comfort and support for the whole body.'
Near the base of the mattress sits a thick pocketed coil layer with zoned support and edge support reinforcements. The coils are more dense under the lumbar area, where you need more lift, with more give under the shoulders and hips to provide relief to these parts of your body. Plus, it feels sturdy from edge to edge, a plus for people who share a bed. The blend of cozy foam layers and a plush Euro top give the mattress a cushioned feel that balances out the supportive coils below.
Hot sleepers have the choice to upgrade to a cool-to-the-touch GlacioTex cover for greater cooling relief, while those who live with back pain can opt for the ErgoAlign layer for noticeably stronger spinal support. See our detailed Helix Midnight Luxe review for the full scoop on our findings from testing.
Bear Mattress
Type: Hybrid | Firmness: Medium-firm | Delivery: Free shipping | Trial: 120 nights | Warranty: Lifetime
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The Bear Star Hybrid is a sleep haven for back and stomach sleepers who need a supportive sleep surface that doesn't compromise on cushy comfort. With its marriage of pocketed coils and responsive foams, combination sleepers who switch between sleep positions during the night won't feel stuck inside the bed's layers. We had seven people test the Bear Star Hybrid and they scored it an 8 out of 10 for ease of movement. At the same time, it's not so bouncy that you and your partner can feel each other's every movement. When one tester placed a glass of water near the edge of the bed and made movements near it to see how much it wobbled, he says, 'The water barely moves when I get into the bed and it moves even less when I switch positions. It has very good [motion] isolation.'
The bed comes with a moisture-wicking cover but sleepers can choose to upgrade to the Celliant cover, which the brand says is designed to help promote better sleep quality through muscle recovery and circulation. I tried the Bear Star for over a month myself, and I am a big fan of the mattress. Now I keep it in my guest bedroom—and I've had more than a few guests compliment its comfort. For more insight on our thoughts about this mattress, see our Bear Star Hybrid Mattress review.
Cocoon by Sealy
Type: Memory foam | Firmness: Medium to medium-firm | Delivery: Free shipping | Trial: 100 nights | Warranty: 10 years
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Cocoon is the wallet-friendly bed-in-a-box offering from Sealy, a veteran mattress and bedding brand that has been around for decades. The Cocoon Chill offers extra cooling technology, like a phase-change cover that draws body heat away from the body and gel-infused foam—without a marked-up price. It's one of the best memory foam mattresses that you can get for such an affordable price, and its medium to medium-firm profile makes it accommodating for a wide variety of sleeping positions, including back, side and combination.
It boasts a memory foam feel, but it's not so viscous that your body leaves a lasting imprint on the mattress. It's also great at isolating motion: We had six testers try the Cocoon Chill and they rated it an 8.5 for its ability to deaden movement across a mattress, with one noting that its 'motion isolation is stellar.' After testing, I concluded that motion isolation is one of the Cocoon Chill's strongest points, alongside its budget-friendly price and temperature regulation capabilities.
Nectar Sleep
Type: Memory foam (also available as a hybrid) | Firmness: Medium-firm | Delivery: Free shipping | Trial: 365 nights | Warranty: Lifetime
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The Nectar Premier falls in the middle tier of Nectar's mattress catalog, and it provides that 'marshmallowy' feel you expect from memory foam—without making you feel stuck within the bed's layers. It feels similar to competing top-tier memory foam beds, and at the same time, it's much more affordable. 'I would say that this feels like a high quality mattress,' says one tester. Another adds, 'I would describe this mattress as luxury—it feels like a premier mattress model' (pun intended).
Although Nectar describes this mattress as medium-firm, we think the Nectar Premier falls more so around a medium feed, as each model gets softer as you go further up the brand's mattress tiers. It's ideal for back, side and combination sleepers or petite stomach sleepers around or under 150 pounds. Hot sleepers can also appreciate the subtly cool feel you get when you touch the cover. One tester notes that 'it almost seems cool and is silky to the touch.' See our full Nectar Premier Mattress review on the hybrid model, a similar mattress with pocketed coils in the base layer for added support.
WinkBeds
Type: Hybrid | Firmness: Softer, luxury firm, firmer or plus | Delivery: Free shipping | Trial: 120 nights | Warranty: Lifetime
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The WinkBed is found in many of our Forbes Vetted roundups, including the best hotel mattresses, because of its incredibly comfortable and accommodating design. 'The WinkBed reminds me of a traditional innerspring bed that's super durable while offering just enough cushioning with its Euro pillow top,' says Forbes Vetted senior mattress and sleep editor Bridget Chapman. 'I especially like it for couples and hot sleepers since it tested well with motion isolation, edge support and cooling.' Our team tried the luxury firm model, which scored an 8 out of 10 for motion isolation and a 9 for edge support—meaning you are likely to hardly feel your partner's (or your pet's) movements in the middle of the night and you won't feel like you're going to roll off if they're being a mattress hog. The medium-firm model also tested well across all sleeping positions, including back, side and stomach, meaning it's a good option for couples who sleep in different postures.
