Soft or Firm Mattress?

Are firm or soft mattresses better? When it comes to choosing a mattress that suits your sleep style, your posture and your natural sleep temperature, there are so many questions you need to ask yourself before you find the right fit.

That’s where we come in!

We’ve been providing our customers with a good night’s sleep for years, producing all-natural wool mattresses in a range of tensions to cater to varying sleep postures and preferences. Explore your options below – we’ll help you make an informed decision on a firm or soft mattress before you place your order.
 

Do I need a firm or soft mattress?

Choosing between a firm or soft mattress is a personal decsion to make. It will depend on your spinal health, your preferred sleep posture, and what feels most comfortable and supportive for you. To help you weigh up the pros and cons we’ve pulled together things to consider for each end of the mattress tension spectrum.


 

Firm or soft mattress - what’s better for a bad back?

Having a mattress that provides comfort and sufficient support for your back is an vital factor when getting a good night’s sleep. But it’s also important when it comes to your overall spinal health, helping your posture throughout the day. So there’s a lot to think about before you settle on a firm or soft mattress – or a mattress that’s somewhere inbetween.

Ultimately, which is best for a bad back?

To relieve pressure on a bad back, you’ll want to make sure that your weight is evenly distributed. Often this means that certain points across the body – such as the shoulders, hips or pelvic area – need to take on a little bit more of the weight to ease the strain on your back. If, however, your mattress is too firm this can mean that those pressure points become increasingly uncomfortable, making it harder to get a good night’s sleep.

A firm mattress can also leave you sleeping in a position where your spine is consistently misaligned. And if your shoulders and hips are leaving you with a gap between your back and the surface of the mattress, it’s likely that you’re not getting the support you need for your lower back.

If you live with back problems but prefer a firmer mattress, try out a mattress that comes a little further down on the firmness scale. Look for a mattress that is firm but still fits with the contours of your spine, giving you that perfect spinal alignment that you need to get a healthy night’s sleep, and less pain when waking.

On the other hand, if you go too far down that spectrum and pick out a much softer mattress, you run the risk of it not supporting your body weight and leaving you sinking too much into the mattress – curving your spine in a different direction.

Our mattress recommendation for back problems: Choose a regular to firm tension with a high spring count for additional support that still flexes with your body’s pressure points.
 

Are memory foam mattresses firm or soft?

Generally, memory foam mattresses are softer than spring mattresses due to their elasticity. As your body heat softens the memory foam, it becomes more elastic and tends to form around you, giving you that “sinking in” feeling.

This should leave you feeling more comfortable throughout the night as the memory foam moulds to your body. But unfortunately, memory foam is often associated with making you feel too hot to drift off, which is just something else that keeps you from getting a good night’s sleep!

It’s actually memory foam’s ability to form to the contours of the body that makes it reflect heat, making you too hot to sleep. In fact, its synthetic make up means that it reflects your own body heat back at you and it doesn’t eliminate moisture, leaving you hot and clammy and unable to sleep.

>strong>Top tip: Read our article on memory foam and night sweats and discover how a soft memory foam mattress could be keeping you awake at night.
 

Should a child sleep on a firm or soft mattress?

When it comes to choosing between a firm or soft mattress for your child, there are a few more considerations to make. Firstly, the rate at which they grow could mean their weight changes and their mattress very quickly goes from supporting them effectively, to not being as supportive as it should be. So try to invest in a firm mattress that will last over a period of the kids going through some growth spurts!

Pressure points on growing pains may also be a factor to consider when choosing their mattress. But before you decide, how firm should your child’s mattress be?

As your little one rests and recharges at night, their spine and other bones will be growing at a quick rate. As they continue to develop, their vertebrae will fill with fluid and shift, so it’s important that they sleep in a neutral, comfortable position that won’t interfere with that. For kids to be kept in a neutral position to relieve any stress on pressure points, the best mattress to choose will be one that has a regular to firm tension. But make sure to keep their comfort in mind too! Remember that kids are flexible and able to adapt to their environment very quickly so don’t overshoot and choose the firmest mattress on the market.

Think about their body temperature, too. One factor that can seriously interfere with a kids’ night sleep is getting too hot and clammy in bed. Generally, if you stick with a natural kids’ mattress that is breathable and wicks moisture away from the body, you’ll be heading in the right direction.

Our mattress recommendation for kids: Choose an all natural kids’ mattress that is firm enough to support growing bones, but soft enough so that they feel comfortable.
 

Should your mattress be firm or soft?

There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing between a firm or soft mattress, so it pays to do some research before you make a final decision. Just remember that it comes down to a couple of factors: your back, your preferred sleeping posture, and your personal preference!

Check out our range of all natural mattresses available in a range of tensions to suit your requirements.