People have their own body shapes, personal preferences, and opinions on what constitutes comfort, so we’ve decided to take a look at the different levels of firmness in the form of a guide to help you make sense of it all.
If you’re looking for the perfect mattress please check out our useful guides that will help you make the right decision:
The Best Beds and Mattresses for A Bad Back
What Is the Best Mattress for Side Sleepers?
There are a number of elements relating to how you sleep when it comes to judging firmness of a mattress and bed. Ways you sleep, weight and body type all need to be considered, so let’s take a look at some below to try and figure out the perfect level of firmness for your needs.
Are you a side-sleeper or do you sleep on your back like Count Dracula?
Also be sure to check out our blog on, What Is the Best Mattress for Side Sleepers?
It might sound trivial, but this is actually one of the most important aspects of sleep you need to consider when making a choice on which kind of mattress and bed that suits you. More on that later.
Often a touchy subject, but one that requires some thought when considering the firmness and support of a Mattress. If you’re lighter, you’ll be able to get away with a softer bed, however, if you’re on the medium to heavy side, you’ll want more support so will need a higher level of firmness to provide this.
Men and women generally have different body shapes, and a softer Mattress that a man might consider to be perfect, might provide too much sinkage for women who generally carry weight in different areas to their male counterparts.
As you’ll find out below, soft isn’t always the best way to go for sleepers.
Finding a nice balance between support and comfort is important, so don’t be lured by promises of soft Mattress that make you think of sleeping on a cloud. Your back will likely suffer, and the majority of people won’t sleep as well on a super-soft mattress, as opposed to a mattress with more support and firmness.
So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at a firmness scale to give you an idea of the perfect kind of mattress for your personal bed-time requirements.
Our easy to follow scale gives a good idea of the different levels of firmness and softness available for a good night’s sleep.
We’ve ranked each out of 10 within the guide, with 1 being the softest, to make things as simple as possible.
These are some of the worst kinds of mattresses for almost everybody, and will more than likely lead to issues with your back, posture and make a good night’s sleep extremely difficult.
If it’s too soft, you’ll be able to tell as you’ll no doubt sink so far, you’ll feel like you’re about to hit the floor.
Support is non-existent with this kind of mattress, and they’re best avoided, hence the incredibly soft 1/10 rating.
Another one that’s pretty much a non-starter in terms of providing any kind of support or a comfortable snooze, the extremely soft, 2/10 mattress is another one to avoid if you want to sleep through the night.
Similar to a 1, you’ll find extreme sinkage with this and pretty much zero support for you or your back.
Another softie, a 3/10 will provide little support. Slightly more than the first two but still, probably not enough.
It might feel like you’re sinking into a cloud which sounds fun, but again, the softer the mattress, the less support that is offered, so it’s best to avoid.
You can tell if a mattress is this soft as you’re likely to sink up to around 3 inches, which is just not adequate for a good night’s sleep.
A 4/10 is soft, but not quite as soft as the first 3 on the list, providing an element of support but only if you’re incredibly light. Even then, a 4 is likely to be quite uncomfortable and won’t offer as much support as most adults need.
It’s sort of a stop-gap between medium and super-soft, and they are quite rare in the bed and mattress market.
Not quite the goldilocks level of softness vs firmness as the 5/10 might suggest, this kind of mattress is more balanced than the above, but still probably a little too soft for most people.
It’s a bit of a grey area when you’re so close to the middle of the scale, but a 5/10 does mean you sink a little, and would probably just about work for those who don’t weigh much and don’t require as much support as most people.
A 6/10 mattress is pretty much an all-rounder, and would be classed as medium in terms of support and comfort. This is the most common kind of mattress available, and is found in many homes across the country.
This kind of mattress is nice and soft with minimal sinkage, certainly not as much as the previous 5, and is popular with the vast majority of people.
With great support offered, this is often the answer for people or partners looking for a sturdy mattress they won’t sink in to or get lost in.
This ranks highly on the firmness scale and provides minimal sinkage when compared to 1 through to 6.
You’re likely to rest on top of a 7 rather than be engulfed by it, which provides a higher level of support than say the 6, or any others below this number.
Some may find this slightly less comfortable, but it does offer more balance and support for those who may be medium or heavier builds, or those with back problems that require a firmer night’s sleep.
More suitable for those who like to sleep on their backs or their front, an 8/10 is a firm mattress that offers very little sinkage at all and not a very happy sleeping experience for most people.
Some with back issues may prefer this option, or perhaps if you sleep with your partner at night, but it’s always best to look at memory-foam or other variations of mattress before settling on something as firm as an 8.
Take a look at our range here for a better fit.
A 9/10 will feature a strong amount of pushback and is much firmer than any other in the list so far.
Most customers will find this uncomfortable and with pretty much zero hug or sinkage to the sleeper.
Basically, if you value sleep and comfort in any way, avoid a 9, as it’s simply too firm to handle for the vast majority of people.
This is an extremely rare kind of mattress to be found in a home and offers zero comfort.
In fact, it’s pretty unlikely you’ll ever come across an incredibly firm mattress like this, unless you sleep on a wooden table and have a passionate hatred of all things relating to your own spine.
Offering nothing in terms of support and quite a lot in terms of a painful night, you’d probably be no worse off with the floor with a rock as a pillow, regardless of your sleeping position or spinal requirements.
Sometimes, if you can’t clean a mattress, then it’s beyond repair. If there’s a particularly bad stain or smell emanating from the bed that won’t go away, sleeping in it is a bit of a no go. And if this is the case, you’re going to need to buy a new one.
We stock a massive selection of mattresses online, so take a look around and find one that suits you. Or you can give us a call on 01325 485000 to find out more, or visit our physical showroom and shop in Darlington to test drive a new mattress and buy in-store.