The WinkBed is made with a zoned pocketed coil layer that has edge support reinforcements, a blend of foam layers and a plush pillow top that makes the supportive feel more cushy and soft. It reminds us of a bed you'd sleep on in a high-end hotel or expensive Airbnb. Even the Plus model tested well among our team, as heavyweight testers over 250 pounds and lightweight sleepers under 150 pounds both found it comfortable.
Brooklyn Bedding
Type: Hybrid | Firmness: Plush, medium or firm | Delivery: Free shipping | Trial: 120 nights | Warranty: Limited lifetime
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The Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe Cooling offers comfortable cushion, versatility and cooling relief at a reasonable price, especially considering all of the bed's upgrades. It's made with a fluffy pillow top and a GlacioTex cover, which is something you typically pay extra for on other mattresses. It also includes copper-infused foam that absorbs body heat and disperses it away from your body as well as zoned pocketed coils that are more supportive under the lumbar region and around the perimeter for enhanced edge support.
Chapman slept on the mattress for over a month with her husband, who called it the coolest bed he ever tested. 'I was extremely impressed by this high-quality mattress,' adds Chapman. 'It checks off all my personal boxes—it's cooling, offers gentle pressure relief, is supportive and easy to move around on. I found the medium model to have a slightly softer feel that worked for both side and back sleeping.' See our full Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Cooling Luxe Mattress review for more details.
Saatva
Type: Innerspring hybrid | Firmness: Plush soft, luxury firm or firm | Delivery: Free white-glove delivery (arrives flat) | Trial: 365 nights | Warranty: Lifetime
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Not many mattresses are fit with as many spinal reinforcements to target back pain as the Saatva Classic. It's ergonomically designed from top to bottom to promote better alignment, starting with a zoned quilted pillow top that's denser under the lumbar region for added lift. Under the hood sits a memory foam lumbar crown and a micro-coil layer that makes the mattress even more supportive. It also has a patented 'Lumbar Spinal Wire' layer and an innerspring system with 13-gauge steel coils (in other words, they're strong and dense). Each mattress is made to order in the United States and is delivered via white-glove delivery, including a free removal of your old mattress if you'd like.
'I think the Saatva Classic has one of the best values in the online mattress world,' says Chapman. 'It has stellar edge support, breathable and cooling materials, and feels like a high-end bed from the cover to the base. I do think the plush soft and luxury firm models offer a slightly firmer feel than advertised, though.' For those who live with back pain, the luxury firm or firm profile are the most accommodating picks. Read more in our Saatva Classic Mattress review.
Brooklyn Bedding
Type: Memory foam | Firmness: Firm to extra-firm (flippable) | Delivery: Free shipping | Trial: 120 nights | Warranty: 10 years
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If you're accustomed to a firm mattress or know it can be helpful for your spinal support, don't be intimidated by a mattress with a name like 'Plank': This one from Brooklyn Bedding is our go-to firm mattress recommendation. It's ideal for back and stomach sleepers or those over 250 pounds who need more support than your average medium-firm mattress provides. 'I would rate this mattress a 9 [out of 10] for back sleeping,' said one of our testers. 'I felt lifted and supported. What was really nice was that I could feel bits of my lower spine decompress, which was especially nice since I struggle with regularly lower back pain.' And with a dual-sided design—meaning there is a different firmness level on each side—you can determine which feel of the two feels is ideal for you.
"The Plank Firm truly lives up to its name and is one of the firmest beds I've ever tested,' says Chapman. 'It tested great for motion isolation and I found it easy to move around on, so it's a good option for couples after a super-firm feel.'
Our team of writers and editors have years of testing and research experience, and have curated a robust library of mattress and sleep guides. This includes not only recommendations for products, like the best mattresses under $1,000, the best mattresses for back pain and the best pillows, but also advice on things like how to dispose of a mattress.
To select the eight most comfortable mattresses on the market, we relied on firsthand testing, our own expertise, expert insight and consumer reviews.
When it comes to mattresses, comfort is subjective and can depend on a variety of factors including your body type, sleeping position(s), particular health conditions and more. Keep these considerations in mind when you're trying to identify the most comfortable mattress for your needs.
Mattresses generally come in either all-foam or hybrid constructions and are made with a blend of different materials. These are the most common:
Medium-firm mattresses tend to hit that sweet spot for universal comfort across all types of sleepers. Most hotel mattresses are medium-firm to accommodate a broad range of guests. However, comfort in relation to firmness is subjective. What may feel right to you could be unbearable to someone else, and vice versa.
Each sleeping position requires a certain firmness level to ensure that you maintain a proper spinal alignment while you rest. Otherwise, a misaligned spine can lead to back, neck or hip pain come morning. As a general rule of thumb:
Your body weight impacts how firm a mattress feels as well, and the heavier you are, the softer a mattress tends to feel. Keep this in mind when you're selecting the best firmness for your sleeping position and body type. We also recommend hybrid mattresses to those who weigh over 250 pounds because they offer more support, durability and longevity than all-foam mattresses provide.
The most comfortable mattress for you depends on your sleeping position, body type and health conditions like back or hip pain. Side sleepers are typically most comfortable on a medium to soft mattress while back and stomach sleepers need a medium-firm to firm mattress that promotes good spinal alignment.
