Best Mattresses for Spondylolisthesis

Spondylolisthesis is one of those conditions that can range from so mild you don’t even know you have it to so severe you can’t function because of it. Most people fall somewhere in the middle. This disease causes an array of symptoms, but the most common one is lower back pain.

The good news is your mattress can help you ease your symptoms. Finding a mattress that properly aligns your spine can help take pressure off your vertebrae and allow you to wake up feeling refreshed and pain-free.

“Spondylolistheiss has been diagnosed in around 5% of the US population with a wide range of symptoms,” notes Dr. Jordan Burns. “Finding the right mattress to help support your spine and keep it in a neutral position is crucial for anyone with symptomatic spondylolisthesis.”

Best Mattresses for Spondylolisthesis of 2023

Among the best mattresses for those who suffer just about any spinal condition, the AS2 by Amerisleep offers exactly the right balance of support, adaptability, and pressure relief to help you wake up pain-free and stay that way.

“Research has shown that firmer mattresses like the Amerisleep AS2 can help people suffering from spondylolisthesis by providing pressure-relief support and helping to reduce back pain,” says Dr. Burns. 

All Amerisleep mattresses ship free and come with a 100-night sleep trial and a 20-year warranty.

How Lying Down Feels

Lying down on the AS2, you’ll notice right away it offers a ton of support without sacrificing adaptability. This is all thanks to its mix of plush and cradling Bio-Pur® foam and supportive underlying foams. The foam absorbs pressure and adapts to your body shape all the way through.

The AS2 is a medium-firm mattress. So you’ll notice when you lie down that it offers a good balance of support and pressure relief that slightly favors support. This keeps your body lifted onto the sleep surface and your spine optimally aligned.

Inside the Mattress

The AS2 starts off with a cooling and breathable cover designed to dissipate your body heat by converting it into far infrared energy. This helps ensure your sleep surface stays cool for hours on end.

Next, the plant-based memory foam comfort layer offers all the contouring of memory foam while fixing most of traditional memory foam’s primary issues. Where traditional memory foam is hot and slow to respond, Amerisleep’s plant-based Bio-Pur® foam can breathe to shed heat and bounces back underneath you as soon as you move.

Next, a layer of buoyant and pressure-relieving Affinity material provides a seamless transition to the pocketed coil layer. The support layer features base foam for spine support and structural integrity.

SEE ALSO: Best Motion-Isolating Mattresses

If your spondylolisthesis symptoms are interfering with your active lifestyle, check out the Zoma Hybrid. This hybrid mattress was designed by and for athletes to offer the best performance and most recuperative sleep possible.

“Mattresses like the Zoma Hybrid have been shown to provide cooler body temperatures which help to promote better overall quality of sleep and comfort,” says Dr. Burns.  

The Zoma Hybrid ships free and comes with a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.

How Lying Down Feels

The Zoma Hybrid is on the firmer end of a medium feel, so you’ll notice it’s slightly softer than many of the other mattresses on this list. However, the extra pressure relief is countered by the lift from the high-tension coils below the foam layers. So you won’t experience any sinkage on this mattress.

Another thing you’ll notice about the Zoma Hybrid is how cool it is. This is all thanks to the combination of airy cover, gel memory foam, and coils we’ll discuss below.

Inside the Mattress

The Zoma Hybrid starts off with an airy and breathable cover that keeps cool air flowing under your body to dissipate heat. The gel memory foam comfort layer also furthers cooling. It draws your body heat away from you and further into the mattress, where the coils dissipate it.

Next up, you’ll find the Reactiv™ layer. This layer of highly responsive material ensures buoyancy and bounces back underneath your body.

Finally, a layer of individually wrapped pocketed coils helps keep you lifted onto the sleep surface and ensures the mattress can adapt and respond to your movements from top to bottom.

SEE ALSO: Zoma Mattress Review

If you want a hybrid mattress that will offer you symptom relief without breaking the bank, check out the Vaya Hybrid. This hybrid offers all the benefits of foam and coils without the usual expense.

How Lying Down Feels

Lying down on the Vaya Hybrid, you’ll notice its fantastic contouring power right off the bat. The Vaya’s amazing adaptability is all thanks to its combination of pocketed coils and ultra-contouring foam.

The highly contouring Vaya Comfort Foam can adapt to your shape better than just about any other memory foam. This translates into an excellent ability to adapt itself to your shape.

