Best Mattress for Sciatica

How in the world are you supposed to sleep with pulsing pains shooting up your hips and legs? Aside from seeking the advice and treatment of a medical professional, one thing you can do is buy one of the best mattresses for sciatica. This isn’t any ol’ mattress, but one that lifts your spine into a neutral alignment all the way from your shoulders to your hips.

If you suffer from sciatica, you know the pain that comes along with the condition can make sleeping comfortably quite the challenge. Since your sciatic nerve runs along the lower back, through the hips and the buttocks, all the way to the calves, when it becomes irritated the pain is no joke. Our team at Sleepopolis understands this struggle, and that’s why we wanted to help you out. Here are our top picks to help you decide the best mattress for sciatica.

Best Mattresses for Sciatica 2023

• Saatva – Best Overall
• Helix Dusk Luxe – Best Mattress in a Box for Sciatica
• Nectar – Best Value Mattress
• WinkBed – Best Hybrid Mattress for Sciatica
• Nolah Evolution – Best Mattress for Pressure Relief 
• Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid – Best Mattress for Couples
• Birch Luxe – Best Mattress for Hot Sleepers
• Bear Star Hybrid – Best Mattress for Athletes
• Layla – Best Mattress for Side Sleepers
• Titan Plus – Best Firm Mattress For Sciatica

Best Mattress for Sciatica 2023 – Our Video Roundup

 

Disclaimer: The content on Sleepopolis is meant to be informative, but shouldn’t replace advice or treatment from a medical professional. If you experience chronic pain or discomfort while sleeping, it’s best to consult a healthcare professional.

Our Methodology

We’ve reviewed more than 220 products in our mattress lab, running each one through tests such as pressure-mapping and measuring motion transfer with a seismometer. From there, we give every bed an overall score based on materials, comfort, support, cooling, and edge support. We also factor in brand performance with categories such as value and warranty.

Mattresses that aim to combat back pain of any kind will need to have a substantial amount of support, so we aimed to pick beds that scored high in that category. All of the mattresses that we selected scored at least a 4 out of 5 on support. Additionally, we selected durable mattresses that scored high in our Materials category. A mattress with low-quality materials typically isn’t good at alleviating or preventing back pain. That’s why all mattresses tested at least 4 out of 5 on materials. Click here to learn more about our methodology.

Saatva – Best Overall

The Saatva is considered a luxury innerspring bed and comes in three different firmness levels. It’s built with a coil-on-coil construction, meaning it has two layers of coils: a layer of larger steel coils below and a layer of smaller, individually wrapped coils above. These individually wrapped coils move with your body, helping to provide pressure relief where you need it. It also includes a layer of memory foam between its coil layers to offer extra relief at the lower back. This combination of comfort and support is what led us to choose the Saatva as our Best Overall mattress on this roundup.

Overall, we think the Saatva is quite a bouncy mattress, with a nice amount of firm support. We think it works well if you like to switch positions throughout the night too, since you’ll definitely feel more on top of this mattress than in it.

Learn more in the full Saatva mattress review, or if you’re still searching for the perfect bed, check out our roundup of the best mattresses of 2022.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

Helix Dusk Luxe – Best Mattress in a Box for Sciatica

Helix sells a lot of different hybrid mattresses in a box, and has a standard line and luxe line for each model. We think the Luxe line is the way to go for sciatica sufferers because it has a pillow top layer over its memory foam, which offers a plush feel and added pressure relief. The Dusk is a smart choice for back pain, since it’s in that medium firmness range that works for a lot of different sleepers, from side sleepers to stomach sleepers. We also think hybrid mattresses can be helpful for lower back pain because they offer the springy support that helps keep your spine in a straight line.

For more on the Helix Luxe Line, check out our full Helix Dusk Luxe mattress review. You can also peruse our roundup of the best bed-in-a-box mattresses for more choices.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

Nectar – Best Value Mattress

The Nectar’s medium-soft feel makes it an optimal choice for anyone struggling with back pain. It performed great on our pressure map test with its all-foam layers. Its top layers of gel memory foam and soft conventional foam fill in the lumbar region to relieve pressure. But it’s also a supportive bed for back sleepers and should bode well for side sleepers, too, as it soothingly contours the shoulders and hips. Best of all? It comes at a value price. Before any promotions or discounts, you can often get a queen-size Nectar for under $1,000. This price goes down even further once you’ve applied coupons.

Take a look at our Nectar mattress review for our full breakdown. You can also check out our best cheap mattress page for more options.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

WinkBed – Best Hybrid Mattress For Sciatica

Anyone looking to soothe their sciatic nerve while still feeling supported should definitely consider the hybrid construction of the WinkBed. Built with a combination of springs and foams, this mattress should give back sleepers (especially those struggling with lower back pain) the pressure relief they need from a pillow top comfort layer of gel memory foam. Below that, a tall support layer of pocketed coils gives a slight lift. The coils are zoned, meaning they’re able to give different areas of the back different levels of support.

The WinkBed is available in four different models: Softer, Luxury Firm, Firmer, and Plus. We recommend Luxury Firm or Firmer for back sleepers, and the Plus for heavy sleepers who weigh over 250 pounds.