Many hotels furnish their rooms with a medium-firm mattress because it hits that perfect sweet spot for most sleepers between soft and firm. It offers good enough support to keep the spine from sagging, but it's soft enough to cushion the hips and shoulders.
Memory foam mattresses are ideal if you like a doughy and hugging feel, including side sleepers or those with joint pain. They're also great at isolating motion when you sleep with a restless partner. Latex foam and hybrid mattresses, however, are best if you want something more supportive, breathable and responsive.
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The best pillows for stomach sleepers in 2025, tried and tested
The best pillows for stomach sleepers we tested Best pillow for stomach sleepers: Helix Low-Loft Talalay Latex Pillow Best cooling pillow for stomach sleepers: Helix GlacioTex Low-Loft Cooling Memory Foam Pillow Best adjustable pillow for stomach sleepers: Coop Sleep Goods Original Adjustable Pillow Best hotel pillow for stomach sleepers: Saatva Standard-Loft Latex Pillow I've always been a dedicated stomach sleeper, even though it may not be the best sleeping position for your neck and back. Stomach sleeping is one of the most challenging sleeping positions for maintaining spinal alignment, so if you prefer sleeping like this, it's essential to have a good low-loft pillow to stay comfortable all night. Over six weeks, I rotated through nine popular models to crown the best pillow for stomach sleepers. I adjusted their fill, evaluated the support and took more than my fair share of naps to figure out which pillows are best for giving stomach sleepers a great night's sleep — and which are best to skip. Here are the four I recommend. Helix Low-Loft Talalay Latex Pillow My top pick, the Helix Low-Loft Talalay Latex Pillow, strikes the ideal balance between softness and structure. It offers a bouncy, supportive feel that none of the other pillows matched, alongside an incredibly soft and breathable cover. It is now my go-to pillow after testing. Helix GlacioTex Low-Loft Cooling Memory Foam Pillow This GlacioTex cooling pillow combines the ideal loft of the Talalay with a cooling cover that's chilly to the touch. Its contoured memory foam core molded to my neck and cradled my head as I slept, keeping me comfortably cool all night long. Coop Sleep Goods Original Adjustable Pillow The memory foam blended fill in Coop's Original Adjustable Pillow can be added or removed to fit your preferences of loft and support. It has a jacquard knit cover that feels like sleeping on my softest, most worn-in T-shirt. Saatva Standard-Loft Latex Pillow With a classic hotel feel that you can take home, the standard-loft Saatva Latex Pillow offered layers of down-alternative cotton and shredded latex fill, making it one of the most plush pillows I tested. Of all nine contenders, the Helix Low-Loft Talalay Latex Pillow instantly claimed first place in my book. Its single-piece Talalay latex core provides buoyant support that you don't get with shredded or memory foam fills, including that of its sibling, the Helix GlacioTex Low-Loft Cooling Memory Foam Pillow. I initially tested each pillow for three nights, but I found myself almost sad when it was time to swap this latex pillow out so I could test the other options in the pool. That's how quickly its cloudlike softness and resilient snap won me over. The low loft of this Helix pillow is great for stomach sleepers. It's low enough to keep your neck and back neutral when your face is down and head is turned, yet moldable enough to slip an arm underneath for a touch of extra height without ever feeling overly lofty. Of all the pillows I tested, it had the best loft for stomach sleeping. Its core is made of Talalay latex, a material known for having a bouncy feel, and I found that it held its shape night after night and provided just the right amount of support. The two Helix pillows I tested held their shape the best out of my entire testing pool, in fact. I also thought the cover of this pillow was the most breathable and moisture‑wicking of all the pillows I tested. The cover blends polyester and Tencel, a breathable lyocell fabric, in a raised diamond pattern. I am a hot sleeper who usually opts for a cooling pillow, but I didn't wake up sweating or feeling clammy, even without any cooling-specific technology in this pillow. Instead, it offers a naturally cool, soft‑to‑the‑touch surface without the slick or plastic feel that some cooling pillows can have. It's so soft that I didn't even feel the need to use a pillowcase when sleeping because the cover is more comfortable than any pillowcase I own. The Helix Talalay Latex Pillow is easy to clean and machine-washable. I washed its removable cover on a gentle cycle and then tumble-dried it according to the pillow's instructions. The cover held up in the wash and did not shrink or pill. At $111, this pillow sits at the higher end of the price spectrum, but in my opinion, its lasting bounce, ideal loft and superior breathability justify every penny. But for the skeptical, Helix offers a 30-day sleep trial (though it's likely this is an insurance policy you won't need). The Helix Low-Loft Talalay Latex Pillow is currently the centerpiece on my bed and the stomach‑sleeper pillow I've continued to use night after night. Another winner from Helix, the GlacioTex Low-Loft Cooling Memory Foam Pillow was my favorite cooling pillow for stomach sleepers. Hot sleepers know that memory foam, though great for pressure relief when sleeping, is often destined to feel swampy and hot throughout the night. Helix's GlacioTex pillow breaks this curse, however, with its breathable diamond grid cover, just like our top pick, the Helix Talalay Latex Pillow. The cover features GlacioTex fabric that feels cool to the touch and stays that way all night, while its low-loft, ventilated memory-foam core enhances airflow for added comfort. The GlacioTex kept me the coolest overnight out of the pillows I tested. It was rivaled only by the Buffy Cloud Cooling Pillow, which was also very cooling but only on one side of the cover. The Helix pillow won out for its dual-sided cooling cover and comfortable memory foam. Another reason I loved this pillow so much is the firm but cushioned feel. I found that it