“The Vaya Hybrid mattress promotes a healthy spinal alignment which helps to alleviate pain and other symptoms associated with a spondylolisthesis,” says Dr. Burns.

Inside the Mattress

The Vaya Hybrid is able to keep its price affordable by keeping its design simple. It features just three layers of comfort, which allows it to keep costs down without sacrificing quality.

The first layer of the Vaya Hybrid is the Vaya Comfort Foam comfort layer. This ultra-porous foam keeps air flowing around your body to ensure you stay cool as a cucumber all night long. The ultra-contouring foam also provides tons of pressure relief to help ease your joints and protect you from pressure-related pain.

Next, the pocketed coil support layer offers you adaptable lift and dynamic support. The coils move independently of one another to bounce back underneath your body and respond to your movements. This keeps the spine aligned.

Underneath the coils, a durable layer of base foam provides stability and durability to the coils, ensuring this mattress will last just as long as its more expensive competitors.

All this comfort is wrapped in a breathable, cooling, and lightweight cover that keeps air flowing through the porous foam and coils alike. This helps ensure the mattress stays cool all night long.

SEE ALSO: Vaya Mattress Review

If you’re a hot sleeper who also happens to suffer from spondylolisthesis pain, you might consider the Nolah Evolution 15. This supportive and buoyant mattress was designed with coolness in mind.

The Nolah Evolution comes with free shipping, a 120-night sleep trial and a lifetime warranty. If you wish to save further, you can remove the sleep trial at checkout.

How Lying Down Feels

The Evolution pairs several layers of buoyant and supportive foam with ultra-durable coils and multiple cooling technologies. This means you’ll notice two things as soon as you lie down: buoyancy and coolness. The cool-touch feel of the Evolution won’t dissipate during the night, thanks to the mattress’s thermally conductive infusions.

Inside the Mattress

The Evolution starts off with the cooling ArcticTex™ cover. This cover helps dissipate body heat right at the source to ensure the sleep surface stays pleasantly chilly all night.

The cooling cover sits atop the premium HTC™ premium cooling quilted Euro topper. Woven right under the topper is the AirBreath™ heat escape gusset that helps push hot air out of the mattress to prevent overheating.

Next, a layer of AirFoamICE™ uses cooling graphite infusions to draw body heat away from you. Graphite is highly thermally conductive, so it dissipates heat by pushing it through the comfort layer and further into the mattress, where it can be dispersed by the breathable coils below.

The next two layers are two transition layers of high-resilience and high-density foam to help keep the sleep surface buoyant. These layers also protect you from pressure from the coils underneath.

Finally, a layer of patented HDMax™ coils offers 25 percent more support than standard coil systems. These tri-zoned coils also offer reinforced support around the edges and in the middle to provide enhanced edge support and lumbar support. This can help alleviate back pain by keeping the spine better aligned.

SEE ALSO: Nolah Mattress Review

Those who want a natural latex mattress that’s all foam and no fuss should check out the Spindle Mattress. This pure organic latex mattress not only features buoyant and supportive Dunlop foam. It also boasts swappable firmness.

How Lying Down Feels

Dunlop latex is dense and bouncy, so the Spindle Mattress might just be the most buoyant mattress on this list. You’ll also notice its breathability and natural coolness as soon as you lie down.

The Spindle doesn’t have a true firmness level. Rather, it comes with swappable layers that allow you to choose the firmness that’s right for you. You can stack these layers in several different arrangements to create just about any feel you like.

Inside the Mattress

The Spindle starts off with an organic cotton cover with organic wool batting woven inside the cotton. The batting provides extra pressure relief, while the breathable cotton helps wick away moisture and keep the sleep surface cool and crisp.

Next, come the layers of latex. The Spindle comes with three layers of organic Dunlop latex: a soft, a medium, and a firm. These layers are not arranged in any particular order. Rather, you stack them yourself according to your firmness preferences.

For a softer feel, stack the soft layer on top, the medium in the middle, and the firm on the bottom. For a firmer feel, do the opposite. You can also arrange the layers in different combinations for different variations on a medium feel.

Just remember to sleep on whatever arrangement you choose for a few nights before changing it out so that you can get a true feel for how it works for you.

SEE ALSO: Best Customizable Mattresses

If you just can’t give up on the tried-and-true innerspring mattress, check out the Saatva Classic. The Classic’s dual-core design maintains the classic feel of a traditional innerspring mattress while also fixing many of the issues that typically make innerspring mattresses a bad choice for people with back problems.

