Best Mattresses for a Herniated Disc, Reviewed by Doctors and Sleep Experts (2025)

The Helix Midnight Luxe is a mattress that checks all the boxes for a herniated disc — and more. This luxury hybrid was designed to offer medium-firm support and softness for side sleepers, but its versatility makes it comfortable for a range of sleepers. Our testers awarded it performance scores of 4 and above in each category, including high marks for back-sleeping pressure relief (4.3 out of 5) and edge support (4.8 out of 5).

Physical therapist Dr. Joe Tedesco found that the Helix Midnight Luxe worked especially well for both side and stomach sleepers who suffer from spinal pain. “On my side, I do feel that my pelvis is lifted, which can mean opening up space in the lower back,” he explained. “It can be a very therapeutic feeling.” When resting on his stomach, he found there was a “posterior pelvic tilt,” caused by his knees sinking in more than his backside. “This makes it a great mattress for stomach sleepers with back pain,” he added. 

Caine Wilkes, our larger-bodied tester, also recommended the mattress for heavy side sleepers: “The cushioning up top lets you sink in a little bit, but I still feel well supported.” However,  with its medium-firm feel (a 6.5 out of 10 on our scale), the Helix Midnight Luxe is plenty comfortable while resting on your back, too. I particularly enjoyed how the mattress contoured to the gap in my lower back, and I felt pretty aligned in this position. 

Though the Midnight Luxe has a softer feel on top, it doesn’t dampen the bed’s edge support, which my colleague Cait Giddings called “solid.” She said, “When lying on the edge of the bed, I didn’t feel at any risk of tumbling or sliding off.” Sitting on the edge, she felt a bit more sinkage, but nothing that had her worried. She did note that the foot of the bed had less reinforcement than the lengthwise edges, so stick to those for tying your shoes, for example.

The Helix Midnight should also appeal to hot sleepers, as Cait found this mattress “cool to the touch” on the surface. “I didn’t notice it heating beneath me while I lay there—I felt cool and crisp,” she explained. Even after getting up, she couldn’t feel much heat where her body had been, a sign that the mattress wasn’t holding onto it. “I don’t think sleeping hot would be an issue on this bed,” she finished, rating temperature regulation at 4 out of 5.

Where sleepers might encounter trouble is moving around easily on the surface. Cait likened it to “puffy cheese bread,” as she sank into the pillow top’s contours as she tried to move around. “I had to push up out of it to get moving, but it wasn’t difficult,” she explained. But if you’re looking to bounce effortlessly across the surface of your bed, check out the Saatva Classic.

For more information on this mattress, check out our full Helix Midnight Luxe mattress review.

If you sleep on your back, your mattress needs to offer the right amount of softness and support, ensuring that the gap near your lumbar spine is filled in — especially if you have a herniated disc in that area. The Nectar Classic Memory Foam is a medium-firm foam mattress with a cushy feel, easily filling in that pesky gap and keeping your body aligned and comfortably aloft. It earned an admirable 4 out of 5 for back-sleeping pressure relief, alongside high scores in motion isolation (4.7) and cooling (4.5).

Dr. Tedesco likened sleeping on the Nectar Classic Memory Foam to “lying on the flat ground,” a sensation he quite enjoyed for the neutral alignment it provided to the spine. “This can be good for people who need structure in a bed; so if you’re someone with back pain, loose ligaments, or joint instabilities, you might feel some really good orthopedic alignment,” he said. 

Our testers rated the Nectar Classic Memory Foam at a 6.5 out of 10 on our firmness scale, a true medium-firm feel. This makes it great for all sleeping positions, not just your back, so long as you like that “on-top” feel. 

Average-weight tester Sosha Lewis preferred the mattress on her back. “My spine is aligned very well and I don’t feel a ton of pressure building anywhere,” she said. 

But our heavyweight tester Caine Wilkes found the mattress comfortable on his side: “It feels more supportive than I was expecting.” I got to try out this mattress myself, and I thought that the cushiness of the foam lends just the right amount of pressure relief on the chest when stomach-sleeping. 

