Best Mattress For Athletes
Last Updated: November, 2024
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Athletic development isn't all about continuous training and living on a diet - the best athletes know that rest also plays a pivotal role in their fitness plan. In fact, poor sleep can negatively affect your performance, including accuracy and reaction time. So, whether you're a professional athlete or simply prefer an active lifestyle, choosing the right mattress will promote good blood flow, cool the body, and alleviate aches and pains so that you can benefit the most from your downtime.
If you're looking for the best mattress for athletes to help your body recover after a tiresome day at the gym, know that a high-quality bed should be supportive, comfortable, and match your preferences. You may also want to consider a few additional aspects, such as your build and height.
Below, we'll look at some of the best mattresses for athletes that can effectively reduce pressure points all over your body, giving you that ideal restorative, deep sleep you so deserve. We'll also highlight the beneficial features for active people, along with a few tips to consider before making a purchase decision.
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Our Picks For The Best 7 Mattresses for Athletes
Bear Pro Hybrid Mattress
The Bear Pro Hybrid Mattress is a three-layer bed designed to be supportive and responsive for a wide range of body types. It boasts a comfortable pillow top feel that makes it a suitable pick for active individuals and lightweight and average-weight sleepers.
Zoma Hybrid
The Zoma Hybrid Mattress is specially designed with side sleepers in mind. If you often switch between your left and side while sleeping due to stiffness or pain, the Zoma Hybrid offers excellent contouring and support to ensure you'll be comfortable sleeping in one position.
Puffy Lux Hybrid Mattress
The Puffy Lux Hybrid Mattress is a perfect pick for athletes struggling with shoulder pain. It has three comfort layers and a plush cover for maximum pressure relief in the hips, lower back, and shoulders.
Amerisleep AS3 Mattress
Want to prevent nighttime disruptions from your partner's movements? The Amerisleep AS3 Mattress is your holy grail. Its thick foam layers compress to closely meet your body, dramatically minimizing the motion felt on other bed sections.
SleepOvation Mattress
With 700 tiny mattresses stuffed into one. The SleepOvation Mattress takes your comfort to a whole new level. Its cushion pocket technology allows maximum air circulation between the pockets to prevent excess body heat retention as you sleep.
Nolah Evolution 15 Mattress
This hybrid mattress comes with zoned support coils and a plush Euro-top, offering a mix of support and cushioning perfect for promoting healthy spinal alignment.
Molecule Hybrid Mattress
If you're looking for a memory foam bed that offers the perfect balance of responsiveness and pressure relief, the Molecule Hybrid Mattress has got you covered. Its AirTEC contours deeply to the body to minimize pressure points.
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The Bear Pro Hybrid is designed specifically with physical active individuals in mind. It features support materials that won't sag easily, pressure-relieving comfort layers, and an innovative top cover to alleviate body aches and pain. Its foam-over-coil construction delivers a perfect balance of pressure relief, sturdy support, and motion isolation and helps the surface maintain a comfortable sleep temperature night after night.
This hybrid mattress features a two-layer comfort system and a pocketed coil support core. At the top, you'll find a body-cradling memory foam layer gel-infused to dissipate excess heat. Next is an adaptive polyfoam layer that promotes proper spinal alignment by evenly distributing weight across the mattress. Plus, it prevents sleepers from sinking deep into the bed's support core system.
The support system comes with a thick layer of individually wrapped coils that add bounce to the surface while reinforcing the upper layers. Hot sleepers will really appreciate the breathable pocketed coils and the gel-infused comfort layer. Couples - especially those with different sleeping preferences - will love the Bear Pro Hybrid for its reinforced perimeter and excellent motion isolation. CertiPUR-US and GREENGUARD Gold certifications show that your hybrid bed meets strict standards for VOCs (volatile organic compounds ) emissions and mattress material safety.
Overall, the Bear Pro Hybrid Mattress is competitively priced. Solid performance ratings, high-quality materials, and the two free pillows help justify the $738 - $1,558. It comes with a trial period that runs for 120 nights, and sleepers who keep their mattress also receive a lifetime warranty against structural defects.
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If you had to worry about mattress firmness when purchasing from a traditional supplier or manufacturer, such is not the case with Zoma Mattress. Zoma has one magnificent brand that accommodates most sleepers, including athletes. Generally, it's ideal for athletes who are back, side, and combination sleepers. However, it's not ideal for stomach sleepers seeking a deep restorative sleep.