How Lying Down Feels

The first thing you’ll notice when lying down on the Saatva Classic is that it’s much more contouring than the average innerspring mattress. This is all thanks to the pocketed coil core that rests on top of the open coil support core. The open coils provide the bounce, while the pocketed coils provide the adaptability.

The Classic is also a highly cooling mattress, thanks to its double-coil support layer and its organic cotton cover. The breathable coils and breathable fabric keep cool air flowing to wick away heat and moisture.

Inside the Mattress

The Classic starts with a plush and breathable organic cotton cover. This cover is treated with botanical antimicrobials to make it a more hostile place for common allergens like mold, mildew, and bacteria.

Next, a layer of high-density memory foam and Lumbar Zone™ spinal wire helps add enhanced back support to the sleep surface to ensure there’s no sinkage.

The first of the two support cores comes next. This support core is made of individually wrapped coils that adapt to your shape and respond to your movements while simultaneously isolating motion. These coils enhance the contouring of the bed, so you can enjoy your innerspring mattress while reaping the benefits of a hybrid.

Underneath the pocketed coils sits a layer of open coils. These networked springs give the Classic mattress its classic bounce. They also enhance the airflow through the mattress. This keeps it cool all the way through.

SEE ALSO: Best Tempur-Pedic Mattress Alternatives

If you’re looking for the best mattresses for spondylolisthesis and allergies alike, say hello to the Bear Elite Hybrid. The copper infusions in this mattress create an extremely hostile environment for all kinds of allergy triggers.

How Lying Down Feels

Lying down on the Bear Elite Hybrid, you won’t notice its hypoallergenic properties right away. What you will notice is just how cooling this mattress is. Copper isn’t just hard for microbes to flourish in. This mineral is also highly thermally conductive.

This means it draws your body heat away from you and pulls it deeper into the mattress to keep the sleep surface pleasantly cool for hours on end.

Inside the Mattress

The Elite begins with a hypersoft, hand-quilted cushion cover that combines Celliant fibers with PCM fabric to create a plush and ultra-cool sleep surface.

The copper-gel-infused memory foam comfort layer comes next. The thermal conductivity of this foam works with the breathability of the cover and coils to keep the sleep surface at the ideal temperature throughout the night.

Next, you’ll find a layer of dynamic transition foam that provides ergonomic spinal support and also helps seamlessly progress to the pocketed coil support layer.

The pocketed coil layer offers lots of lift and highly adaptable support to keep you lifted and your spine aligned. The reinforced edge coils also ensure the perimeter of the mattress is just as supportive and sturdy as the middle. On the bottom, a layer of high-density base foam ensures the coils are as stable and durable as possible.

SEE ALSO: Zoma vs. Bear: Side-by-Side Mattress Comparison

Stomach sleepers with spondylolisthesis need a firm mattress that can keep their spines aligned despite the difficult position they adopt during sleep. Not every mattress on the market is up to the task, but the firm and comforting Helix Dawn Luxe is. This mattress offers all the lift you need to keep your spine aligned.

How Lying Down Feels

The Dawn Luxe is a firm mattress, but that doesn’t mean it eliminates all pressure relief. In fact, the plush and cooling pillow top adds lots of cushioning back into the sleep surface that the firm feel takes away.

This can ensure your hip bones don’t press into the mattress and suffer pain as a result. For women, it also helps prevent the breasts from being squished by the combination of your body weight and the firm mattress exerting force.

Inside the Mattress

The Dawn Luxe starts off by giving you the choice between two cooling covers. You can pick either breathable TENCEL or thermoconductive GlacioTex fabric that draws your body heat away from you.

Whichever cover you choose, it will sit on top of the premium cooling pillow top layer and the contouring Helix Dynamic Foam comfort layer. These layers work together to increase the contouring and pressure relief of the mattress without sacrificing the firm feel.

Next up, the high-density Memory Plus Foam reacts and contours to your body while offering tons of buoyancy to help fight sinkage and keep you on top of the sleep surface.

Underneath this layer, you’ll find a layer of high-grade polyfoam that provides ergonomic support and seamless progression to the zoned support core below.

Finally, the support layer offers over 1,000 individually wrapped coils that are zoned to offer you enhanced support in the middle of your body and better pressure relief for your shoulders and hips, which for stomach sleepers, translates into improved contouring for the chest and front of the pelvis.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattress for Shoulder Pain

Those who aren’t sure which firmness level will work best for them should check out the Plank by Brooklyn Bedding. This flippable mattress offers two firmness levels to give you different options to try out. So if you’re not sure whether you need a traditional firm or ultra-firm mattress, this could be for you.