This cushiness also does a good job of absorbing motion, as my colleague Kenny Timper found out when we tested the mattress together. I got into the mattress and moved around, trying to mimic the typical movements of a restless bedmate. “I could feel Livvi jump into bed but had trouble figuring out if she was switching positions or not — which is great,” Kenny said. “I only felt her get in and out of bed, really, which is good news for light sleepers who share the bed.”

Motion isolation is a category we expect foam beds to do well in — but they’re not often the best for cooling, since the same density that absorbs motion also traps heat. Thankfully, the Nectar mattress doesn’t subscribe to this pitfall. The mattress is wrapped in a cooling cover, which Kenny found pulled its weight in our temperature tests. “I think the Nectar beds in general have excellent cooling,” he said. “I can tell I was on it because of the heat left behind, but I wasn’t noticeably heating up while lying there.”

Unfortunately, like many all-foam beds, the Nectar mattress did end up with some lackluster edge support. Kenny noticed it most while seated on the edge of the mattress: “I could definitely feel myself sliding off a bit. While I don’t think it’s an issue for most sleepers, I wouldn’t recommend this to people who need to bear down onto the mattress to stand up,” he said. But he found that lying down at the edge of the mattress didn’t pose too much of a problem — good news if you just like to spread out.

If you want better edge support in a foam mattress, check out the Bear Original. Otherwise, read more in our full Nectar mattress review.

Sciatica is a condition that involves compression of the sciatic nerve, which can lead to pain and numbness throughout the body. When further combined with symptoms of a herniated disc, it can be a troublesome issue for finding the right mattress for your needs. Thankfully, the WinkBed comes highly recommended by Dr. Tedesco for both. 

The bed’s priority is support, thanks to its sturdy coil unit, but it also features a pillow top to relieve pressure at the surface, which led the bed to earn a 4.3 in pressure relief for back sleepers. The WinkBed is also a star when it comes to edge support (4.4 out of 5) and motion isolation (4.3 out of 5)

The Luxury Firm model of the WinkBed came in at a comfortable medium-firm, a 6.5 out of 10 on our firmness scale. Dr. Tedesco found it kept him aligned in each sleeping position, a sign that it should work well for reducing back pain for a number of sleepers. When it came to evaluating the bed for sciatic pain, Dr. Tedesco thought the mattress relieved pressure around the pelvis and hips, especially. 

“Even if you have to switch from your back to your side or through various positions, you should still feel well enough supported that you won’t feel pressure buildup in your hips, which is important for those who have sciatica,” he explained.

When it came to our testers’ opinions, we found the mattress most comfortable for back sleepers. “I don’t ever sleep on my back, but this bed might convert me,” said Sosha Lewis, our average-weight tester. “It’s firm yet still provides contouring at my lower back, which sometimes causes issues for me.” 

This firmer feel that Sosha noticed extends to the edges of the mattress, giving them the upper hand for support. My colleague Riley Otis noted this made getting in and out of bed “pretty seamless.” She added, “I did notice a decent amount of sinkage under my weight when seated, but I didn’t feel unstable or like I was about to slide off the bed.” When she switched to lying down, she said the edges “felt just as strong as the center of the bed.” It’s a sign that the mattress should hold its shape well over time.

Though our testers thought the WinkBed had a more “on top” feel, the pillow top of this mattress helps to absorb movement before it travels across the surface. “I was impressed by the motion isolation on the WinkBed,” Riley said after testing the bed with a fellow tester. “Although I could detect a bit of motion, I think light sleepers would be able to sleep through it, as it didn’t jostle my body at all.”

However, the cushy pillow top did pose a challenge for Riley during the response test. She thought that mobility was “just average” on this mattress. “I definitely feel inhibited by the pillow top,” she explained. “I was able to move around and switch positions, but it did require noticeable effort.” If you’re looking for more seamless movement from a coil mattress, you might want to try out the Saatva Classic.

You can read more about this bed in our full WinkBed review.