held my head at just the right height to keep my neck from craning upward, something that can cause back pain when sleeping on your stomach. An excessively high loft was something I disliked about some of the thicker memory foam pillows I tried during testing, so I loved that the Helix GlacioTex Cooling Memory Foam Pillow offers a low-loft option to avoid this problem. Despite its firm initial feel, the GlacioTex pillow never felt rigid or unforgiving. Its memory foam core springs back quickly when pressed, and there's never a need to fluff it. That quick rebound also kept my neck and head cradled in a comfortable position, no matter how many times I tossed and turned throughout the night. The GlacioTex sits at a higher price point than many stomach-sleeper options, but it delivers everything a stomach sleeper wants in a cooling pillow: consistent chill, supportive foam that contours without compromising loft and a cover engineered for airflow. If you're a sweaty stomach sleeper who needs a pillow that stays cold, this is the model I recommend. For a more budget-friendly cooling option, the Buffy Cloud Cooling Pillow also impressed in my tests, though it only has a cooling cover on one side. Some people need a pillow with a bit more height, while others need a bit less. Coop's shredded memory foam and microfiber-filled pillow arrives generously stuffed, but a side zipper lets you remove or add fill until the pillow feels just right. The inner liner kept the loose fill contained as well, so adjustments weren't messy. Other adjustable pillows in this testing pool, like the Layla Kapok and Buffy Cloud Cooling Pillow, had similar double-lined systems to easily add and remove adjustable fill, but the Coop pillow was the most comfortable adjustable pillow I tested, thanks to its extra-cushy memory foam fill. I appreciated that the brand included an extra half‑pound bag of fill in the box, so I didn't have to store loose foam in a random plastic bag. Once I got the loft down to about 4 inches, the pillow cradled my head without forcing my neck into an awkward angle. Throughout testing, I found that this pillow was the most adjustable while sleeping. You can hug it, fold it in half and mold it into your perfect shape. And no matter how much I molded it into different shapes to fit my preference each night, it never lost its shape or supportive feel. Beyond being adjustable, the cover is machine-washable and holds up well to laundering. The cover was also up there with my top pick, the Helix Talalay Latex Pillow, when it came to softness. The cover is made from Coop's Lulltra fabric — a bamboo‑derived viscose and polyester blend — and it feels soft and breathes better than most all‑cotton shells I tested. Its breathability is thanks to a triangle-patterned texture that I felt helped it dump just the right amount of heat. If your body or mattress changes, you can also retune the loft in minutes rather than replacing the pillow, which is a plus. Coop backs that flexibility with a 100-day trial period and a five‑year limited warranty, which is one of the best policies of all the pillows I tested. The Saatva Latex Pillow recreates a cloudlike, upscale‑hotel sensation while still keeping a low enough profile for belly sleeping. Its standard-loft construction is dual‑layered: an outer chamber packed with down‑alternative microdenier fibers wrapped around a removable core of shredded natural latex. The feel of this pillow stood out to me because of its outer chamber of down-alternative fill, which gave me the same feeling as plush, indulgent pillows I've loved at expensive hotels. Compared to all-latex options like the Helix Talalay, the Saatva Latex Pillow feels less springy and more enveloping at first touch, but it still holds its shape through the night. Unlike pure-down hotel pillows, this Saatva pick resists that mid-sleep pancake effect and stays supportive without being too firm. The result is a hotel-feel pillow that's supportive enough to use for more than just a few nights on vacation. This pillow's standard loft is more like a low-loft option, which is the one I opted to test, but it can be adjusted further by removing its inner core. For me, removing the inner core created a flatter, more plush feel that I preferred when sleeping on my stomach. If you love a lofty pillow for reading in bed, leave the core in, and when it's time to sleep on your stomach, slip it out for better sleeping alignment. The first two layers of this pillow can both be machine-washed, which made it one of my favorites when testing. (Many other options in our testing pool can only have their covers washed.) I like that the first layer of fill can also be washed, because sometimes pillows can hold on to smells, especially after years of cooking in cramped studio apartments like mine. When washed and hung to dry per the brand's instructions, I noticed a few loose threads around the perimeter stitching on this pillow but no shrinkage, rips or pilling. I maintain it as a top pick because it has luxury hotel comfort with added adjustability for stomach sleeping. Saatva offers a 45-night home trial on this pillow alongside a one-year warranty. To test the best pillows for stomach sleepers, I compiled a product pool of nine of the most popular models and rotated them into my nighttime routine over six weeks. Here's everything I considered while testing. Comfort Comfort: I slept on each pillow for at least three nights across a six-week window. I paid attention to how my neck and back felt during and after sleep, whether I woke up or had to readjust and how quickly I settled back in when I flipped sides or returned to my stomach. Loft: The best pillows for stomach sleeping have a medium to low loft, but that can mean different things across brands. I standardized the size where possible, so differences in height weren't just about dimensions and I could tell which were best for this sleep position. Breathability: To isolate heat performance, I kept my bedroom temperature consistent and tracked whether I felt hot spots, trapped warmth or perspiration during my multi-night trials. Firmness and fill: I compared firmness across the pillows in my testing pool, ranking relative feel from plush to firm based on how much pressure it took to compress each pillow halfway. I