How Lying Down Feels

How lying down feels depends on which side of the mattress you use. The traditional firm side will retain some pressure relief and contouring, while the extra-firm side will be very rigid. Back sleepers and lighter-weight stomach sleepers will likely do best on the firm side, and heavier stomach sleepers will do best on the ultra-firm side.

Whichever side you choose, the sleep surface will feature a cooling and breathable cover. You also have the option of adding a cooling GlacioTex fabric cover to draw body heat away from you.

Inside the Mattress

The Plank is a flippable mattress. So it has mirrored construction. Starting with the extra-firm side up, the Plank has a .75-inch quilted layer that features continuous stitching for zero-loft. This ensures the firmest feel possible. You will get very little compression from this side of the mattress, which makes it best for heavier stomach sleepers.

Directly underneath this layer is a seven-inch layer of high-density base foam. This foam gives the mattress its extra-durable support and firm feel. It offers tons of lift and very little give.

The next layer begins the firm side. This layer is two inches of TitanFlex material that adds deep compression and buoyant support. This helps give the firm side a bit more pressure relief than the ultra-firm side. The 1.5-inch quilted layer adds even more pressure relief, making this side better for back sleepers and some stomach sleepers.

No matter which side you choose, you can add the optional GlacioTex cover that draws heat away from your body to keep your sleep surface cool as a cucumber.

SEE ALSO: Best Firm Mattresses

Those who don’t want the environment to suffer because of their back pain should check out the Avocado Green. This mattress features organic materials that are biodegradable, recyclable, or both, and they produce much less toxic waste to manufacture.

How Lying Down Feels

The Green is a latex hybrid. It has springy foam and bouncy coils. So it’s just about as responsive as an innerspring mattress, without all the motion transfer.

The adaptable coils and Dunlop latex also combine to make an extremely buoyant and contouring sleep surface that can adapt to your body shape and keep you lifted onto the bed.

Inside the Mattress

The Green starts out with an organic cotton cover woven directly over a layer of organic wool for added pressure relief. These organic textiles also provide a natural fire barrier that protects you from fire without harsh chemical infusions.

Next, a layer of organic Dunlop latex offers buoyant and dynamic support. Dunlop latex is denser than Talalay, and it provides more buoyancy to keep your body lifted and your spine aligned.

Below, a layer of individually tuned, tempered steel coils is arranged into five zones that provide targeted support to each body area to ensure maximum spine aligning power and ideal pressure relief.

All the ingredients in this mattress are biodegradable, recyclable, or both. So you can rest assured when it comes time to replace your mattress, the Green won’t spend a thousand years in a landfill.

SEE ALSO: Best Mattresses Without Fiberglass

Back sleepers who need a little extra contouring should check out the medium-firm Puffy Mattress. This mattress offers a better balance of pressure relief and support for back sleepers – who need a little more contouring than stomach sleepers.

How Lying Down Feels

The Puffy is a medium-firm mattress, so it will offer a bit more contouring than some of the other mattresses on this list. That means sleeping on your back is a bit easier on this mattress because it contours better to your lumbar region.

Inside the Mattress

The first layer of the Puffy is the stain-resistant Cloud cover. This cover can fight off common stains like those from spills and sweat. It’s also able to resist common pests like dust mites and even bed bugs. So if you have allergies or eat and drink in bed, this mattress could be for you.

Next, a layer of highly breathable and thermoconductive gel memory foam offers temperature-controlled pressure relief to keep your body from overheating and maintain optimal sleep temperature.

Then, a layer of Climate Comfort foam helps turn the temperature down even more and adds a layer of dynamic support to ensure you get the right contouring no matter which position you adopt while you sleep.

Finally, a layer of firm, high-density foam makes up the core of the mattress. This support core helps keep your body lifted onto the sleep surface, and it also ensures the mattress will fight sagging and soft spot development for a lifetime.

SEE ALSO: Mattress Sizes and Dimensions

How to Choose the Best Mattress for Spondylolisthesis

Choosing the best mattress for relieving the symptoms of spondylolisthesis (or any type of back pain, really) might seem a little daunting at first. Picking the right mattress can be difficult, even for those without any kind of back pain. Picking one specifically for your back issues can be even worse.