Memory foam is known for its soothing, slow-moving feel, making it a top performer for pressure relief and appealing to sleepers with a herniated disc. However, it’s important that these mattresses also offer the proper support for your spine, which is just what the Bear Original does.

This affordably priced all-foam mattress has a slightly firmer feel that will have you feeling lifted on its surface, rather than sinking too far in. It has all the motion-absorbing capabilities of typical foam beds (earning a 4.7 out of 5 in this category), but also excels in a number of unexpected areas. We found it kept pretty cool (scoring 4.5 out of 5), had solid edge support (4.2), and even a bit of response (4).

That’s why my colleague Kate Meier opted to buy the Bear Original for herself. “I really wanted something that would be good for alleviating the back pain I was experiencing at the time,” she said. She was dealing with lower back pain and wanted something suitable for athletes and combination back-and-side-sleepers, boxes that the Bear Original checked. “After sleeping on this one, I noticed I felt better waking up, and I absolutely felt relief in my back,” she said.

Our heavyweight tester Caine Wilkes echoed Kate’s sentiments, though he specifically preferred the mattress on his back. “There’s no gap at my lower back,” he explained. “I feel supported here.”

The Bear Original’s firmer feel gives it a unique balance of motion isolation and response, often unheard of with foam mattresses. Fellow tester Riley Otis noticed that this mattress, though not particularly bouncy, didn’t have much sinkage when she moved on the surface. “I never felt trapped in the foam,” she said. But the foam was still dense enough to absorb motion in our couples’ test. “I was impressed by the motion isolation on the Bear Original,” she said. “I could only detect a very slight disturbance when my colleague got into bed and switched positions.”

The foams in this bed also didn’t trap heat, which should come as a boon to hot sleepers. As Riley lay down on the mattress, she noticed an initial cool-to-the-touch sensation. “As I was lying there, I could feel the bed adjusting to my body heat, but I never felt like it was uncomfortably hot,” she explained. “The Bear Original felt cool the entire time I was on it, which is impressive for an all-foam bed.”

While it’s a great foam bed for hot sleepers, it may not be the best for others. Our lightweight tester, Asha Birjah, was unable to find the pressure relief she needed on her side. “I do feel a little bit of pressure on my shoulder, and there’s not much sinkage,” she said. It’s not unexpected when you consider the bed’s slightly firmer feel. If you want something softer, you might like the Nolah Evolution, our pick for side sleepers.

Read more about this mattress in our dedicated Bear Original review.

Hybrid mattresses like the Brooklyn Bedding Signature offer the perfect balance of pressure relief and support for a herniated disc, thanks to their use of soft comfort layers and bouncy coils. The Signature Hybrid is a simple yet sweet, high-quality mattress that offers everything you could want in a typical hybrid without unnecessary frills or high costs. It earned its highest scores in cooling (4.5 out of 5) and edge support (4.3 out of 5), thanks to its coil layer, which provides airflow, structure, and support for a herniated disc.

The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid is available in multiple firmness levels for your choosing, and we tested out the mid-range Medium model. It came in at 6.5 out of 10 on our scale —a true medium-firm, perfect for accommodating a variety of sleeper types. 

Dr. Tedesco particularly recommended the mattress for “back or side sleepers dealing with back pain.” He explained, “I can tell that the bed is providing great support for my spine’s natural curves through the lumbar, thoracic, and cervical spine. You aren’t put in any unnatural position.”

Our testers heartily agreed with Dr. Tedesco’s findings. Heavyweight tester Caine Wilkes noted that he felt “supported all throughout” while resting on his side, adding, “My hips feel aligned with my spine.” Average-weight tester Sosha Lewis called the Signature Hybrid “not a very flashy mattress, but a solid one for pressure relief.”

Despite lacking many targeted cooling features, my colleague Kenny Timper still found the Signature Hybrid remained temperature-neutral during his cooling test. After resting on the mattress for 5 minutes, the surface temperature rose only 6 degrees, which we would usually see with a mattress featuring a cooling cover or gel-infused layers. “I didn’t feel it heat up too much while testing it,” he said. 

