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Shopping for a new mattress can be overwhelming—so many choices! To help you narrow it down, and to maximize your comfort when you’re snoozing, it’s important to choose a mattress type that complements your sleeping style, whether you sleep on your side, back, or stomach. If you want to find the best mattresses for stomach sleepers, you should know what to look for before making a big purchase that you’ll be spending about a third of your day on.
Experts in This Article
editor-in-chief and founder of NapLab
If you sleep on your stomach, you don’t have to be too picky regarding mattress materials, so it shouldn’t be tough to find a good match. Many options can work well for your sleeping style, including memory foam, hybrids, latex, and pocketed coils, says Derek Hales, founder and editor-in-chief of NapLab, which tests and reviews mattresses, pillows, and other sleep products.
Which level of mattress firmness is best for stomach sleepers?
The ideal mattress for stomach sleepers has a medium firm to slightly firm feel (around 5–7 on the mattress scale of 1–10), says Hales. “The vast majority of all mattresses are available in this firmness range,” he adds. “As a result, stomach sleepers have a huge variety of mattresses to choose from.” (That’s both good news and bad news if you’re not good at making decisions—but don’t worry, we’ve got you.)
Choosing the right firmness “ensures the midsection doesn’t sink too deeply relative to the upper and lower body, thereby creating optimal stomach sleeper support,” Hales says. If you’re a stomach sleeper, a soft or very soft mattress is likely to cause pain in your lower back, shoulders, and neck.
Your body weight also factors into your ideal mattress, as Hales explains. Lighter weight people do best with a medium firmness (or even soft, for those under 120 pounds); medium to slightly firm is best for moderate weight people; and heavier folks benefit from the additional support of a slightly firm to moderately firm mattress.
Is it safe to order a mattress online?
First, a general tip regarding when it’s time to shop: The rule of thumb for a mattress’s lifespan is 8–10 years, but no matter its age, key signs that you should say goodbye to your mattress include waking up with sore muscles and joints or suffering from poor quality sleep.
While store employees are happy to let you test-drive mattress options, a few minutes of awkwardly lying down on a model you’re considering won’t tell you how you’ll feel after sleeping on it all night. But with online mattress shopping, many brands—especially direct-to-consumer companies—offer home trials of 100 to 365 days, giving you plenty of time to figure out if you’ve made the right choice.
Shopping online can make it easier to compare options, too. Instead of trying to remember various mattress specs while you follow a salesperson around, you can just click through your browser tabs to compare various features at home. Many mattress models have amassed hundreds or thousands of online customer reviews, and you can take all the time you want to read them while you relax on your own bed!
To help you feel more comfortable at night and more refreshed in the A.M., we asked Hales to share his picks for the best mattresses for stomach sleepers.
The best mattresses for stomach sleepers
Saatva Loom & Leaf Relaxed Firm Mattress — $1,899.00
Here’s a notable recommendation from Hales, who’s primarily a stomach sleeper himself—he has one of these in his own bedroom, in fact. He says he appreciates its medium firmness, ample pressure relief (thanks to its Euro-style pillow topper), and zonal support, meaning the middle of the mattress is more supportive. “In the case of stomach sleepers, the extra support in the middle of the mattress combined with a medium feel creates the right dynamic to create a neutral spinal alignment,” he says.
Other notable features of the Loom & Leaf mattress include gel-infused foam, designed to keep you cool and provide lower back support; a hypoallergenic, antimicrobal, organic-cotton cover; non-toxic flame barrier, and CertiPUR-US certified foams (free of ozone depleters, mercury, lead, formaldehyde, etc.).
Customers receive a 180-night trial, free in-room delivery and setup, free removal of your current mattress and foundation, and a 15-year warranty.
WinkBed Luxury Firm Mattress — $1,499.00
Hales points to the Euro-style pillow topper, thick comfort layer, and zonal support as important features of this mattress from WinkBeds, which he recommends as a great choice for stomach sleepers, as well as combination sleepers, who may lie on their stomach, side and/or back during the night. Hales notes that the Luxury Firm version is a good bet for most stomach sleepers, while heavier folks might prefer the Firm for more support.
This mattress is a high-scorer at Hales’ website, NapLab, as he explains, “Among all of the mattresses we’ve tested to date, it has the second-best score for sex (9.9 out of 10), best edge support (just 2.25 inches of sinkage), and excellent cooling (tied for first with a handful of other models).”
WinkBeds highlights this mattress for people who sleep hot and those who suffer from back, hip, and shoulder pain. It’s handmade to order in the U.S. and includes free shipping and returns, a 120-night risk-free trial, and a full-replacement lifetime warranty.
Essentia Classic 8 Organic Mattress — $3,382.00
This is a splurge-y mattress for sure, but it meets high standards for mattress safety and sustainability. The Classic 8 is non-toxic, eco-friendly, organic, allergy-friendly, and vegan. It’s made with “the world’s only natural memory foam” at the company’s GOLS- and GOTS-certified organic factory in Canada. (The GOTS textile standard denotes organic materials that meet ecological and social criteria along the supply chain, while the GOLS organic latex standard requires certain materials and processing criteria).
This mattress provides pressure relief and posture support while keeping you cool and enabling you to “experience motion isolation of not feeling another person move in the bed,” which is super helpful if your partner tosses and turns at night. (Fun fact: One of the mattress’s layers is Kevlar—yes, the same material that’s in bulletproof vests.)
Essentia offers free shipping, a 120-night home trial, and a 20-year warranty. Reviewers call this mattress “perfect,” “best mattress ever,” and “worth every penny.”
