Comfort can be defined as a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint, but what does this mean for you when you’re looking for a mattress? You spend on average a third of each day in bed, which also means we spend an average of one-third of our lives in bed. When looking at these numbers you begin to see just how important a comfortable mattress along with a good night’s sleep really is. This leads to the question of what is more comfortable for you, a firm mattress or a soft one? This can depend on different variables such as what position you sleep in (back, side, or stomach), medical conditions, chronic pain, and age just to list a few.

Firm mattresses are often documented for helping with and relieving back pain due to its ability to give adequate support to the spine during sleep, but not known to be as comfortable due to the lack of conformability. Some recent studies are finding more evidence that medium-firm mattresses are alleviating more pain than a firm; this is usually attributed to the combination of support and conformability. The combination of support and conformability is like getting the best of both all wrapped up in one mattress, this option is often considered the more comfortable mattress for buyers.

Then, there are still some that prefer a soft mattress over firmer options. Soft mattresses allow your body to sink down and give the feeling of floating on a cloud. While this feeling is often longed for, it’s not always suitable for everyone. People with back and neck pain find that they do not get enough support and elderly people report that they have trouble turning over at night, and getting out of the bed in the morning.

The bottom line in finding comfort in a mattress is knowing what is going to work best for your body; there isn’t any one mattress suitable for every person. When finding a mattress most comfortable for you it is vital that you take time and do the research and make sure to read the reviews to know what you are getting.

Feature, Stephanie WatsonWebMD. “The Best Mattress for a Good Night’s Sleep.” WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/best-mattress-good-nights-sleep

“Mattresses and (Back) Pain Relief.” Best Mattresses For Pain Relief and Bad Back 2013 : Sleeping Position and Firmness : Memory Foam Latex Air : Soft Hard : Hip Shoulder Problem. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
http://www.sleeplikethedead.com/mattress-bad-back.html