Kenny was also impressed by the bed’s edge support. There was only a small dip when sitting on the edge of the mattress, but nothing to cause slipping or sliding. Lying down, he only noticed “some slight sinkage” while resting on his back. “I didn’t feel like I was going to fall off at any point.” This means that the Signature Hybrid should do well if you like to spread out during sleep or sit down for tasks like tying your shoes.

Hybrid mattresses are usually prized for their bouncy nature, thanks to the coils within, but Kenny found that the top layers of the Signature Hybrid dampened their effectiveness. “The cover layer feels softer, so when you apply pressure to move from your back to your stomach, it sinks in a little more,” he explained. “It means you have to put in a little more effort moving from your back to your stomach.”

If you want a mattress with a surface you won’t sink into, check out the Plank Firm. Otherwise, you can read more in our dedicated Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid review.

If you’ve got the extra cash to invest in a new mattress, you might want to invest in a luxury bed. These high-end offerings can tout some of the best pressure relief and support out there, thanks to their high-quality construction. 

One of our favorites to recommend is the Saatva Classic; it’s what we call a “luxury innerspring,” featuring two coil units for double the support, plus a pillow top for plush contouring. It’s also the mattress I sleep on every night at home. It earned perfect scores for response and customer service, along with impressive showings for edge support (4.8 out of 5) and back-sleeping pressure relief (4.3 out of 5).

The Saatva Classic comes in three different firmness options, but we tested the Luxury Firm model. My colleague Kenny Timper rated it at a 7.5 on our firmness scale, skewing slightly firm. But our testers, including me, found enough pressure relief from the pillow top, especially on our backs. 

Heavyweight tester Caine Wilkes also found the mattress quite comfortable on his side. “I don’t feel any pressure in any one spot, and everything feels pretty aligned,” he explained. 

For folks with a herniated disc, Dr. Tedesco called this mattress “a great bed for people with back pain, no matter what their sleeping position is.” He found that pressure was evenly distributed across the body. “My spine is in a neutral position and very supported,” he said. “So if you’re unstable in your joints, you’ll enjoy this because you’re in a good anatomical position.”

Switching between sleeping positions should be a breeze on the Saatva Classic. At home on my Luxury Firm model, I’m able to roll from my stomach to my side without breaking a sweat. Kenny agreed as he assessed the mattress in the studio, saying, “I think this is pretty much the gold standard for combo sleepers.”

You can also rely on the Saatva Classic for a sturdy perimeter, whether it’s sitting or lying down at the edge of the mattress. I’m able to sleep with one leg slung over the side of the mattress if I so wish, and Kenny said that the edge “barely budged” when he sat down on it. “I think this mattress would be great for seniors and people with mobility issues,” he added.

Couples, however, may encounter some issues with the Saatva. I’m a notoriously light sleeper, and I always have to banish my guests to the air mattress when they stay over, even though I have ample space in my queen-size Saatva. The bed’s super-bouncy nature amplifies even the slightest movement on the surface, making it impossible to sleep without being disturbed. 

If you’re a light sleeper like me, check out the Nolah Evolution, which we consistently recommend for rowdy co-sleepers. Or you can check out more in our full Saatva Classic mattress review.

Side sleepers with a herniated disc need a mattress that relieves pressure on their hips and shoulders as they sink into the mattress, to ensure the spine remains properly aligned. A mattress that we love for side sleepers is the Nolah Evolution, a luxury hybrid with soft top layers for plenty of contouring. It earned a 4.3 out of 5 for side sleepers’ pressure relief, along with a perfect score for motion isolation, making it a great option for couples.

The Nolah Evolution comes in three different models, and we tested the mid-range Luxury Firm version. It has a medium-firm feel, a 6.5 out of 10 on our firmness scale, but a plush pillow top that gives it a bit more sinkage than you’d expect. This means that side sleepers can rest easily on this mattress. 

