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Chronic shoulder, hip joint, and back pain issues can be quite troubling, but these problems can be mitigated by using a special mattress.
Trying to be comfortable while tossing and turning each night can disrupt your sleep, potentially leaving you in even more pain. And a bad mattress can further exacerbate this issue, leading to insomnia born of chronic pain.
Likewise, finding a mattress that helps you sleep comfortably when suffering from chronic pain diseases like Fibromyalgia can be very difficult. But fortunately, there are a few mattresses on the market that are designed for this very purpose. Their design ensures that there is no undue pressure on your sensitive joints while keeping your spine and shoulders aligned.
Upon a closer look at the market, we found several brands that claimed to be the best at alleviating this issue. Let’s take a brief overview of what we found with our review of the top five mattresses for pain relief.
Featuring two distinct mattress firmness levels, the Layla Memory Foam mattress allows you to change up the comfort level in an instant. The 10.5-inch mattress comes with a firm and medium-soft side, making use of copper gel-infused memory foam as its comfort layer. Along with the comfort layers, the Layla mattress comes with a zoned transition layer for spinal alignment with the Surface Modification Technology.
On the softness-firmness scale, the medium-soft and firm sides rank a 4 and a 7, respectively. You can flip it to the side that feels the best, as the mattress provides reactive support to your pressure points. The mattress is also resistant to microbial growth while being breathable, affording the mattress some flexibility in practical use. Upon purchase, the company provides a lifetime warranty on the mattress in addition to a 120-night sleep trial.
The Layla mattress may tend to sink a little deeper than what would be ideal, particularly on the soft side.
When it comes to balancing pressure point relief with comfort, the Layla Memory Foam Mattress is an option to consider. The two firmness levels, high breathability and temperature regulation, may help you sleep comfortably.
Offering natural latex as its comfort layer, the GhostBed Classic is a memory foam mattress that trades off plushness for pressure relief. Latex foam can be considered a competitor for memory foam, offering slightly firmer support while being environmentally friendly and durable. Its properties extend to breathability as well, which works with the gel-infused memory foam layer, making it a cooling mattress for back pain, in particular.
Its firmness and supportiveness may be favored by back and side sleepers, as it relieves pressure in the sensitive joints. Areas like shoulders and hips will face no undue pressure, thanks to the high-density polyfoam support core. As for post-purchase support, the GhostBed Classic comes with a 20-year limited warranty, along with 101 nights sleep trial.
The GhostBed Classic may sink a little too much for people who way relatively more.
The design of GhostBed Classic is quite simple, involving layers of hypoallergenic aerated latex and memory foam. It remains supportive and pressure-relieving throughout the night, which can help mitigate some of the pain you face while sleeping.
The Puffy memory foam mattress is one that brings in the familiar sink-in feeling of soft memory foam for comfort and pain relief. It comes with five separate layers, which include the contouring gel memory foam on the top, transitional polyfoam in the middle, and a support foam base. The gel memory foam works to regulate the body heat, while the second and third layers provide you with spinal alignment and body support.
This mattress limits motion transfer as well, which may be suited for couples. Its other layers give it stain-resistant, temperature-regulating, and breathable properties. Additionally, the mattress cover is hypoallergenic and can be removed for thorough cleaning. The Puffy mattress also comes with a lifetime warranty and 101 nights sleep trial, giving you plenty of time to test it.
Some stomach sleepers may find the Puffy Mattress to be a softer mattress than what would be ideal.
The pressure and pain relieving layers of the Puffy mattress may make it suitable for those in chronic pain. Those who prefer sleeping on their backs may find the supportive quality of this mattress desirable.
Aiming to balance comfort and body support, the DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress uses foam and pocket coil layers for a complete sleep experience. The DreamCloud mattress comes with seven layers for this, including different types of foam layers, steel innerspring coils, and a stability base layer. It derives its pressure-relieving properties from the gel-infused memory foam layer that adapts to the user’s body weight.
And for pain relief, the mattress includes a dynamic transition layer that ensures proper spinal alignment as well. Even with these layers, the mattress allows proper airflow, making it quite breathable. Scoring a 6.5 out of 10 on the softness-firmness scale, the DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress lands in the medium-firm feel. Lastly, it features minimal motion transfer, which may be preferred more by couples.