However, you don’t have to feel like you’re taking a shot in the dark. You just need to understand a little about your spondylolisthesisVerified Source Medline PlusOnline resource offered by the National Library of Medicine and part of the National Institutes of Health.View source, its symptoms and what causes them, as well as how your sleep style and body type impact your firmness and construction needs.

What is Spondylolisthesis?

Spondylolisthesis is a condition of the spine that can cause symptoms ranging from mild to severe back pain, numbness, and more. According to the Cleveland ClinicVerified Source Cleveland ClinicRanked #2 hospital by U.S. News & World Report and one of the largest academic medical centers in America. The Cleveland Clinic serves patients from all over the world.View source, this condition “occurs when one of your vertebrae, the bones of your spine, slips out of place onto the vertebra below it.”

Sometimes, it’s possible to have spondylolisthesis and not even know it. The condition can be mild enough it remains asymptomatic. However, it can also be severe enough to cause intense lower back painVerified Source National Library of Medicine (NIH)World’s largest medical library, making biomedical data and information more accessible.View source, numbness in the legs and feet, weakness in these areas, and other issues.

Spondylolisthesis that’s severe enough may require surgery to eliminate pain and return the ability to stand and walk for long periods. For example, aspinal fusion surgeryVerified Source Medline PlusOnline resource offered by the National Library of Medicine and part of the National Institutes of Health.View sourcecan keep vertebrae from moving.

For those with milder cases that don’t need surgery, finding the right mattress can go a long way toward reducing symptoms and easing pain. Just remember, the key to alleviating symptoms is proper spinal alignment. Keeping the spine in a neutral position takes the pressure off the vertebral column and can help you wake up in the morning with reduced pain and better sleep.

Ideal Mattress Materials for People with Spondylolisthesis

When it comes to alleviating spondylolisthesis symptoms, the most important aspect of your mattress is its ability to align your spine. And when it comes to spinal alignment, some mattress types are better than others.

Memory Foam

Memory foam is one of the best mattress materials for spinal alignment. This special type of flexible polyurethane foam is fantastic for spondylolisthesis sufferers because memory foam mattresses can mold itself to your body’s shape, following the curve of your spine in a way that no other mattress material can.

This adaptability is extremely important for those who suffer from virtually all spinal disorders because it keeps the vertebral column in a horizontal line, which can alleviate pressure on the spinal column and subsequently reduce pain and other symptoms. Similarly, memory foam is a popular mattress for joint pain and other ailments.

Memory foam is also fantastic for pressure relief in other areas of the body. It’s especially good for side sleepers because it offers deep compression under the joints. This cradles pressure points and helps absorb pressure instead of amplifying it.

So if you’re a side sleeper with spondylolisthesis, memory foam may allow you to have a firmer mattress than you otherwise might have been able to have. The adaptability of memory foam mattresses for side sleepers allows it to compress better, even at higher firmness levels. This means your joints can get the cradling they need, while your spine still gets the sturdier support it needs.

Memory foam might be the best mattress material for symptom relief, but if you have certain other sleep issues, it might not be the best material for your sleep. For instance, memory foam tends to retain heat, so it might not be the best for hot sleepers. Gel memory foam mattresses do address the issue of heat retention, but some sleepers may still want more cooling.

It’s also not all that responsive, so active sleepers might want to consider an alternative.

Latex Foam

For hot sleepers and active sleepers with spondylolisthesis, latex foam is a good alternative to memory foam. This is because latex is a natural foam derived from rubber tree sap. So a latex mattress is much more breathable and more responsive than traditional memory foam.

Natural latex comes in two different varieties: Dunlop and Talalay.

For those who need extra support and buoyancy – such as stomach and back sleepers – Dunlop will work best. This is because Dunlop latex is denser and more durable than Talalay. Dunlop latex also forms the layers of organic latex mattresses.

On the flip side, side sleepers who need lots of pressure relief should consider the lighter and more contouring Talalay latex mattress. This latex variety still retains the springiness and breathability of latex, but it’s much more contouring than Dunlop.

Whichever latex variety you choose, it will be cooling, responsive, and durable. So those who like to toss and turn or tend to wake up in a sweat will do better on this type of foam than memory foam. And when it comes to how long mattresses last, latex foam withstands wear and tear best of all.

However, you should be aware latex foam wants to retain its own shape more than memory foam. This can be a pro and con, as it means the mattress will resist body impressions and sagging quite well, but won’t quite match the pressure relief of a memory foam bed.

Even Talalay latex is not quite as good at adapting to your shape as memory foam. Stomach and back sleepers may not notice the difference, but side sleepers who need more adaptability from their mattresses might.