Dr. Tedesco noted a “feeling of weightlessness throughout your midline” while resting on the side. “I think people who have back pain could stand to benefit from this feeling,” he said. He noted the same feeling when resting on his back, which can appeal to side sleepers who also switch to that position.

Testers of all sizes agreed with Dr. Tedesco’s findings. “I don’t feel as much pressure around my shoulder as I have on other mattresses I’ve tested,” said heavyweight tester Caine Wilkes. “So, I’d recommend it for heavier side sleepers.” On the other end of the spectrum, lightweight tester Asha Birjah thought side-sleeping on the Evolution offered “a really good balance between firm and contouring.”

The contouring, doughy feel up top also earned the Nolah Evolution a rare perfect score for motion isolation. My colleague Sosha Lewis tried out the mattress alongside a fellow partner and said she “barely felt her movements at all,” except when she got into bed. “I’m a big fan of the Evolution’s motion isolation, especially since it’s a hybrid mattress,” Sosha added.

The edges of the Nolah Evolution are reinforced to counteract the pillow top’s plush nature, which Sosha also experienced firsthand. Though she noticed more sinkage when seated on the edge, lying down left her feeling pleasantly secure. “I felt very supported on the edge of this bed in every sleeping position,” she said. “It didn’t feel like I would roll off or that I was lying on the edge.”

With its stellar performance across every performance category, it’s hard to find a negative about the Evolution. However, I will note that this mattress arrived in our studio in less-than-stellar shape. Though it’s a luxury bed, it’s also a bed-in-a-box, and said box had seen better days. It made the unboxing process less than glamorous and a bit more tedious. 

If you want to eliminate the hassle, check out a bed with free white-glove delivery, like the Saatva Classic. You can read more about this bed in our Nolah Evolution mattress review.

Firm mattresses are popular choices for folks who need more support and like to rest “on top” of their mattress rather than sinking deep into it. This can be beneficial for folks with a herniated disc, especially if their current mattress is too soft to properly support them, compromising their spinal alignment. 

The Plank Firm lives up to its name as a flippable all-foam mattress offering two firmnesses in one: a traditional firm side and an extra-firm side for shoppers unsatisfied with so-called firm mattresses. Its firmer feel lends it an edge over traditional foam beds, particularly in the response (where it scored 5 out of 5) and edge support (4.2 out of 5) categories.

The Plank Firm is two mattresses in one. One side is a more approachable, “traditional” firm side, which we rated at about 7 out of 10 on our firmness scale. The extra-firm side came in at a 9 out of 10, which is one of the firmest we’ve encountered in our testing. For the average sleeper, we’d recommend sticking to the traditional side, especially for a herniated disc — but if you’re game, both sides should offer alignment for back and stomach sleepers.

Among our heavyweight testers, the Plank Firm was a hit for back sleeping. Caine Wilkes thought the traditional firm side felt “really good,” and that his hips and shoulders were even. Another tester, Marten Carlson, was genuinely surprised to find comfort on the extra-firm side. “I definitely feel supported,” he said, “and there’s good alignment.”

My colleagues Sosha Lewis and Riley Otis teamed up to tackle both sides of this mattress in our performance tests. They both agreed that the Plank Firm had amazing responsiveness on each, thanks to its lack of slow-moving foams. “It was very easy to move around on this bed, like rolling on any flat surface,” Riley said. Sosha added, “I think that this bed would be fantastic for combination sleepers and sexually active couples.”

With how firm the mattress feels, it’s no surprise that the edges also held their shape. Though Riley and Sosha both noticed more sinkage when seated directly on the perimeter of the bed, they found lying down at the edge held no issues. Regardless of which sleeping position she took, Sosha said there was “no fear of rolling out.” Riley echoed her sentiments: “I didn’t notice any sagging or sinking, and my body felt lifted.”

While the Plank Firm may be just what the doctor ordered for some sleepers, others might be put off by its super-firm profile. If you’re a lightweight sleeper or looking for deep sinkage, the Plank isn’t the right pick for you. Check out a cushier foam mattress — like the Nectar Classic.

Read our full Plank Firm mattress review to find out more.