With so many different mattresses and mattress types available on the market, you may be wondering about the best mattress for seniors.
When you are looking for the best mattress for seniors, it’s important to keep in mind that seniors have some very unique needs when it comes to their mattresses. After all, not only do they need something comfortable, but they need something that’s highly supportive and pressure-relieving. Additionally, they need a structure that’ll lift them up and out of bed with ease, promoting excellent mobility while they sleep.
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How To Choose The Best Mattress For Seniors
When you are considering buying the best mattress for seniors, there are 3 main aspects you should keep in mind.
#1: Support:
As you can easily understand, support is a very important factor for all sleepers, not only seniors. However, it’s more important to them since they usually struggle with aches and pains along the spine.
When we talk about support, we’re really talking about finding a mattress that lifts the spine into a neutral line all the way from the shoulders to the hips. No matter the position you sleep in, you’ll want to achieve this line in order to prevent any uncomfortable sagging or “dipping” in the night.
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So, how do you find a supportive bed? Simply put, you should focus on the transition and base layers of a mattress. Elderly folks may want to keep an eye out for models with foundational support systems of pocketed coils, which bring a ton of support, bounce, and firmness to the structure. High-density polyfoam bases can also provide some really nice support, especially to softer top foam layers.
Overall speaking, senior sleepers will likely want to feel more “on top” of their mattress than “in” it, so we’d suggest steering clear of materials like memory foam that could produce a little too much sinkage.
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#2: Firmness:
Another aspect that you also need to look at is the firmness of the mattress. Simply put, it is a measure that refers to how “soft” or “hard” a bed is. It’s important to note that soft mattresses can be just as supportive as firm ones, so don’t get support confused with firmness itself.
In most cases, senior sleepers will likely prefer a mattress that ranges from medium firm (about a 6-6.5/10 on the firmness scale) to firm (around 7-7.5/10 on the firmness scale). This is usually their choice because it implies that the bed will have more of a traditional vibe wherein the sleeper is positioned squarely on top of the structure. Many of these sleepers likely grew up snoozing on innerspring mattresses, so may be used to something with a bit more heft.
Firm mattresses are also great at setting the spine in a neutral alignment, which helps to alleviate aches, pains, and discomfort at the joints. This, in turn, should set up the sleeper for some solid sleep hygiene, and bring optimized comfort to the hips, shoulders, and lower back.
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#3: Mobility:
When you are thinking of buying the best mattress for seniors, you also need to consider mobility. After all, mobility is all about how easy it is to move around and change positions when you sleep.
So, a highly mobile structure is one in which you can flip and flop to your heart’s content without straining your shoulders or lower back. High mobility also allows folks to get out of bed easier in the morning, which could be a big plus for senior sleepers.
When assessing whether or not a bed has great mobility, there are a few different materials to look out for. In a comfort layer, you’ll want to see latex or latex-like foams, which are bouncy, supportive, and firm. In base layers, you’ll likely want to stick with pocketed coils or springs. When combined, these materials produce a super buoyant structure, which should work to lift the sleeper up and out of the structure.