Side sleepers under 130 pounds may not sink into the DreamCloud mattress enough to reap the benefits of its pain-relieving properties.
The DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress offers spinal alignment and supportive properties for those suffering from chronic pain. It is a medium-firm mattress that may be suited for most people, offering layers of comfort with minimal heat retention.
The Helix Midnight Luxe strives to provide the user with pressure point relief on their sensitive joints while keeping comfort in mind. It features six layers, including the removable quilted cover, to achieve this. First comes the high-grade polyfoam that is designed to contour your body for comfort and support. This is followed by a copper-infused gel memory foam layer, giving the mattress cooling properties in addition to comfort.
Underneath the first two layers is a transition layer that bridges them with the support layers. This layer is responsible for providing the user with support and stability, in addition to giving the mattress a medium feel. Next is the Zoned Body Shape layer, with over a thousand wrapped coils for spinal alignment, followed by a dense base layer. These layers give the user ample support while also making it durable.
The Helix Midnight Luxe may be a little pricey for some.
Bringing supporting capabilities in a plush package, the Helix Midnight Luxe may provide you with a relaxing night’s sleep. The mattress offers adequate hip pain relief while being breathable, which may make it an option for back and side sleepers.
Picking a mattress that successfully relieves pain without being exceedingly expensive can be challenging. Before the science behind pain relieving beds had sufficiently advanced, using hard or firm beds was often suggested. Of course, excessively firm beds may end up causing further chronic pain issues like Scoliosis, and this has become common knowledge now.
So, the best course of action when choosing a mattress for pain relief is to look for a good hybrid or all-foam mattress. This is for a simple reason: the presence of memory foam. Memory foam has a unique property that allows it to conform to each user uniquely without sinking too much.
And mattresses geared towards pain relief infuse other technologies to create an optimal medium-firm feel. After all, a mattress that is too soft can also end up causing you pain in the long run.
With the body weight distributed evenly across the mattress, you won’t feel any excessive pressure on the sensitive parts of your body. This is particularly beneficial for your lower back, shoulders, and spine, which can help mitigate pain during sleep.
So, let’s take a look at what features make for the best pain-relieving mattress.
As mentioned earlier, the best options for a pain-relieving mattress are all-foam or hybrid mattresses.
All-foam mattresses designed for pain mitigation are typically made with multiple layers of memory foam that make maximum use of their contouring property. When not in use, the memory foam mattress layers return to their original shape. You can rely on them for their comfort and pressure-relieving properties, reducing joint and back pain as you sleep.
An option that was once the most common on the market was the innerspring mattress. Equipped with several lines of springs, the mattress would retain its shape while being supportive. This mattress type usually aged quite poorly, becoming uncomfortable and exacerbating hip, shoulder, or back pain issues over time.
But with the advent of hybrid mattresses, innerspring mattresses have become all but obsolete. Hybrid mattresses combine the positive aspects of innerspring with memory foam for a supportive and comfortable sleep experience. The innerspring layers in hybrid mattresses are often modified to be pocket coils, giving the mattress a bouncy feel.
Hybrid mattresses can cater to back, side, and stomach sleepers due to their superior pressure relief. Sufferers of hip pain can opt for one of these, reducing some of the discomfort that comes with the ailment. And the number of combinations for a hybrid mattress is seemingly endless, allowing you to pick which combination suits you the best.
If the mattress can’t reduce pressure on your sensitive joints, it may not be suited for someone with chronic pain ailments. A mattress ought to distribute your weight evenly across its surface area to redirect any pressure from your neck, shoulders, hips, and spine. Hip and shoulder pain are particularly exacerbated if your mattress can’t provide enough pressure relief.
This is often best observed in memory foam mattresses, where the mattress conforms to your body no matter the sleep position. For those who share beds or take different sleeping positions throughout the night, this quality is all but necessary.
Both you and your partner should be able to enjoy a comfortable sleep experience that is free of joint, back, or shoulder pain. Likewise, the mattress should provide you the right support irrespective of your sleeping position.