also opened zippers or casings to inspect the fill type and quality. I noted shredded blends versus single-piece foam, pads or inserts, and I considered how those choices affected contour and support. Durability Ease of care: For care, I followed each brand's cleaning instructions exactly, washing and drying covers or pillows when allowed. I then checked for shrinkage, fabric wear, seam stress, odor changes or clumping afterward. Outside cover: I evaluated shell fabrics and construction up close, looking at fiber content, weave/knit, hand feel, stitch quality and any thin spots that might snag or tear over time. I also noted whether the cover helped or hurt breathability. Shape retention: After overnight use, I checked whether each pillow held its profile or developed flat spots and lumps. I looked out for early signs of that sad, deflated look we've all seen. Value Trial and return policy: Because pillows are personal, I checked each brand's trial, warranty and return policy on the product pages and recorded the details alongside my test notes so readers know how risk-free a tryout will be. Price point: I looked at what you get for the price. I evaluated each pillow's features and performance against its price to decide if it is worth the money. Stomach sleepers should look for a thinner, flatter pillow to prevent overextending the neck or putting pressure on the back. Joshua Tal, a New York-based sleep therapy psychologist and founder of Joshua Tal & Associates Sleep and Health Psychotherapists, recommends aiming for a low loft that elevates the spine just enough to sit in a neutral position. In terms of fill, microfiber, memory foam and latex are recommended for stomach sleeping. 'Microfiber or memory foam is good for a soft fill to stay flat and comfortable. Latex is an alternative to a more breathable material and a good option for stomach sleepers who are also hot sleepers,' said Carleara Weiss, a sleep scientist and assistant research assistant professor at the University at Buffalo Office of Nursing Research. Sue Gordon, a research professor at Flinders University in Australia who's studied the effects of pillows on sleep quality, suggests lying on any new pillow for at least 15 minutes before judging it. This time span lets your body settle so you can determine true comfort. Choosing a pillow is very personal, and every person's body has different needs. Beyond sleep position, consider other factors like fill, adjustability and cover material when choosing a pillow. Fill type can drastically impact the feel of a pillow. Single-piece latex fills spring back quickly and give support with a bouncy feel. Memory foam contours more closely to the head and can feel plusher, but it needs a lower loft to avoid neck discomfort when stomach sleeping. Shredded blends offer the most moldability but can get lumpy over time. Down-alternative fills feel cloudlike yet compress a lot when sleeping. If you run hot, a pillow with a cooling cover might be right for you. If you tend to change your sleep position, a pillow with adjustable fill may be the best choice. But no matter what, the best way to decide if a pillow is right for you is to sleep on it, which is why choosing a pillow with a good trial and return policy is important. If you're shopping online, double‑check the brand's return window. Many companies offer 30 to 100 nights of risk‑free sleep, which is great to help you try different options until you find the one that's just right for your body's specific needs. Buffy Cloud Cooling Pillow The Buffy Cloud Cooling Pillow delivers on its promises of being a cooling pillow, but it lost points during testing because only one side of the pillow has a cooling cover. Regardless, at $60, it's still a great cooling pillow at a reasonable price point. Buffy's Cloud Cooling Pillow uses two distinct fabrics on its hexagon-textured cover. One side is a soft polyester-viscose blend and the other is a silky, cool-to-the-touch polyethylene blend. My main gripe with this pillow was the split personality. Only one side uses the cooling fabric, and the non-cooling side doesn't breathe as well. I kept gravitating to the cool side because I felt warmer on the other, and on a cooling pillow, I'd prefer both sides to regulate temperature equally. Still, the fill is plush yet supportive for stomach sleeping, and because it's adjustable, you can zip it open to dial in the loft to keep your body's needs. Buffy also includes an extra bag for the shredded polyurethane foam, which makes storage easy. Buffy's trial policies are excellent as well. You can 'try before you buy' for seven days with no upfront payment and free shipping, then decide if you want to keep it. If it's not a match, there's a 60-day return window with free returns. Of all the pillows I tested, this was my favorite setup because it lets you test at home with zero hassle. For the price, it's a solid value; I just wish it were cool on both sides. Brooklinen Marlow Pillow I'd heard a lot about the Brooklinen Marlow Pillow before testing, so I was excited to see if it was worth the hype. Unfortunately, it fell short on comfort, which was my most important testing category. At about $50 on sale, the Brooklinen Marlow was the most affordable pillow in our testing pool, but that wasn't enough to win me over. First, the cover is thin and doesn't breathe well. Then, while not scratchy, it isn't particularly soft either. For a similar type of pillow that delivers on its aims of irresistible fluffiness, I'd point you to the Saatva Latex Pillow, which truly has that classic huggable plush. On the plus side, Marlow's loft matched what I needed for stomach sleeping and kept my neck and spine aligned. I also like its unique adjustable design. It has two side zippers that reveal mesh gussets so the fill can spread out for a softer feel or can be left zipped up for a firmer feel. This setup spared me the mess of scooping loose foam in and out, which a lot of adjustable pillows require. I found the pillow most comfortable with both sides unzipped, which Brooklinen recommends for stomach sleepers. That did soften the feel, but the Marlow still reads as too firm to me, even for stomach sleeping. The Brooklinen Marlow Pillow simply doesn't deliver the firm but moldable contour I want from a memory-foam