The Best Mattress for Stomach Sleepers

Stomach sleeping is the least common position—less than 10% of adults choose to sleep on their front. Stomach sleeping has some benefits, like reduced facial wrinkles and easing heartburn or acid reflux, but this position can also lead to aching necks, hips, and backs due to most adults’ center of gravity being their midsection. Getting the right mattress for a stomach sleeper is key to comfortable nights and pain-free days.

Spinal Alignment

When sleeping on their stomach, most adults assume the “freefall” position, with arms bent at the elbow, hands resting under the face or pillow, and one knee bent. This position, though comfortable for some, can really put strain on the spine. Sleeping on your stomach can cause hips to sink down low into the mattress, putting undue strain on the lower back. Neck pain, shoulder pain, and headaches are also common complaints of stomach sleepers. The spine is what holds your body up, and everything throughout the body is connected. That is why ensuring proper spinal alignment is integral to your health and wellness. Fixing spinal alignment while sleeping can virtually eliminate waking up feeling stiff, sore, and with back aches.

Because of the common pains stomach sleepers experience, they need to choose a supportive (and usually firm) mattress that can keep their hips from sinking in; this will keep pressure off of the sacrum, and keep their spine in better alignment. The best alignment for your spine is being straight—not that curvature in the lower back that happens often for stomach sleepers. This curve can cause pain in the sacral spine (lower back), hips, and even knees. Oftentimes, stomach sleepers can also struggle with neck or shoulder pain leading to headaches due to a pillow that is too thick. A pillow that is too thick can cause an unnaturally sharp curve in the cervical spine, or the neck, which is what would lead to neck and shoulder pain.

Because of these painful and, unfortunately, common issues that result from poor spinal alignment while sleeping, it is very important that you choose the right mattress for you. If you tend to favor your stomach at night, this is integral to sleeping deeply and comfortably, and, equally as important, living a pain-free life.

Mattress Types

Thankfully, there are many options of materials these days, and the materials can really affect the feel of your bed. If you are a front sleeper you may be wondering which is the right type for you.

With an innerspring mattress, you will get that classic “springy” cushion feel, and this can be a supportive (and budget-friendly) option for stomach sleepers. The downfall of innerspring is that those springs can make a little bit of noise and won’t do as well when it comes to motion isolation, so if you have a partner that moves around frequently this may not be the best option for you. Most of today’s innerspring mattresses do have comfort layers that will help with both motion isolation and noise.

Memory foam mattresses utilize plush foam to support joints and the spine, and usually have a “cloud-like” feeling of sinking in. Because these are more conforming and plush, foam mattresses may not be the best option for a stomach sleeper, as hips could sink down causing low back pain. However, if having a foam mattress is important to you (they are great for motion isolation), a stomach sleeper can definitely find something firm and supportive enough for them.

A latex mattress is similar in feel to a foam mattress, but made with different materials… namely, latex. Because of this, latex mattresses tend to have a bit more bounce back and support, which makes them a good candidate for a stomach sleeper. Latex also helps with keeping cool. People tend to release body heat while sleeping, and feeling too hot or sweaty can lead to a bad night’s sleep. If that is a sleep struggle of yours, consider a latex mattress which will keep you cooler than a standard memory foam mattress.

Hybrid mattresses are the best of both worlds; usually comfy, conforming foam on top with a supportive, bouncy layer made of springs. This layer of coils offers plentiful support, a classic bouncy feel, and helps these be more budget friendly. Just like all mattresses, there is a wide array of firmness levels, materials, and price levels available with hybrid mattresses. With all these options, a stomach sleeper is sure to find something that works for them.

Firmness Level

As mentioned above, the materials of the mattress do not matter as much as the firmness level. If a stomach sleeper gets a mattress too soft, their spinal alignment will be off due to hips dipping too low, which could cause unnecessary low back pain. Stomach sleepers tend to have the best spinal alignment with a medium/medium-firm mattress: about a 5-7 on a 10 point scale.

When selecting a mattress, body weight is also something to take into consideration. If you are a lightweight sleeper, a softer mattress may feel more comfortable for you. Likewise, if you are a heavier sleeper, more firmness may feel more comfortable for you, while offering the support you need as a stomach sleeper. Supporting those hips and keeping them in line with the spine with a firm mattress is the most important aspect a stomach sleeper needs at night; this will greatly help minimize any lower back pain a stomach sleeper might experience.

Pillows

Another important factor that affects spinal alignment is pillow selection. This is especially true for stomach sleepers, as a pillow too fluffy could cause their neck to be bent at an awkward angle. No one likes waking up with a crick in their neck! Sleeping with your neck inclined too much could lead to neck pain, shoulder pain, and headaches. Even though the big, fluffy pillows look cozy and inviting, stomach sleepers need a flatter pillow to keep their necks properly in line with their spine, and some stomach sleepers may even prefer no pillow at all. With a pillow on the flatter side or no pillow at all, a stomach sleeper will alleviate any neck pain, shoulder pain, or headaches that they may otherwise experience with a thicker pillow.