The Zoma Mattress is built with absorbent memory foam. NASA first developed these materials for their space shuttle seats which were shock-resistant. Zoma has a total of 4 layers. At the top is the breathable cover made of 3% spandex and 97% polyester. It's Cool enough to eliminate humidity and heat build-up on the surface. Under this cover lies the 4 layers: Reactiv™ foam, perforated gel memory foam, base foam, and pocketed coils.
Athletes with sleep partners will appreciate the motion transfer of this mattress for athletes. Meaning the both of you can move around the bed without disturbing each other. Its firmness is above average, but it's still the right mattress for an athlete seeking a softer bed, given that it's a memory foam mattress.
Speaking of which, if you want a mattress with excellent memory foam firmness, Zoma is definitely a to-go for option. As one of the best all foam beds in the industry, you can rest assured of a good night's sleep with Zoma.
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The Puffy Lux Hybrid Mattress is definitely one of the best mattresses to be excited about. First and foremost, its construction comprises a combination of pocketed coils and soft foam layers to give the sleeper a bouncy mobility and cuddly comfort. This is due to its layers which make up its 12" inch thickness. At the very top is the stain-resistant hypoallergenic mattress cover bearing a soft luxurious feel.
The top layer Beneath the cover is the gel infused comfort layer responsible for dissipating heat. The 1.5" dual cloud foam layer comes next, offering excellent pressure relief. Also, it prevents sleepers from feeling stuck in the bed. Under this layer is a 2" transition layer which ensures you don't sleep hot since it wicks away moisture and humidity.
At the bottom, there are the support and the grip base layers. The support layer comprises Contour Adapt Coils which help stabilize the mattress for excellent edge support. The grip base layer is the last and assists in ensuring the mattress is secure on a frame.
Motion isolation is one of this bed's strengths, thanks to its thick memory foam comfort layer. So, it's not a mistake that it ranks among the top best memory foam mattresses in the industry. Moreover, this mattress is made of CertiPUR-US® certified foams and high-quality materials, which immensely boosts its durability.
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Athletes looking for the best mattress to achieve high quality sleep should consider the AS3 model of Amerisleep. The mattress has comfort and support layers, making up an incredible thickness of 12".
The comfort layer is made of a 3" plant-based proprietary Bio-pur foam, which is more breathable, open-celled, and responsive than traditional memory foam. Additionally, the layer is a pressure relieving memory foam, ensuring utmost relief on pressure points as you sleep. Like Puffy's foam, this layer is CertiPUR-US certified, meaning it contains a lesser percentage of volatile organic compounds.
Made from zoned pocketed coils is, the support layer that sits beneath the comfort layer. The coils are responsible for the bounce, structure, and response of the mattress, while the zoning offers extra lumbar support to the sleeper.
For improved mattress edge support, the coils are encased with memory foam. The high-density base layer lies beneath the coils to offer additional mattress support. Plus, it forms the mattress's foundational foam. Based on its construction, this firm mattress will give you the ideal deep sleep to help boost your sleep quality and athletic performance.
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The SleepOvation adopts a design like no other, especially in offering sleep comfort to boost your athletic performance. Generally, this mattress is made of pocketed springs and memory foam. Memory foam construction makes this mattress superior to traditional hybrid foam mattresses. With its independent foam pieces and springs, it can offer up to 700 pressure relief points.
This mattress is primarily suitable for athletes who are back and side sleepers. That's due to its unique grove feel you experience on your back and shoulders when you lie on the mattress surface. SleepOvation is the right mattress for those who often experience sciatica and hip and back pain. Also, this mattress will be an excellent choice for athletes who constantly suffer muscle injury as it promotes quick muscle recovery.
Temperature regulation is another significant feature most athletes who sleep hot will find quite beneficial with this mattress. This is primarily because of its knit cover and the mattress's overall design to dissipate heat and allow efficient airflow.
Not only is the SleepOvation cover breathable but also hypoallergenic. And so no need to worry about allergic attacks. Note that the cover is easily removable, and it's easily washable. Alternatively, you can vacuum between its air channels to remove dust particles, allergens, and bacteria.
