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5 signs your mattresses no longer suits your sleep position — and what to pick instead
How long does it take you to get comfortable in bed? If you used to settle within seconds but now you're tossing and turning half the night, your mattress is probably no longer right for your sleep position. So how do you find one that is?
Our sleep needs change throughout our life, and having tested the best mattresses of 2025 we know that even our favorite beds don't suit every sleep style.
Choosing the right mattress is our favorite sleep hack, so for Sleep Awareness Week 2025, we're exploring how to identify when your mattress isn't right for your sleep position — and how to choose a better one instead.
5 signs your mattress no longer suits your sleep position
1. It takes you a long time to get comfortable
Taking a long time to settle in at night often indicates your mattress isn't right for your needs.
It should take around 10 to 20 minutes to fall asleep, but if you're struggling to get comfortable, you could be lying awake for significantly longer.
When your mattress doesn't suit your sleep position, it won't deliver that 'ahh' feeling when you climb into bed.
You'll instead have to shift around until your body finds the right spot — or give up and deal with the discomfort, which can lead to other issues...
2. You've started tossing and turning
Most sleepers move around during the night and some of us toss and turn more than others.
But if you've recently found yourself moving from side to side and back again, it's a sign your mattress no longer suits your sleep position.
As mattresses age they lose support and pressure relief. This might mean your once cozy mattress now feels disappointingly flat, or that your body is sinking in places it was once supported.
To compensate, you have to spend half the night moving around.
3. You can't sleep through the night
Although it's normal to wake up a few times in the night, these disruptions tend to be brief and often even pass unnoticed.
However, if you find yourself frequently waking up massaging life back into your shoulder or needing to stretch out pain that's accumulated in your back muscles, your mattress might be responsible for your disturbed rest.
These frequent wakings mean you're missing out on vital sleep, especially if it then takes a long time to get comfortable again. Over many weeks, this can lead to long-term sleep deprivation.
4. Your aches feel worse in the morning
A good mattress for your sleep position supports the body throughout the night, allowing you to get on with the important things: resting and restoring.
But if your bed isn't right, instead of waking up refreshed, you'll feel like your body has been kept busy overnight. And, in a way, it has.
To compensate for a lack of support or relief, your muscles will have had to work overtime. No wonder they're aching when your alarm goes off.
5. You've started waking up with back pain
A bad mattress won't just exacerbate old aches and pains, it can create new ones. Particularly if you aren't getting the right support for your spine.
It's essential that our spines stay aligned as we sleep, to reduce any strain or pressure in the back.
And this isn't necessarily confined to the back. Waking up with shoulder or hip pain often indicates your mattress isn't providing the pressure relief your body needs.
How to choose a mattress for your sleep position
If you're a side sleeper...
Side sleeping is the most popular sleep position and it comes with multiple advantages.
For a start, side sleeping helps relieve pressure at the joints while maintaining the natural curve of the spine.
You might also find you're less likely to snore when lying on your side, and it can help reduce symptoms of sleep apnea. But if you have shoulder pain, side sleeping can make it worse.
When you lie on your side, your body presses into the mattress at the shoulders, hips and knees. That's why the best mattresses for side sleepers we've tested have lots of cushioning to cradle the joints.
The thick cushioning of the best memory foam mattresses is often great for side sleepers, but padded hybrid mattresses are also a good choice.
We recommend a medium-soft to medium-firm mattress firmness for side sleepers. Too firm and you'll notice pressure building up at the shoulders and hips. But too soft and your spine won't get the support it needs.
If you're a back sleeper...
Back sleeping maintains the natural curve of the spine, making it one of the best sleep positions for back pain.
However, it does have one disadvantage: you're more likely to snore when lying on your back.
Back sleepers typically benefit from a medium-firm to firm mattress. Avoid anything too soft, as this can cause the lower back to sink, resulting in back pain.
But some cushioning is often appreciated, particularly where the body presses into the mattress at the shoulders and hips.
We've found the best hybrid mattresses often suit back sleepers, as they combine a cushioned touch with ample spring support.
If you're a stomach sleeper...
Stomach sleeping is not recommended, as the front lying position puts pressure on the spine.
However, if you are one of the roughly 7% of people who sleep on their stomach, choosing the right mattress can provide enhanced support to offset some of the discomfort (although we still recommend switching to back or side sleeping.)
The best mattresses for stomach sleepers are firm, with a heavy helping of support. This keeps the lumbar region lifted, so the spine can maintain a more comfortable alignment.
That doesn't mean a mattress for stomach sleeping can't have any padding, but you want to avoid overly soft mattresses with too much sink. Firm quilting can relieve pressure without compromising support.
If you're a combination sleeper...
Combination sleepers tend to cycle through a few different sleep positions during the night (although you might favor one over the others.)
This can make it hard to choose a mattress, as what feels comfortable in one position won't be quite right for another.
For that reason, we tend to recommend combination sleepers opt for a medium-firm mattress, as this sleep feel is known as a crowd-pleaser.
The best medium-firm mattresses balance pressure relief and support. You sink-in slightly (enough to cushion side sleeping) but the underlying firmness keeps you supported if you roll onto your back or stomach.