A mattress ought to strike a balance between plushy comfort and supportive firmness. While the ideal firmness level varies from one person to the next, a medium-firm mattress is typically a safe bet. It should be able to provide pressure relief, proper spinal alignment as well while being comfortable for you.
When purchasing a mattress, you will likely see the firmness level of the product on its specifications sheet. Typically, mattresses with a firmness level between 5 and 7 on the softness-firmness scale help reduce back, joint, or shoulder pain and improve your quality of sleep.
Preferences aside, it’s usually wise for back or shoulder pain sufferers to avoid using a softer or firmer mattress.
If a mattress isn’t very breathable and tends to heat up, you will find yourself tossing and turning in sleep a lot. The more you toss and turn while sleeping, the greater the chances of joint or back pain interrupting your sleep.
Breathability is an essential quality for a mattress to have, especially if you live in a tropical area. Hybrid mattresses may make for a better pick in this aspect, providing superior air circulation within the bed.
A good mattress thickness for pain relief is around 7 to 8 inches. This will allow the comfort layers to conform around your body without allowing it to sink too much. And if your weight is around 120 pounds or less, you may be able to use a mattress that is about 6 inches thick.
While mattresses thicker than 8 inches may work well in certain cases, a mattress that is less than 6 inches thick is a no go.
Mattress density plays into this, with denser mattresses conforming less and being more durable and low-density mattresses being the opposite. The denser the mattress, the stronger your bed frame will need to be, and the less it will compress under your weight. So, much like mattress firmness, you may want to pick a mattress that finds a middle ground between these extremes.
Body weight, sleep position, and body parts that experience chronic pain are all factors to keep in mind when purchasing a mattress. But adding in personal preferences and making the right choice becomes quite difficult.
As discussed earlier, hybrid and all-foam mattresses can help alleviate chronic joint pain, but only one of these types can be better at the task. The end goal here is to reduce the pressure on the affected area, and at first glance, all-foam mattresses may seem like the right choice.
Memory foam is an excellent material to act as the comfort layer of your mattress, with its pressure-relieving and contouring qualities. But the trouble with a memory foam mattress is that it can also limit how much you can move while sleeping. As a result, it can create a sinking feeling that may feel uncomfortable to some. Not to mention its tendency to overheat.
Another issue that some mattresses may have is the tendency of the material to emanate odors. Memory foam is made using volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are the source of the problem.
Hybrid mattresses often incorporate a host of technologies in addition to the comfort layers, pocket coils, and supportive base. This makes it so that there aren’t many problems that every product in this mattress archetype shares. Each product has its unique way of getting around certain issues while having unique problems of its own.
There are a couple of problems that do plague the mattress type, like the weight and the cost. Since hybrid mattresses involve many layers and can be anywhere from 6 to 10 inches thick, they tend to be very heavy. Maneuvering one can be quite difficult, which can be troublesome when you need to switch homes or move it to a different bedroom.
And as for the cost, hybrid mattresses cost more to make on average than foam mattresses, even considering the affordable versions. Not everyone can afford a good hybrid mattress, unfortunately.
On average, a hybrid mattress tends to offer better support with a more consistent feel even as it ages. This can be better for chronic pain issues as well, as the mattress will support your body the way it needs to be supported.
The balance between conforming and mattress responsiveness that hybrid mattresses strive to achieve makes all the difference. If your budget allows for it, you may want to consider looking into hybrid mattresses for shoulder pain relief as well.
A high-quality mattress can reduce plenty of sleeping issues born of chronic joint, shoulder or back pain, which makes choosing the right one important. And since different people have different issues and preferences, picking the right mattress can become quite taxing.
From our tests, the most comfortable and supportive mattress was the Layla Memory Foam mattress. It manages to balance comfort and support while allowing you to switch up the comfort level whenever you please.
However, the other hybrid and memory foam mattresses on this list have plenty of merits of their own, such as the plushy Puffy mattress. Depending on personal tastes, you can consider picking the mattress that feels right for you.
After all, you are the only person who can pick the mattress that suits you.
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