pillow. The fill includes cooling foam, but the cotton cover is neither soft nor cool. I stayed cooler on alternatives with more breathable shells. Care is another drawback. The Marlow isn't machine-washable; it's spot clean or dry-clean only. I prefer removable covers that I can toss in the wash. Unless you specifically want a firmer, zipper-adjustable pillow and don't mind the care and breathability trade-offs, I'd skip this one. Casper Hybrid Pillow As a stomach sleeper, I just couldn't get comfortable on Casper's Hybrid Pillow. The loft sat too high for me, which pushed my neck out of alignment while lying flat. The shape of this pillow, which is taller through the center with lower, sloped sides, sometimes left my neck feeling unsupported when I turned my head. And because the fill isn't adjustable, there wasn't an easy fix. I did like the Casper's fill itself, though. The foam has a springy, medium firmness that cushions without collapsing and a huggable, weighty build. Still, two things held it back in testing: a chemical off-gassing smell that lingered for weeks and a cover that didn't breathe very well. I ended up pairing it with a cooling pillowcase to stay comfortable overnight. For the price, I expect better breathability and some adjustability. In my experience, this model suits back or combination sleepers much more than it does stomach sleepers, which tracks when it comes to why it performed so well in our best pillows for back sleepers testing. But if you sleep on your stomach most of the night, the height and center-heavy profile work against you. I kept reaching for this one to hug like a weighted plush but not to sleep on every day. It's a solid pillow with a satisfying, spongy feel, but it's not the right fit for stomach sleepers like Sleep Kapok Pillow Layla's Kapok Pillow is a solid option for an adjustable pillow with a supersoft cover, but I found that the similar Coop Sleep Goods Original Adjustable Pillow beat it in the test of comfort and moldability at a lower price point. Layla's pillow has a supersoft cover that I loved, and it may have been a winner had I not tried the Coop pillow. Layla's pillow is quite similar to Coop's, with adjustable fill and a zippered, removable cover that held up in the wash, but its fill is stiffer in comparison. I liked the breathable softness of its cover, but it had an off-gassing smell from the fill I wasn't a fan of. It just wasn't as good as the Coop pillow, which delivered more at a better price point. Layla does offer a good trial policy with a 30-night trial and a five-year warranty, but Coop beats it here too, with a trial period that extends to 100 days. Tempur-Pedic Cloud Hybrid Pillow I found the loft of the Tempur-Cloud Hybrid Pillow to be too high for stomach sleeping, even with much of the fill removed. It also lost marks because its zippers came open after a night of tossing and turning. This wasn't one of my favorites for stomach sleeping. Out of the box, the Tempur-Cloud Hybrid has a lofty profile that pushed my neck out of alignment when I lay flat on my stomach. It's adjustable, but even after pulling out a good amount of fill, the pillow still sat higher than I like for this position. The construction mixes a solid memory foam pad with removable shredded foam, so the feel lands in that 'supportive but soft' zone. I appreciated the pressure relief as the foam cushioned my face and jaw, but the overall height and center-heavy shape didn't work for me. If you tend to roll to your back, you may like the extra lift, but as a true stomach sleeper, I didn't. Still, the cover felt breathable, and I stayed comfortably cool on the standard version without needing the pricier cooling model. The scalloped, rounded-rectangle design also looks polished, but after a night of tossing and turning, both zippers worked their way open, leaving fill all over the floor, which was not fun to clean up. There's also no trial period, which I heavily disliked for a personal item like a pillow, especially one at a higher price point, and there is only a five-year warranty for manufacturing defects. I would not recommend this pillow for stomach sleepers. The following FAQs have been answered by New York-based sleep therapy psychologist Joshua Tal, sleep scientist Carleara Weiss and includes research from editorial intern Chelsea Collier. What's the best pillow for stomach sleepers? What's the best pillow for stomach sleepers? A thin yet firm pillow is the best for stomach sleepers, Tal said. The fill for a firm pillow like this should be latex, memory foam or packed down. Is sleeping on your stomach good for you? Is sleeping on your stomach good for you? While sleeping on your stomach might feel like the most comfortable option, this sleep position can cause neck and back pain when the spine is pushed into an arch throughout the night, according to CNN. Though it has drawbacks, adults who sleep on their stomachs are generally safe, Weiss said. 'The downside of it is an increased risk of neck and back strain when using a high pillow,' she said. However, a properly supportive pillow with a low loft helped me arch my back less when testing. For this article, we consulted the following experts to gain their professional insights. Sue Gordon, research director of Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia at the Flinders University College of Nursing and Health Sciences in Adelaide, Australia Joshua Tal, a New York-based sleep therapy psychologist and founder of Joshua Tal & Associates Sleep and Health Psychotherapists Carleara Weiss, sleep scientist and assistant research professor at the University of Buffalo Office of Nursing Research with a doctorate in nursing CNN Underscored thoroughly tests the products in our testing guides and provides full transparency about how we test them. We have a skilled team of writers and editors with many years of testing experience who ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. We talk to top experts when relevant to make certain we are testing each product accurately, recommending only the best products and considering the pros and cons of each item. For this guide, editorial intern Chelsea Collier spoke to sleep experts and tested nine highly rated pillows recommended for stomach sleepers over a 45-day period.
