If you are heavier, you need a sturdier, more supportive mattress. The thing is, one person may not be considered heavy, while someone else who is smaller may be heavy. It just all depends. Your body makeup and the areas of your body where you carry more weight factor in to whether you are considered to be heavy.
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 mattress 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 300 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 helps 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 mattresses 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 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 they need to be supported.
Keep in mind that a heavier person may not be categorized as heavy. At the same time, their mattress should be at least 12 inches thick.
As well as thickness, compression support is vital.
Firmness Level
Heavy persons 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 firm mattress potentially bad for a heavy person? Because of their weight, additional sinking and “hug” 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 medium or 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 matters 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, and closed cell foam edging and double edge springs are some 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 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 memory foam and other 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 offer proper total body support, the person will likely wake up with a back ache.
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 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.