Another issue with latex is it may trigger symptoms in people with latex allergies, so if you have a latex allergy, it’s best to stick to memory foam. Otherwise, a latex bed can be an excellent hypoallergenic mattress for allergies and asthma.

Hybrid

Hybrid mattresses can be a fantastic alternative to pure foam mattresses for those who want a little more bounce in their bed. Hybrids combine pocketed coils with layers of comfort foam on top. The individually wrapped coils in the support layer can all move independently of one another. This means hybrid mattresses can adapt to your shape from top to bottom.

Hybrid mattresses are a wonderful choice for spondylolisthesis sufferers of all stripes because their foam layers offer pressure relief, while their pocketed coils offer adaptable support, bounce, and breathability. This means whether you’re a hot sleeper, a side sleeper, an active sleeper, or anything else, the right hybrid will work for you.

Those who want a mattress that offers all the deep compression and contouring of a memory foam mattress with a little more bounce and cooling power should spring for a memory foam mattress. These are excellent hybrid mattresses for side sleepers.

If you want the most responsive and most breathable mattress possible, consider a latex hybrid. It’s an excellent choice for anyone considering mattresses without memory foam.

Hybrids might be fantastic for just about everybody, but they aren’t without their faults. Those shopping on a budget won’t like the price tag of the average hybrid. Also, if you want the most durable mattress, remember hybrids have coils. Coils lose tension and break down faster than support foams. So you will be replacing average hybrids before average foam mattresses.

Innerspring

Innerspring mattresses feature an open coil support core topped with plush materials for comfort layers. These mattresses, as a general rule, are not ideal for spondylolisthesis sufferers. Spring mattresses do have a couple of pros, but these positive attributes are vastly outweighed by the innerspring mattress’s cons.

The positive attributes of innerspring mattresses include their ability to shed heat and their responsiveness. Open coils circulate lots of air, so they can disperse heat very well and establish a cooling mattress. Innerspring mattresses also have lots of bounce, which may be what many sleepers – especially sleepers over 40 – are used to.

However, this is where the pros end. Innerspring mattresses may get their bounce and cooling power from their open coils, but they have a lot of problems because of them as well. From a spondylolisthesis perspective, open coils’ main problem is their inability to adapt.

Open coils are wired together with steel cable. This makes it impossible for them to move independently. This means they tend to sag under your weight rather than rising and falling with the curves of your body. The lack of adaptability can throw your spine out of alignment, exacerbating spondylolisthesis pain rather than relieving it.

Open coils also make lots of noise, amplify and transfer motion all over the sleep surface, and wear out faster than any other support core type. Because of all these issues, we recommend hybrid mattresses to those who want a coil support core.

SEE ALSO: Hybrid vs. Innerspring Mattresses: What is the Difference?

Ideal Firmness Level for People with Spondylolisthesis

Mattress firmness is communicated by the manufacturer using a scale of one through 10, with 10 being the firmest. However, you will typically only find mattresses ranging from three to eight on the firmness scale. This is because there’s just no market for mattresses with no give or no support.

The ideal firmness level for those who suffer back pain is medium-firm (6). Medium-firm mattresses offer the right mix of support and cushioning to ensure your body stays on top of the sleep surface and your spine remains aligned.

That being said, mattresses for back pain are still designed for varying firmness needs. Your sleep position and your body type interact with your spondylolisthesis to determine your firmness needs. You’ll need to consider all three of these factors when deciding on the right firmness level for you.

Sleep Position

Even if you have spondylolisthesis or other issues that cause back pain, your sleep position is the main factor that decides your firmness needs. This is because the way you sleep decides:

• How your body weight is distributed
• Where your pressure points are
• How your spine lines up

For this reason, your preferred sleep position decides your firmness baseline, and other factors may take it up or down from there.

Back Sleepers

If you’re a back sleeper with back pain, things are a little easier for you because the ideal mattress firmness for back sleepers (medium-firm) also happens to be the ideal mattress firmness for back pain! This means you don’t have to worry about your sleep style and back pain causing conflict in your firmness needs. You can just get the right firmness.

Back sleepers benefit from medium-firm mattresses. They need a combination of lift to keep their bodies on top of the sleep surface and contouring to allow mattresses for back sleeping to conform to the curve of their spines.

Medium-firm mattresses fit this bill perfectly. They support the spine and, at the same time, compress under the buttocks to allow for ideal lumbar support. This is part of the reason these mattresses are considered the best firmness for back pain.