Tom's Guide
3 days ago
- Tom's Guide
My mom needs a new mattress for menopause — experts reveal the features she should look for
Between hot flashes, muscle pain and anxiety, menopause can seriously disrupt your sleep quality. According to a 2023 study, a third of women's lives are affected by poor sleep during menopause. I've seen it first hand as my mom has approached this stage of life and she's always asking for tips on how she can sleep better. Trying and failing to improve her sleep with a standard bedroom fan and magnesium lotions, I've suggested she invests in a top-rated mattress to boost her chance of resting well. To help her find the right one, I've called upon the experts. As business director at Bed Store, Adrian Brown has heard about the sleep struggles that sleep customers face during menopause. Here he shares his advice on what to look for in a mattress to improve sleep quality during this time. I've also spoken to a medical doctor specializing in obstetrics, synecology and women's health, Dr. Sarah Jenkins, to get her expertise on how menopause impacts sleep and what your bed can do to help. Sleep troubles during menopause mainly occur due to the hormonal changes taking place during this time. Dr. Jenkins says hormonal changes have a significant impact on sleep quality. She explains that it is particularly the decline in the hormones progesterone and estrogen that can lead to difficulty regulating body temperature, muscle and joint aches, poor mental health and, therefore, disrupted sleep patterns. The drop in estrogen levels during menopause affects the hypothalamus, the brain's control center for many bodily functions including temperature regulation, making it harder to maintain a stable body temperature. This causes hot flashes and night sweats. Estrogen also plays a role in maintaining muscle mass, strength and joint health, and its reduction can lead to increased muscle aches, stiffness and weakness. This can make it harder to get comfortable at night as pain disrupts you sleep. Additionally, women's mental health often takes a toll during menopausal hormone changes. A drop in progesterone can lead to mood swings, anxiety and irritability, and it also causes a rise in cortisol that increases stress levels. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The best mattress for menopause will be one that's breathable, cool, supportive and pressure relieving. Here are the key features to consider when shopping for your new bed... Unsurprisingly, cooling is top of the list with hot flashes being a signature symptom of menopause. Brown says: 'When shopping for a mattress, prioritise features that enhance both comfort and support. Opt for breathable materials like latex or gel-infused memory foam, which help to regulate temperature and keep you cool throughout the night." The best cooling mattresses are ones made with moisture-wicking fabrics, breathable structures or specialist cooling technology like Phase Change Materials, copper and graphite infusions or GlacioTex. Moisture-wicking fabrics will help keep your sleep space as dry as possible even when night sweats hit. Meanwhile, open-cell spring layers in the best hybrid mattresses and airy materials like cotton and wool in organic mattresses boost airflow and prevent heat build-up. Moreover, cooling fibers in PCM and GlacioTex, and heat-conducting metal filaments, help conduct heat away from your sleeping body and dissipate it through the mattress surface, bolstering temperature regulation when your body needs a helping hand. Dr Jenkins also highlights the importance of maintaining a well ventilated, cool and clean sleep environment for your best chance at reducing night sweats. Whether you're menopausal or not, mattress firmness is a subject measure that depends on your body weight and favored sleep style. Making sure your body is well supported is all the more important during menopause when declining estrogen depletes muscle and bone density. Generally, side sleepers benefit from a softer sleep surface, whereas back and stomach sleepers need a firmer, more robust surface for optimal spinal support. The heavier you are, the firmer your mattress should be, too. Brown advises menopausal women opt for a medium-firm mattress. He says: "This level balances support and comfort, helping to maintain spinal alignment while accommodating changes in body shape and sensitivity." As mentioned above, your joints and muscles can become sensitive to aches and pains during menopause. So, you'll want to make sure they are well-cushioned throughout the night to alleviate as much discomfort as possible. Again, exactly how much pressure relief you require will depend on your body and the way you sleep. The best memory foam beds and pillow-top mattresses will provide the most pressure relief for lightweight bodies and side sleepers with particularly achy joints. Meanwhile, heavier back and stomach sleepers will be best supported by a responsive, firm sleep surface. Foam beds are also better at absorbing motion, so your partner will have a better chance of staying asleep even if you're tossing and turning next to them. Research published in the National Library of Medicine determines menopause lasts seven years on average. So, you'll want a mattress built with premium materials to see you through those years. Most mattresses should last for up to 10 years, but it's worth noting even the best budget mattresses won't be quite as durable as more luxurious beds due to the lower price point and quality of their materials. If you have a big budget to splash, you may want to consider what smart technology featured in the best smart beds can help you through sleepless nights. This is cutting-edge stuff coming with a high price tag to match the luxury sleep experience it delivers. Eight Sleep's new Hot Flash Mode is some of the most impressive targeted menopause sleep technology we've seen in the smart bed market. With this update, the Eight Sleep Pod 4, Pod 5 and Pod 5 Ultra level up the sleep tech brand's already advanced climate control with rapid cooling feature that counteracts nighttime hot flashes as soon as they materialize.