Birch Natural Mattress — $1,399.00
Birch focuses on eco-friendly, non-toxic mattresses, and this Greenguard Gold Certified and GOTS Certified model is made with hypoallergenic and organic materials and is sustainably sourced. It’s safe from VOC off-gassing and is free of polyurethane foams, fire retardants, formaldehyde, and pesticides.
The mattress, which is made in the U.S., is medium firm, which places it at a 6–7 on the firmness scale—shifting to a 4–5 when combined with the plush organic mattress topper, sold separately ($450). Birch offers a 100-night sleep trial, free shipping, and an impressive 25-year warranty.
Here’s a very promising 5-star review (backed up by tech, even!): “Absolutely fantastic! I have been tracking my sleep for close to 5 years, and within the first two weeks I had multiple ‘100% sleep quality’ nights in my Birch mattress. Great sleep is worth every penny.”
Amerisleep AS3 Mattress — $1,399.00
Hales recommends the AS3 from Amerisleep—the company’s top-selling mattress—as a budget-friendly memory foam option with “exceptionally good” performance. He highlighted its pressure relief, contour, and “memory foam hug.” Amerisleep’s Bio-Pur foam (the company’s alternative to traditional memory foam) is CertiPUR-US certified, low in VOCs, made without harsh chemicals, and resistant to dust mites, mold, and mildew. In addition, the mattress is made in the U.S.
While Hales says the AS3’s medium firmness is a good fit for most stomach sleepers, he points out that Amerisleep also offers softer (AS1) and firmer (AS5) versions, as well as a hybrid (AS3 Hybrid), which he suggests for folks who want to “prioritize a mattress with better sex performance and/or … need a mattress with better cooling.”
Amerisleep offers a 100-night trial, free shipping and returns, and a 20-year warranty.
Bear Elite Hybrid Mattress — $1,478.00
Hales had this to say about this non-toxic mattress, one of his favorites: “It shares many similarities with the WinkBed, so it checks many of the same boxes for me. Low motion transfer, fast response time, hybrid design for better cooling, and good sex performance (9.8 out of 10).” The mattress’s design helps relieve muscle tension and provides lumbar support, and each zone has its own pressure point relief (including hip and shoulder support).
This non-toxic, eco-friendly mattress is Greenguard Gold Certified, is made with CertiPUR-US certified foams, and has a fiberglass-free fire barrier. Bear provides a 120-night risk-free trial, free shipping and returns, and a lifetime warranty.
Reviewers call it “the best mattress we have ever purchased,” “the best bed I have ever slept on,” and “worth every penny.”
Nest Bedding Owl Natural Latex Hybrid Mattress — $1,440.00
Hales recommends this mattress because “[t]he pillow-top design creates plenty of pressure relief, while the pocketed coil base and latex comfort layer ensures the mattress breathes well and sleeps cool.” He says that heavier stomach sleepers may find the Firm version the best option, while lighter weight and moderate weight folks should be happy with the Medium. Bonus: If your and your partner’s preferences don’t match, you can pick a different firmness for each side with the king and California king sizes.
The mattress’s eco-friendly features include organic cotton, 100 percent natural OEKO-TEX latex, CertiPUR-US certified foams, high-quality Joma wool from New Zealand, and a hydrogenated silica fire barrier that’s free of harmful chemicals. The foams and latex are given time to air out in the factory, which significantly reduces residual off-gassing once your mattress is delivered.
Nest Bedding’s mattresses are made in the U.S. and offer a 365-night home trial(!!!), a free lifetime renewal exchange, and a lifetime warranty.
Leesa Original Mattress — $999.00
This memory foam mattress, made in the U.S. with CertiPUR-US certified foams and a hypoallergenic cover, helps you keep cool at night, limits motion transfer, and relieves pressure on your back, hip, and shoulders. And while it’s not quite a buy-one-get-one program like the ones some companies provide (after all, mattresses are a lot pricier than shoes or socks), Leesa donates one mattress to a family in need for every 10 they sell. (The company is a certified B Corp, too.) You’ll get something free yourself: two down-free-alternative pillows with a mattress purchase.
Leesa offers free delivery, a 100-night trial, and a 10-year warranty.
This mattress has earned an overall 4.5-star rating from 20,278(!!!) reviews; customers call it “the perfect mattress,” “the most comfortable mattress I’ve ever slept on,” and “the best mattress ever.”
Helix Dusk Mattress — $1,099.00
Helix offers two similar models: this Dusk Mattress and the Dusk Luxe Mattress ($2,049). This more affordable version is designed for stomach sleepers and back sleepers by providing contouring to enable proper spinal alignment, and has a breathable cover to keep you cool. The mattress, which is made in the U.S., is free of harmful chemicals, and the foam is CertiPUR-US Certified. Helix gives customers free shipping, a 100-night trial, and a 10-year warranty.
The Dusk Luxe has the same general features but adds some extras. It offers two choices for cooling covers and features zoned lumbar support and targeted ergonomic support, plus 5 years added to the warranty.
Reviewers have given this mattress an overall 4.6-star rating, and one of the many happy customers wrote, “This bed has completely changed the way I sleep. I got the Helix Dusk for its mix of support and softness. … It’s impossible to get up in the morning it’s so comfortable. I’m finally rested and don’t wake up with neck and back pain anymore. It’s amazing!”
Beyond mattress choices, Hales shared two more tips for stomach sleepers, regarding pillow options and body positioning. He explains that very thin pillows are best for stomach sleepers, as bigger ones can interfere with proper alignment of your neck with your body. “Even if you have a mattress that works well for sleeping on your stomach, the [wrong choice of] pillow could cause problems,” he says.
Another of Hales’s tips for those who sleep on their stomachs: It’s best to lie with your feet off the edge of the mattress. (But childhood fears die hard, right?) “[This] helps create the neutral alignment that all sleepers need to avoid pressure point build up during the night,” he says.
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