Combo Sleepers

Combination sleepers don’t have a strong preference for any single sleep position. They may choose to sleep in any one of the other three positions and may even change positions one or more times during the night. Typically, combo sleepers need medium mattresses (5) to accommodate their diverse sleep preferences.

However, if you’re a combo sleeper with back pain, you might consider a medium-firm mattress. A little extra lift offers much-needed spinal support that helps keep your back more comfortable and your spine better aligned.

Only you can decide if the reduced pressure relief is a trade-off you can live with in a mattress for combination sleeping. However, if your back pain is severe enough, going up to a medium-firm mattress could help you.

Side Sleepers

Side sleepers with back pain have perhaps the hardest time finding the right firmness level, thanks to their conflicting needs. On the one hand, side sleepers need the softest mattresses of any sleep position, ranging from soft (3 to 4) to medium.

If they don’t have sufficient pressure relief, side sleepers can experience joint pain. On the other hand, back pain sufferers need medium-firm mattresses to offer ideal spinal support to relieve back pain. You may want to consider the best way to sleep on your back if you’re a side sleeper, but some may have trouble falling asleep in a new position.

The best thing to do if you’re a side sleeper with spondylolisthesis pain is to go as firm as you cang. That may mean a mattress for side sleeping with medium-soft or a medium feels. Just try to compromise between your need for pressure relief and support to get the ideal firmness level for your situation.

Stomach Sleepers

Stomach sleepers tend to have lower back pain even if they don’t have spondylolisthesis. This is because sleeping on your stomach allows your pelvis to sink into the mattress. This arches the back too far forward and pulls the spine out of alignment, leading to lower back pain, especially in the lumbar region and the area where the spine meets the pelvis.

To counter this, you’ll need a firm or even extra-firm mattress (7 or 8). The added support that a mattress for stomach sleeping can offer helps keep your spine aligned and counter the negative effects of sleeping in this position. To better relieve back pain, also sleep with a flat pillow or no pillow at all.

Body Type

Your body type may or may not impact your firmness needs. It all depends on what you weigh. Those who fall between 130 and 230 pounds can generally choose the firmness that corresponds to their sleep position.

This is because mattresses are made to support people who fall in the bedding industry’s definition of the average adult weight range. If you fall outside of this range, you’ll have to take that into account when choosing a firmness level.

Petite Sleepers

Those who are lighter than 130 pounds are considered petite sleepers. Petite sleepers typically have to decrease their firmness level from the one that corresponds to their sleep position when considering mattresses for lightweight sleepers. If they don’t, they might not get sufficient compression from their sleep surface, which translates into inadequate pressure relief during sleep.

That means a petite combo sleeper, for instance, might need a medium-soft mattress rather than a true medium one.

Plus-Size Sleepers

Plus-size sleepers tend to have the opposite problem as petite sleepers. When you’re over 230 pounds, you may wind up getting too much compression from your sleep surface. This can lead to a lack of support that causes the spine to fall out of alignment. This can lead to your mattress worsening your back pain or even becoming a primary cause of it.

That means plus-size sleepers need to go up a firmness level from the one that goes with their sleep position when browsing mattresses for heavy sleepers. For example, a plus-size side sleeper might need a medium-soft or even a medium mattress, rather than a soft one.

Saving on Mattresses for Spondylolisthesis

If you’re looking for high-quality mattresses at an affordable price, the best way to find what you seek is to browse online mattresses. Online mattress brands and web-based stores have fewer overhead costs to meet than a traditional storefront does and can pass these savings onto their customers.

When you order one of these mattresses, they’re usually carefully packed into a box and will expand after being unpacked. These mail order mattresses ship right to your front door, saving you the hassle of picking up a mattress at a store.

However, if spondylolisthesis limits your mobility and restricts your ability to lift heavy packages, you may have to consider ways to move the mattress yourself or with the help of a friend or family member.

We strongly suggest that if you’re in need of a mattress to relieve pain and improve sleep, not to put off buying it. However, if you’re looking for a new bed around one of the big mattress sales, then you might want to take advantage of mattress deals:

• Best Presidents Day Mattress Sales
• Best Memorial Day Mattress Sales
• Best 4th of July Mattress Sales
• Best Labor Day Mattress Sales
• Best Columbus Day Mattress Sales
• Best Black Friday Mattress Sales
• Best Cyber Monday Mattress Sales

Other accessories that can improve your comfort and make it easier to live with a medical condition, such as adjustable beds for back pain, also go on sale around these days.

