[UPDATED] What Is The Best Mattress For A Big Person?

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

If you are heavier, you need a sturdier, more supportive mattress, right? The thing is, one person may not be considered heavy, while someone else who is shorter and not as tall may be heavy. It just all depends. Your body makes up the areas of your body where you carry more weight, and even height factors into whether you are considered to be heavy.

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If you do fall into this category (and it doesn’t have to mean you are overweight), you need a more supportive mattress than someone who is considered to be light. You need a bed with more substance—thicker, made of several high-quality materials, with a certain firmness and even additional support on the edges, where you sit to put your shoes on in the morning. If you suffer from back pain, you need extra support so you can sleep comfortably, wake up feeling good, and work throughout your day.

Who Is Considered “Heavy” Or “Overweight?”

Someone may be heavy at 150 pounds, probably because they carry extra muscle. Another person who weighs more (say, 210 pounds) may not fall into the heavy category.

Mattresses made for heavy people are rated to support someone who weighs 350 pounds. For the sake of discussion, 200 pounds will be the beginning weight that marks someone as heavy. Again, “heavy” in this context may not mean “overweight.” Someone with a sedentary lifestyle, weighing 160 pounds may fall into this category. Someone else who works out regularly and weighs 200 pounds may not be considered heavy.

Regardless of the person’s health status, they need more mattress support.

Thicker Mattress, More Support

Thicker mattresses for a heavy person are a must-have. This extra substance and support help to give badly needed support to the person’s spine. At the same time, it helps to relieve various pressure points without causing the mattress to sag under the person’s weight. Regular standard or light-duty mattresses (your average mattress) can begin to sag under the weight of a heavy person. That sagging may develop in the center of the mattress, particularly if two heavy people share it regularly.

The sleep surface of a thick mattress will align with the spine of a heavy person. Pressure points that cause tossing and turning are prevented and, because of how thick the mattress is, sagging is virtually eliminated.

When a heavy person wakes up to get out of bed in the morning, that thick mattress makes it easier.

Comfort System Construction

Some mattresses made for a heavy person will be made from several layers of foam. One or more layers may consist of memory foam and more up-to-date cool gel memory foam. These pressure-relieving layers hug the sleeper’s body and evenly disperse pressure. In addition, one or more layers of high-density or even high-resiliency polyfoam are added. These layers usually make a more solid core or mid-level support within the mattress helping to strengthen the entire sleep surface, minimizing the tendency to sag under the weight of a heavy person.

Look For High-Quality Materials

A heavy person should always look for high-quality materials. These will last longer and resist the dreaded sag in the middle. While watching the budget and opting for a cheaper bed is understandable, buying a bed made of poor-quality materials will have you returning to a mattress store much sooner than you had anticipated.

Mattress Thickness

Heavy people should buy a mattress that is at least 10 inches thick. Any less means the mattress won’t support the sleeper’s body in the way it needs to be supported.

Keep in mind that a heavier person may not be categorized as heavy. At the same time, we prefer it to be at least 12 inches thick.

As well as thickness, compression support is vital.

Firmness Level

Heavy people should determine how firm they need their mattress to be by starting with a medium to medium-firm. They can try this out at a mattress or furniture store or mattress store by lying down on several mattresses with these firmness ratings.

Rather than lying down on the bed for just a few minutes, they should spend several minutes, trying out several of their preferred sleeping positions.

Why is a soft mattress potentially bad for a heavy person? Because of their weight, additional sinking and “hugs” take place. This can lead to unwanted back pain if all parts of the person’s back aren’t correctly supported, as would happen with a firm to medium-firm mattress.

If the person weighs more than 230 or 250 pounds, the mattress will sink by one to two inches. To prevent this, they should choose a mattress with a firmness scale of 7 to 8 on a scale of 10. This will vary, depending on the mattress construction or brand.

Extra Support On The Edges

A heavy person will cause their mattress to sag on the edge as they sit and put on shoes or get dressed. (NOT RECOMMENDED) While it’s not a necessity to have extra support, it’s a wonderful extra to have.

This additional edge support usually 1.8 density or higher should tell the person that their mattress is a high-quality product and is likely to be more durable for a longer time. Mattresses that provide good race track foam edge support, higher coil gauge or thickness, closed-cell foam edging, and double-edge springs are some of the best examples of much-needed extra support for mattress sides.

Back Pain And Extra Support

Heavier people who suffer from back pain need extra support. A latex mattress is made from natural or synthetic rubber. While at first, it may not seem like the best material to sleep on, make no mistake about it the support of latex is firm buoyant, and sleeps extremely cool. 