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This year alone, the Nolah Mattress has won three major awards, with two of them being the best mattress for spinal alignment. Nolah Mattress has 3 layers: two comfort layers and a support layer. Like most mattresses, Nolah has a mattress cover that measures 2 inches in thickness. Quilted with Eurotop fibers, the ArcticTex cover is designed to dissipate heat and feel cool.
Sitting under the cover is a 2" Nolah AirFoamIce layer infused with graphite to offer extra pressure relief and promote general cooling. Beneath this layer is a high-resilience transition foam layer. Surrounding the top layers is an AirBreath heat escape gusset to provide extra comfort and cooling.
At the bottom lies the base layer comprising an edge support system and HDMax™ Eco Support Coils. Patented edge tech support foam surrounds the 8-inch coils. These coils are zoned to make the mattress much firmer towards the center.
Athletes with partners who constantly shift sleep positions should consider going for a Nolah Mattress. Its edge support is reasonably decent, so you don't have to worry about rolling off the bed's edge at night, thanks to its motion transfer.
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There's more to Mattress types like the Molecule Hybrid than simply just laying down on the sleep surface and then drifting off into a deep sleep. First things first, Molecule Hybrid has a total of 3 layers. The cover is thicker, breathable, and cozier than most, with a similar price point.
The comfort layer sits at the top and is made of 2" memory foam which allows sleepers to sink into the mattress comfortably. As a typical memory foam layer, it contours well around the sleeper's body for extra comfort.
Next is the 3" poly foam transition layer, which offers a quick response to pressure points for absolute pressure relief, thanks to its zoning. This layer is a bit firmer than the layer above it to prevent the sleeper from sinking into the mattress excessively. Within this layer are diamond-shaped zones that offer the feet and head more support, courtesy of their softer feel. Also, side sleepers benefit from the layer's spinal alignment mainly because of the construction design.
The 7" high-density poly foam layer sits at the base of the mattress to support the layers above it and the sleeper. Generally, a Molecule hybrid is a medium firm mattress given that it has a firmness scale that's slightly above average. Most athletes with sleeping partners will find motion isolation of this mattress quite a deal breaker.
Buyers Guide: How to Choose the Best Mattress for Athletes
When choosing the best mattress for athletes, the perfect pick depends entirely on your sleep position, body type, and personal preferences. However, there are also certain factors you need to put into consideration. They include:
Mattress Type
Memory foam mattresses have excellent pressure-relieving properties that can greatly benefit athletes. Latex mattresses are bouncy and contour to the body, but a little less so, while you can adjust airbeds for different contouring levels. For athletes who want mattresses that conform less and offer more support, hybrid or innerspring mattresses might be a perfect choice.
Pressure Relief
Pressure relief is vital if you value your sleep as a time for restoration. If your mattress isn't designed with pressure relief in mind, you may wake up with pain at various pressure points, such as the hips and shoulders.
If your sleep surface is too soft or firm, it likely won't offer excellent pressure relief. Materials like latex and high-density memory foam offer exceptional pressure relief to promote muscle recovery.
Mattress Firmness
Again, it's vital that you consider your sleeping position and whether you're getting the necessary comfort and support. For instance, if you sleep on your side, you won't want a sleep surface that's extremely firm because you could wake up with pain in your hips, shoulders, and joints. But if you're a stomach sleeper, soft mattresses could let your hips sink in too far, causing significant lower back pain.
Closing Thoughts
When it comes to picking the best mattress for athletes, the GhostBed Venus Williams Legend ranks highest amongst our picks. Its open-cell gel memory foam enhances air circulation, while the Exclusive Venus FIT Layer promotes better sleep and faster muscle recovery.
We especially like GhostBed's far infrared technology, which doesn't just help you sleep cool, but also improves blood circulation as you sleep. What's more, its pressure relieving foam alleviates pain and combats pressure points so you can wake up well-rested and pain-free. With that said, any of the mattresses mentioned above should help you get quality sleep, and if not, they all have sleep trial periods, which allow you to test the mattress and return if it doesn't satisfy your needs.
Gabe is the newest member of The Sleep Shop team. If you like the design of The Sleep Shop, give Gabe a thumbs up. He’s a digital marketing and design guru and the brains behind the design and SEO of The Sleep Shop. He also won’t say no to testing a ton of mattresses either, and helps on almost every mattress review.
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