If a new mattress is out of your budget for the moment, you can still improve the feel of your current mattress with a mattress topper for back pain.

Mattresses for Other Medical Conditions

• Best Mattresses for Sciatica
• Best Mattresses for Joint Pain
• Best Mattresses for Arthritis
• Best Mattresses for Herniated Disc
• Best Mattresses for Degenerative Disc Disease
• Best Mattresses for Ankylosing Spondylitis
• Best Mattresses for Spinal Stenosis

FAQs

What is the best mattress for side sleepers with spondylolisthesis?

The best mattress type for spondylolisthesis sufferers who sleep on their sides is a memory foam mattress. Memory foam can compress underneath your joints to absorb pressure. This can help prevent you from waking up with pressure-related pain in your hip and shoulder joints. Memory foam’s adaptability can also help you have a firmer mattress.

Side sleepers with back pain are in a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand, side sleepers need soft mattresses to protect their joints from pressure. On the other hand, medium-firm mattresses have been shown to be the best firmness level for back pain sufferers because they align the spine the best.

While you might not be able to go up to a medium-firm mattress, memory foam’s contouring power may help you go firmer than you would be able to on less adaptable mattresses. This can help you compromise between your spine’s need for support and your pressure points’ need for cushioning.

Can an adjustable bed help me with my spondylolisthesis symptoms?

An adjustable bed can be a wonderful solution for sufferers of all kinds of spinal conditions, not just spondylolisthesis. Adjustable beds can alter their shape to put your body in a more natural and healthy position than lying flat. Lying flat can put a lot of pressure on the spinal column and certain joints, which can lead to pain or increase the pain associated with certain conditions.

Adjustable beds can elevate the legs, upper body, or both at the same time. Elevating the legs and head over the heart is called the zero-gravity pose, and it can help you reduce pain by putting the spine into a more neutral state than lying down.

This takes the pressure off your back even better than a great mattress alone. So if you have any spinal condition that leads to back pain, an adjustable bed might be the way to go.

Which mattress material is best for sleepers with spondylolisthesis?

There are several different materials that can help you alleviate your spondylolisthesis symptoms, depending on your sleep needs. Side sleepers with spondylolisthesis may do best on memory foam because of its adaptability and pressure relief.

Active sleepers could benefit from latex foam because of its natural springiness. And hot sleepers may enjoy latex or gel memory foam. Both of these materials offer fantastic spinal alignment and can help pull heat away from your body.

Hybrid mattresses can also work for just about any sleeper with spondylolisthesis. Memory foam hybrids are responsive and adaptable, while latex hybrids are springy and breathable, with all the contouring power of pocketed coils. Depending on the feel you want, one of these hybrids may be your best option.

How much should I pay for a mattress for my spondylolisthesis?

To get the ideal combination of pressure relief and spinal support to relieve your spondylolisthesis pain, you may wind up paying a little more for your mattress, especially since the cheapest mattress type – innerspring – is not the best option for spondylolisthesis sufferers.

Memory foam is the best option for you if you’re shopping for a spondylolisthesis mattress on a budget. The average queen memory foam mattress is just over $1,100 – much more affordable than hybrids or latex mattresses.

To get a hybrid or a latex mattress, prepare to spend a bit more. Hybrid mattresses come in at around $1,700 for a queen, while queen size latex mattresses are about $2,100, on average. Keep in mind these averages may not reflect what you actually pay. You may find the right bed for your spondylolisthesis for a lot more or a lot less.

What is the ideal firmness level for spondylolisthesis sufferers?

The ideal firmness level for back pain sufferers is medium-firm. However, that may not be the ideal level for your sleep position. If you sleep on your back, congratulations! Medium-firm mattresses are perfect for you.

Stomach sleepers typically need firm or extra-firm mattresses to prevent lower back pain. If you’re a stomach sleeper, it’s best to stick with that. However, side sleepers are a different story.

Side sleepers tend to need the softest mattresses, but back pain sufferers do better on medium-firm mattresses. If you’re a side sleeper, the best idea is to go as firm as you can while still maintaining enough pressure relief to protect your joints. This might mean a medium-soft mattress, or it might even mean a medium one.

Bottom Line

Spondylolisthesis symptoms are not fun, but the good news is you can alleviate them with the right mattress. Just remember to keep your sleep position and body type in mind as you decide on the best firmness level to relieve your back pain.