Is it better to sleep on a hard or a soft mattress?

Finding the right mattress hardness is important when creating your personal sleep experience. There are a number of disadvantages to having a mattress that is too hard or too soft. You should choose the hardness of your mattress keeping various individual factors in mind:

• your build and weight
• your sleep position
• the desired level of comfort
• the desired temperature
• any back problems you may have

Read on below to find out which mattress hardness is most suitable for you.

If the mattress is too soft, your spine will not be correctly supported. That is what we call the 'hammock effect': the vertebrae of the lower back sag, which can cause low back pain. In addition, your body will feel excessively ‘wrapped up’ by the mattress, which limits the drainage of moisture and calls for a lot of energy to change your sleep position.

Sleeping on an excessively hard mattress can cause sore spots. It also restricts optimal blood circulation. Your shoulders and pelvis are overburdened and as a result, you will often wake up during the night. Interrupted sleep will make you feel anything but well-rested in the morning. 

Most people are side sleepers. In this position your shoulders should be able to sink sufficiently into your mattress. So it is important that the mattress is not too hard.

For back sleepers, it is important that the back cavity is well supported.

Ergonomically speaking, stomach sleepers have the ‘worst’ sleep position, so we recommend to try not to sleep like this.
If you would like to change your sleep position, we recommend a softer mattress. If you prefer to sleep on your stomach, it is best to sleep on a harder mattress than the one recommended for your weight.

What do you prefer? Unfortunately, many people still wrongly believe that a good mattress should be hard. This is often due to the fact that in the 1970s there were only two alternatives: either a sagging mattress ('hammock effect') or a harder one. Fortunately, today we have many more options available, and it is important strike the right balance.

For example, there are also mattresses, such as the Belgian Fylds’ mattress, which feel soft at first touch but offer firm support. Come and visit us at the showroom, where you can test our mattresses in peace and quiet, and decide for yourself which hardness you find most comfortable. 

Do you easily get too cold or too hot? This should also be taken into account when choosing your mattress. A sagging mattress is warmer. A harder mattress, on the other hand, is cooler. So it will come as no surprise that people generally sleep on a softer mattress in the North than in the South.