When the person lies down in bed, the latex pushes back more evenly than coil springs, giving more support to every area of their back. Pressure points aren’t aggravated, which gives the person a restful night of sleep.

Latex is not temperature reactive which means the material does not react to body temperature or trap the heat like some types of memory foam and other types of foams. This means the person won’t become too hot for comfort.

Air mattresses that look like innerspring mattresses are also good for a heavy person who suffers from back pain. One unique feature of an air mattress is that one side of the bed can be adjusted to be more firm while the opposite side can be adjusted to be less firm. For a couple, this helps them both achieve the ideal firmness for their needs.

If the mattress isn’t made firm enough or offers proper total body support, the person will likely wake up with a backache.

Heavy persons can sleep in an adjustable bed, which flexes and elevates according to their sleep needs. If they have a hard time getting out of bed, this mattress style may be an idea. If the person suffers from sleep apnea or snoring, having the ability to raise the head of the bed may help them breathe more easily.

Overall, a heavy person should remember support, thickness, firmness, edge support, and choosing a mattress based on their own needs.

Q: What Is The Best Mattress I Can Buy For My Size?

People looking for real value or who are less concerned with price and more concerned with what they are getting for that price should take note of this recommendation. Any mattress built with all latex rubber. A mattress like the one described is built from 100% natural latex from the very base to just under-the-surface quilting. Most measure 6,8,10, and even 12 inches thick. Again for plus sizes 10-12 inches thick is recommended. Brands like Savvy Rest can be customized and bought in layers of varying levels from firm to soft to personalize comfort and support. 

The beds are constructed with one of two processes Dunlop or Talalay and you can use one or the other or a mix of the two. We like both however customers seem to favor Dunlop for a good base while finishing the bed top layer off with a layer or two of soft or medium-firm Talalay latex.  Another possible choice is Synthetic models which can be a cheaper alternative and still provide great value and durability.

Can’t afford an all-latex model? Perhaps adding 2-3 inches in the form of a latex topper to your firm bed would be a great choice which can help to minimize cost if you’re considering latex. It’s our opinion that as long as it is replacing poor-quality foams and fibers you’re adding to the quality and support of your bed.  Replacing steel coil springs, however with cheap foam is a potential problem for consumers.  Mattress companies are all too often replacing springs with foam is because it keeps the mattress costs down and profits up.

Q: How Does Memory Foam Hold Up?

Better than most cheap polyurethane foams, but buyer beware they are not all created equal. These can be an inexpensive alternative choice. Most memory foam mattresses are constructed using 3, 4, or 5 lb. density foam. A mattress with fair quality base support foam; queen-size price can vary from $500 to $1000. In some cases, these mattresses can be a better choice than a regular mattress. The reason is that most conventional spring mattresses are built with 1.5-density polyurethane foam and usually less and are now only one side and cannot be flipped over.

Still another option is one of the best sellers in the world,  Tempurpedic often referred to as memory foam. While having a reputation for being a bit pricier than other beds know that there are now good quality lower-cost alternatives that are giving Tempurpedic a run for their money. Whichever you choose good high-quality memory foam mattresses can have 3” to 7” very high-density foams in them and can range in density from 5 lbs to 7 lbs with harder and softer variations in those ranges. We encourage people to proceed with caution and don’t forget to consider models using solid core base support foams such as high resiliency or even Omalon. We are big fans of Omalon for heavier people as a base foam though few companies use Omalon as a base. It was originally developed as carpet padding by Olin Corp and is considered the top-of-the-line.

Q: What Mattress Has Performed Well For Larger People?

Finally, if you looking for beds that hold up for bigger people this is one of our more unique options, we think that it just may blow your mind. They’re not out-of-date and we are not out of touch, but give some consideration to the hard side waterbed. It’s true they are a durable option and we have had a solid history of putting 300, 400, and yes even 500 lb customers on hard side waterbeds at very minimal costs. The best thing is they can still outperform everything else in and out of their price class. The downside is that less mobile people or those with physical disabilities may find a learning curse when it comes to getting in and out of bed. how to get in and out is a bit of a challenge.

Regardless of your body makeup and where you carry your weight or even height, know that there is a heavy-duty sleeping system out here that is built to support the big or small, short or tall.  No matter what you choose, super duty coils and foam, memory foam, latex, or even water, they can all be great alternatives to the status quo cookie cutter mattress designs that are today’s weaker-built brand name beds. The brand name isn’t everything especially if you are not getting what you are paying for. Compare their makeup. Be a smart shopper, and in the end, you will reap the benefits with a really solid comfy mattress that lasts for years and years, no matter your shape or your size.