Finding The Best Mattress For Sciatica Suffers
Last Updated: February, 2021
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It’s impossible to sleep when you can’t get comfortable. You might think that you’ll never be able to get comfortable when your sciatica starts acting up, but a good mattress can make all the difference in the world. Replace that old mattress you’ve had for years, and take a look at these options that are made to specifically help with your sciatica pain.
According to our tests, the best mattress for sciatica is the Nolah Signature 12" Mattress. It's soft, yet supportive and cradles your body, helping relieve the pain associated with sciatica.
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7 Best Mattresses For Sciatica
Nolah Signature 12" Mattress
This super soft mattress is designed to help relieve pressure and help with sciatica pain, especially for side sleepers. It's a plush all foam mattress that's built to last.
Layla Copper Infused Memory Foam Mattress
The infused copper in this Layla mattress makes it special. These are what keep you cool, no matter if you choose the firm mattress side or soft side of the mattress.
Nectar Queen Mattress
Pick out the Nectar Queen if you’re looking for an option to mold to your body just right. This comfortable mattress will keep you cool and dry all night.
Brooklyn Signature Hybrid Mattress
This Brooklyn Signature Mattress is special because it’s adjustable. You can pick out a version that keeps you stable depending on your comfort level and it’s great for side sleepers.
Casper Sleep Foam Mattress
You have four layers of foam in the Casper Sleep Foam Mattress. This mattress isn’t hot by any means though, not with all the little pores in the foam to keep you cool.
Classic Brands Cool Gel Mattress
The form on this Classic Brands Mattress is specifically supposed to support your back. It helps that it’s gel, which keeps you cool all night too.
Lucid Hybrid Queen Mattress
The bamboo charcoal infusions in this Lucid Hybrid Queen make this both a great hypoallergenic option while wicking away sweat efficiently every night.
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When it comes to relieving the pains associated with sciatica, it's all about pressure relief. When you take the pressure off of your sciatic nerve, your body gets a break and can recover. The best pressure relief comes with a soft-top mattress with great underlying pressure. The Nolah Signature 12" mattress is exactly that.
It's designed for side sleepers, but back sleepers and combination sleepers will find it comfortable as well. It provides excellent pressure relief in your neck, hips, and spine. It also has great motion isolation. This means that once you fall asleep, you won't be woken up if your partner gets in and out of bed or moves around while they sleep.
If you're looking for the best possible bang for your buck to help with sciatica pain, try out the Nolah Signature 12" mattress. If you're not happy with it, you get free shipping and returns, as well as a 100 night trial and lifetime warranty. Want to know more? Read the full Nolah mattress review.
What We Like
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When you pick up this Layla Copper Infused Memory Foam Mattress, you’re getting something unique with the copper infused cooling system. This means that you’ll be able to have a cooler sleep all night no matter what position you lay in. It helps that the thermogel infused cover disperses heat when you sleep too. You can even flip this mattress for comfort so that you can have two firmness levels in just one mattress. The Layla is certainly one of the best foam mattresses.
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3. Nectar Queen Mattress
What We Like
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There’s a reason why Nectar is one of the fastest growing brands when it comes to mattresses. First off, when you buy it, you get two free premium pillows, but that’s just extra. What you really want is the mattress. This queen is meant to support you in any position with the best firmness, coolness, breathability, and comfort all at once. It’s made to mold to your body while still being firm enough to support you properly. Relax on both cool and warm nights, since Nectar is made to regulate your temperature all night long.
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4. Brooklyn Signature Hybrid Mattress
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This Brooklyn Signature Hybrid Mattress is designed with breathable materials and patented cooling technology, not to mention the 1024 individual pocketed coils that should help you get a great sleep experience. It helps that this mattress comes in three comfort levels to fit to your individual sleep style. Pick out your firmness depending on your sleep style and comfort level, but no matter what firmness you pick, you’ll still be getting a quality mattress that fits most bed frames and your back perfectly.
5. Casper Sleep Foam Mattress
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Check out this Casper Sleep Foam Mattress if you’re looking for something soft underneath you. There are four layers of premium foam after all, in addition to the zone support for comfort and alignment. Don’t worry about being too hot either, since all the foam is made to be breathable, with tiny pores that will let hot air out so that you’ll stay cool at night. You’ll sink into this mattress pretty well at night.
6. Classic Brands Cool Gel Mattress
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If you’re looking for some premium pressure-relieving memory foam, look no further than Classic Brands Cool Gel Mattress. With the aerated cool gel memory foam, you can relax with just the right amount of support and no more hot nights keeping you awake. The layers of foam are made to help align your back while giving you a high-density base that conforms to your body for the best support possible. It’s great that this is a hypoallergenic option too with an impressive durability.
7. Lucid Hybrid Queen Mattress
What We Like
What We Don't Like
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One thing you won’t find in any other mattress are the bamboo charcoal infusions that the Lucid Hybrid Queen Mattress has. These infusions are made to eliminate odor and pull moisture away from your skin so that you won’t be waking up in a cold sweat. This also means that this bed is naturally hypoallergenic, with high-quality transition foam infused with aloe for a calming, and very comfortable, sleep. Lie back on this foam bed to feel plush support underneath you as you get to bed.
What Causes Sciatica?
