Luckily for you, here at Number One Beds we stock an enormous range of Mattresses to suit any and all requirements, no matter what your preferences are or what it is you need for the best night’s sleep possible. Our staff are experts in the bed game and can give you all of the advice you need, either here at our website or at our physical shop in Darlington, and that’s what we’re hoping to do with today’s blog.
In previous blogs, we’ve given you firmness guides and the best mattresses for a bad back to help soothe you during the night, and this time, we’re going to take a look at the best kinds of mattresses available for side sleeping.
So, this one is for those of you who prefer to sleep on either your left side or right side when you hit the hay for the night.
Some people sleep on their bellies, and some on their spine, (we’re looking at you, Dracula), but most of us sleep on our sides, be it facing a wall, an open space, or our partners.
But what’s the difference between sleeping on your side or sleeping on your back or belly?
Firstly, when you sleep on your side you put more strain on certain joints and parts of your body such as your hips and shoulders. While you might feel comfortable, if you have the wrong level of firmness with your mattress or the wrong mattress altogether, your weight won’t be supported properly which could well lead to issues relating to these problem areas.
Those who sleep on their fronts or back spread their weight more evenly across a broader area of the body, which is able to take the strain and pressure if your mattress isn’t quite perfect for you.
However, since most people sleep on their sides, you need to consider which kinds of mattresses are best for you and won’t give your spine any jip, as well as any long term problems relating to areas like the hip or shoulder, as previously mentioned.
Firmness is vital when you’re considering a bed or mattress to purchase. You can go too firm and it will feel like you’re sleeping on the floor or in a cell, or you could go too soft and simply sink. The idea of a soft mattress might sound delightful but in reality, too much sinkage leads to a range of issues and is a much less comfortable nights’ sleep than you might hope for.
For the most part, your best bet is to go for a medium to firm mattress. This is a decent barometer for all sleepers and gives you plenty of support while still being comfortable enough to drift off. See it as a Goldilocks level of comfort, although it’s more between a 6 and 7 on the firmness guide, as opposed to being dead in the middle at a 5.
For side sleepers, you can get away with a soft to firm mattress, as this level of firmness not only provides vital support necessary for a proper rest, but also allows cushioning around certain pressure points such as the side of the arms, shoulders, sides, and ribs.
However, back problems are a huge and growing issue around the world, particularly with British adults, so it’s important that you’re still supported whilst being comfortable in bed. This means that you don’t want to go too soft or too hard, but somewhere in between, striking that balance between support and comfortable softness.
If you feel your hips or shoulders digging into a bed, then it’s probably too firm, and if you find yourself sinking into the depths of a bed, it’s probably too soft. So, find a nice middle ground, particularly if you’re a side sleeper, and you’ll be heading off the land of nod with no issues in no time.
There are many different styles of mattress on the market, and here at Number One Beds, we stock them all. Let’s take a look at some of the different variations of materials when it comes to bed mattresses, and identify which style and material is best for those side sleepers among our customers.
Memory foam is a fan favourite among the masses and for good reason, as it was one of the first major players in the mattress game in terms of taking support seriously with a focus on comfort.
Famously developed by NASA for use on the space station, memory foam mattresses are an intelligent material that are not only comfortable but provide an additional level of breathability for the user. They are firmer than your average mattress whilst moulding around your body shape, which is pretty much exactly what you want if you have any sort of back pains or want to distribute your body weight evenly across the bed.
Not only ideal for bad backs, side-sleepers can also benefit from the well distributed body weight and resulting support you gain from sleeping on a memory foam mattress every night. Being soft enough to cushion your problem areas such as hips, elbows, and shoulders, whilst still being firm enough to give you a strong level of support that is crucial to sleep well.
This ticks pretty much all the boxes for side sleepers, and goes a long way to explaining why memory foam mattresses are so popular among the general public, particularly those with bad backs, general aches and pains, and those who sleep on their sides.
Latex mattress are constructed of both latex foam with springs or reflex foam, and are another fantastic option for side sleepers looking for a good night’s sleep.
The elements within a latex mattress join together to create a sleeping area that distributes body weight well and is more natural when compareding to memory foam. Again, with fantastic weight distribution, a latex mattress is not only great for the general public, but for those who sleep on their sides as all pressure points are considered and looked after, with a strong and flexible base.
The elastic composition of latex mattresses can give them the edge over other variations of materials on the market, as they not only provide a great deal of support and comfort, but they respond to your movements within the night.
This means that your body weight is well distributed throughout the night which your joints will thank you for, and you’re less likely to run into issues relating to certain pressure points that are a problem for huge swathes of the population.
Not only great for bad back sufferers, but latex mattresses are also a brilliant example of a great mattress for side sleepers.
Open coil mattresses are the cheapest choice of mattress available in the UK, and are therefore not really the best, especially when comparing to pocket sprung, latex, or memory foam mattresses.
They can dip in the centre after a while and your weight isn’t all that well distributed across the mattress, meaning that pressure points won’t get the comfort or firmness they require if you sleep on your side. If you struggle with sleep as a result of sleeping on your side, be it aches, pains, or more serious issues, then these are likely to only get worse over time rather than improve.
Open coil mattresses are comprised of lots and lots of springs (the more the better), that are joined together by wire mesh. You only get a strong level of weight distribution with incredibly high numbers of springs, and to be honest, they aren’t great for side-sleepers which is reflected in the price for the most part.
However, if you do get a high string-count, you can get a well-distributed night’s sleep for sleeping on your side. Just not quite as good as latex or memory foam.
Pocket sprung mattresses aren’t quite as good as latex or memory foam when it comes to sleeping on your side but are somewhat better than an open coil. Not as cheaply made as the open coil mattress, pocket sprung mattresses are made up of lots of fabric pockets that work independently of one another. This means that you get more support for pressure points that are often susceptible to damage, but only really when you’re comparing this to a coil sprung mattress.
Pocket sprung mattresses offer good weight distribution, firmness, and comfort, but don’t really come close to latex or memory foam for any kind of sleeper, but particularly for those who sleep on their sides.
Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination then, but a good option if you’re not looking to stretch your budget, but still place some value on your sleep quality.
To summarise; you probably want a Latex Mattresses or Memory Foam Mattresses if you sleep on your side.
You can go for a pocket sprung if your budget can’t stretch that far, but if you sleep on your side, you should purchase a medium-firm, memory foam or latex mattress.
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.