Tom's Guide
5 days ago
- Tom's Guide
Do you need a mattress topper, protector or a new bed? 5 questions to ask yourself before investing in better sleep
If you're no longer looking forward to going to bed and are waking up in the morning feeling worse than when you went to sleep, chances are something isn't quite right with your current bed. But before you presume your mattress must be the issue, you need to consider what the problem actually is. There are plenty of situations in which a mattress topper or mattress protector might be all the additions you need, saving you from spending mountains of money on a new mattress. Of course, if you do need to replace your mattress then our guide to the best mattresses will help you to find the right choice for your sleeping style and body type. But there are plenty of scenarios where you won't need to change your mattress at all. In this guide, we'll look at the tell-tale signs that will help you decide whether to invest in a new mattress or buy a cheaper topper or protector. And, once you've decided, be sure to check out our mattress sales page so you can take advantage of any current offers; the upcoming Labor Day mattress sales are guaranteed to bring some bargains. No matter how well made it is, your mattress will have a lifespan. Different types of mattresses last for different amounts of time and knowing how long a mattress lasts is important, allowing you to decide whether it's time to replace it. As a rough guideline, innerspring mattresses have the lowest lifespan at around 5-7 years, while hybrid and memory foam should run to around 10 years. Expensive natural latex mattresses can last up to 20 years, but these often come with a price to match. So, unless you have a latex mattress, an older mattress of around 7-10 years is coming up for retirement and the best solution is going to be to invest in a new bed, especially if your existing mattress is starting to sag in places or showing signs of wear and tear. Not sure where to start looking? Our guides to the best hybrid mattresses and best memory foam mattresses will give you plenty of inspiration and help, but if you're in a hurry our go-to pick is the Saatva Classic mattress: it's an outstanding luxury bed at a reasonable price, and comes in a choice of heights and firmness levels. If your current mattress has started to cause an allergic reaction, your first thought will probably be about the materials it contains. If a mattress isn't hypoallergenic, it can exacerbate allergies and you might be better off investing in one of the best organic mattresses, such as the Avocado Green mattress, which will be free from toxins, chemicals, fiberglass and heavy metals. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. However, if you've had your mattress for a few years and have suddenly developed skin rashes or respiratory problems, it's far more likely that allergy triggers such as dust, pet dander, pollen and skin cells have built up on your mattress. If this is the case, get one of the best mattress protectors on your bed as soon as possible. These will protect your mattress from build ups and can be washed on a regular basis to keep allergens at bay; we'd suggest the Coop Sleep Goods Ultra Tech Waterproof Mattress Protector, which delivers bags of protection at a great price. There's little worse than waking up in pain after a night's sleep. Where you'd expect to wake up feeling refreshed, you're instead left stiff and sore and struggling to get started with the day. If this keeps happening and you find you sleep more comfortably anywhere other than home, it's likely your mattress is the culprit. If your mattress is too firm or soft for your sleeping style and body weight, it can easily cause aches and pains. First things first – the most budget-friendly option here is to buy one of the best mattress toppers, choosing one that's suitable for your requirements. However, if that doesn't solve the problem or your mattress is on the older side, investing in one of the best mattresses for back pain is the ultimate way to solve your aches and pains. The high-end Saatva Rx is our top choice, but if its price is out of your range the DreamCloud Classic mattress is a strong, affordable alternative. Buying a new mattress is supposed to be a treat so it can be hugely disappointing if, after investing a considerable amount of money, it's not comfortable straight off the bat. However, it is totally normal for your body to take time to adjust to a new mattress. Remember that you'll have been sleeping on your previous mattress for a long time, so you'll need to give the new bed time to break in. But if you're still finding it tough to break in a new mattress after a month, you might want to consider adding a little help. The best memory foam mattress toppers will add some much needed cushioning around your pressure points; supporting your body will the mattress continues to break in underneath it. We love the Tempur-Pedic Tempur-Adapt mattress topper; it's not cheap but it can make a real difference to even the most uncomfortable bed. There's nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night in a hot, sticky mess. Overheating at night does nothing for our sleep patterns and there's a close link between your body temperature and your ability to fall asleep. So, if you're a naturally hot sleeper, it's important that your bedroom setup helps you stay as cool as possible overnight. If you're already sleeping on a mattress that's comfortable, investing in a decent cooling mattress protector such as the Sijo AiryWeight Eucalyptus mattress protector could be enough. But a protector is very thin and if the heat of your mattress is still a problem, a cooling mattress topper such as the Casper Comfy mattress topper could be a better fit. The ultimate solution to hot sleeping, though, is one of the best cooling mattresses, with these beds being packed with innovative features to help keep you cool from dusk until dawn. Right now we'd recommend the Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress, which has great cooling powers and a luxurious finish, and is available in a choice of firmness levels.