Sciatic nerve pain comes from the sciatic nerve in the back, which happens to be the longest nerve in the body. All of your nerve roots come together to form the sciatic nerve, which extends down your hips and into each leg. So, when you have sciatica pain, this is the result of your nerve roots pinching together or pressure on those roots. There are many other causes of sciatica though. Choosing the best mattress for sciatica can help reduce pain while you sleep, and when you're awake.
Herniated Discs
The discs in your back have support in them which keeps them stable, so when you slip a disc, there’s a tear in the support that causes the disk to bulge and bump into the nerve. Any other issues with your discs will lead to sciatica pain too.
Usually though, in this case you’ll feel anything from slight numbness to a tingling or stabbing pain. This pain can be all the way up your back, butt, and leg. This is why having the right mattress is so important
Abnormal Growths
If there’s anything in your back that shouldn’t be there, those will also cause trouble with your sciatica. Think of tumors, internal bleeding, infection, injury, or a few other options like bone spurs or spinal stenosis. Be sure to visit a doctor to handle these issues, and hopefully your sciatica will improve as a result.
Additional Factors
Beyond physical pains, there are a few risk factors that may cause sciatica, such as being older or obesity. There are even jobs which may contribute to sciatica, like things that involve heavy lifting, pulling, or manual labor. Jobs that require prolonged sitting can cause problems too since they tend to put pressure on your spine.
Mattress Factors to Consider For People with Sciatica
Sciatica can possibly go away on its own, meaning that you don’t always need a doctor to help you. Especially if you have the right latex mattress, you can see a huge improvement in your pain when the foam relaxes your back. Consider these factors before you make your choice.
Support and Durability
Think about your bed based on the support it has, since the best way to help your back is to ensure that better spinal alignment. All the support in the world won’t help you though if it’s not a durable mattress and the support doesn’t last. You don’t want a mattress that will lose support, sag, or become irritable quickly.
Firmness
Firmness and support are different things, so firmness is how soft or firm your mattress feels. Most mattresses are a little more firm than soft, but firmer mattresses are generally great for heavier people or two people sharing a mattress since they prevent you from sinking. Lighter people may prefer something softer, since a firmer mattress won’t conform enough to your body shape. As a general rule, a medium mattress is best for most people, but if you like a firmer feel, a medium firm may be best. If you like a softer feel, a medium soft mattress may be best. If you're buying a medium firm or medium soft mattress online, make sure you go with a company that allows you to test it out and return the medium firm or medium soft mattress for a new mattress if you don't like it.
Pressure Relief
When you lie down, you want something that will conform to your body so that your spine will be in alignment. A mattress without proper pressure relief won’t help your body sink at a good angle, which will only make your pain that much worse. Think about how well a mattress will conform to your body then and if it’s made to fit your shape.
Thickness
For the most part, you’ll want a thick option when you’re picking your mattress to help you handle sciatica pain. The thicker the better, since this will provide you with better support compared to thinner models.
Motion Isolation and Motion Transfer
This is very important when you have someone else in your bed, whether that’s your pet or your partner. Either way, having a stable mattress will isolate the motion so that you don’t feel it every time someone gets up to go to the bathroom or shifts during the night.
Sleeping Tips
Your mattress will go a long way in helping you feel comfortable throughout the night. The right option will keep you sleeping properly, but it helps to have a few tips to make sleeping that much more possible.
Sleeping Positions
For stomach sleepers with sciatica nerve pain, think about potentially switching it up. Sleeping on your stomach tends to lead to more irritation and back pain, so while it’s hard to change positions, sleeping on your side or back will help you sleep better in the long run. Sleeping on your back with your knees elevated is the best position, or you can try propping your knees up on a pillow to help reduce pain. If you're a side sleeper, you can also try looking for the best mattress for side sleepers to help with sciatic nerve pain. Mattresses for side sleepers are normally softer and can help you sleep through the night.
Couples
It can be a little bit difficult to sleep alone when you have sciatica nerve pain, but it’s not always easy to find a new mattress that will work for both you and your partner if one or both of you is dealing with pain.
Try to look for an option that has motion isolation so that your partner won’t feel it when you get up, or when you move around in your sleep. You should also try an option that’s stable even at the corners so that the both of you can sleep well.
Trials and Warranty
Having a mattress with at least a 5 year warranty is preferable, however, most companies offer a 10 year warranty or longer. The longer the warranty, the better protected your investment is. Generally speaking, hybrid mattresses last the longest, due to their construction, but you should still look for a good warranty. If you're opting for one of the all foam mattresses, make sure it has at least a 10 year warranty before purchasing online. All foam mattresses are great with motion isolation, but they don't always last as long, or have the edge support that hybrids do.
Trials are also important so you can do your own mattress review. You should use websites like ours as a guide, but you shouldn't blindly trust our mattress review outcomes. Everyone is different, and a mattress is a very personal purchase. Most companies will offer at least a 3 month trial, with others going as long as a year or more. Make sure you're comfortable with the trial period so you can make sure you love the type of mattress you purchased.
Conclusion
Sciatica sufferers don’t have to suffer from broken sleep. Not when you have the best mattress for sciatica sufferers on your side. Pick out your mattress based on how much support you’d like, how much foam it has, or how cool it keeps you at night, but no matter which one you get, you’ll hopefully be getting a much better night sleep. With options like these, your sciatica will feel much better in no time.
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.