Does this mattress sound like the one for you? Then get all the details in our full WinkBed mattress review. You can also see some other choices on our best hybrid mattress page.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

Nolah Evolution – Best for Pressure Relief

The Nolah Evolution has not one, but two comfort layers, meaning there’s a ton of pressure relief here for anyone dealing with lower back pain. In terms of material, one layer is made of a proprietary material called AirFoamIce — the brand’s version of memory foam that also has a graphite infusion for extra cooling. Side sleepers and back sleepers should immediately experience some pressure relief while lying down, all while feeling supported from a layer of coils at the bottom. The springs even have an additional edge support system, allowing you to spread out across the entire mattress without feeling like you’re going to fall off.

Ready to evolve your sleep experience? Check out our full Nolah Evolution mattress review. 

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid – Best Mattress for Couples

The three factors that we find to be most important when looking for a mattress for couples are firmness, motion isolation, and edge support. We like to recommend a mattress with a medium firm support level, so couples that like to sleep in different positions can find a nice compromise on feel. You’ll also want to make sure that the mattress does a good job isolating motion transfer so that restless sleepers won’t wake up the other person in bed when they start rolling around. Finally, edge support allows people to sleep near the end of the bed, providing more surface area to sleep on, and making the bed feel a little bigger.

The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid mattress checks all of the boxes when it comes to attributes that makes a mattress great for couples. Along with that we think it’s just generally a good mattress for back and side combination sleepers. If you and your partner struggle with sciatica or lower back pain are looking for a new mattress, start your search with the Brooklyn Signature Hybrid.

Read our Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid review for more information. You can also check out other options on our best mattress for couples page.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

Birch Luxe – Best Mattress for Hot Sleepers

It’s a good idea to opt for a mattress that’s not only good for lower back pain but also for cooling. The last thing sleepers struggling with pain need is to wake up sweating in the middle of the night. The Birch Luxe is great for back pain because it has a firmer, supportive feel but plenty of pressure relief around the lumbar region. Zoned coils provide adequate firmness in the right places. As an added bonus, it’s an organic luxury mattress, so there are many quality materials in its makeup.

The Birch Luxe is great for hot sleepers as well. Moisture-wicking wool in the comfort layer, naturally cooling latex in the relief layer, and breathable coils all contribute to the Birch Luxe’s cooling abilities.

For more information, head on over to our main Birch Luxe mattress review. You can also see more options for hot sleepers on our best cooling mattress page.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

Bear Star Hybrid – Best Mattress for Athletes

Due to their active lifestyles, athletes are often subject to pain in the lower back and sciatic nerve. But they might find the remedy they’re looking for in the Bear Star Hybrid (formerly known as the Bear Hybrid). At a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale, this mattress should give them the proper amount of contouring and pressure relief, all while creating support with a bottom layer of pocketed coils. But its real standout feature is a cover made of Celliant, a material that may assist with blood flow and muscle recovery after a long workout or sporting match.

Ready to hibernate on the Bear Star Hybrid? Learn more in our full Bear Star Hybrid mattress review. We also have other options on our best mattress for athletes page.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

Layla – Best Mattress for Side Sleepers

The most common complaint that we hear from side sleepers looking for a new mattress is that their shoulders hurt from sleeping on a mattress that’s too firm for them. We generally recommend softer mattresses to side sleepers to make sure they’re able to get relief at joints like the shoulders and hips. But side sleepers that suffer from lower back pain might need a firmer mattress to keep their spines in proper alignment.

The all-foam Layla offers the best of both worlds because it’s flippable with two sides — a Soft and a Firm. Side sleepers will likely be most comfortable on the Soft side, experiencing both contouring and deep sinkage. And thanks to an inner layer of more supportive foam, they should get the firmness they need for that neutral spine alignment that we mentioned. This will help prevent shoulder and lower back pain.

Read the full Layla review for our full testing results. You can also see some more choices on our best mattress for side sleepers page.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

Titan Plus – Best Firm Mattress

You might want a firm mattress if you are a stomach sleeper, as firm mattresses are great for keeping stomach sleepers’ hips elevated.  Or you might want one if you sleep on your back and don’t want to feel as though you’re sinking into your bed. Fortunately, a firmer mattress can also help sleepers with sciatica. The Titan Plus mattress is a firm luxury hybrid mattress that offers the support people with sciatica need, but also provides some pressure relief, thanks to its comfort layer of Titanflex foam. This is a proprietary material that simultaneously offers contouring and responsiveness.

It’s worth noting that the Titan Plus was designed with heavier sleepers in mind. So folks under 250 pounds might have a different experience in regards to firmness and feel. For people of average weight, we think this firm mattress is the best fit for back sleepers and stomach sleepers.

Interested in learning more? Read our full Titan Plus mattress review. Or if you want some more options, check out our best firm mattress page.

Ready to purchase? Click here to get the best deal.

What is Sciatica?

Now that we’ve gone over our picks, let’s chat a bit about sciatica. For those unfamiliar with the term, it basically refers to any pain that radiates along the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower back down either one or both legs. Oftentimes, it’s caused by a herniated disk or bone spur pressing against the nerve, activating a pain response from the body.

If you’ve never experienced the pain before, it kind of feels like a tingling numbness that can range in intensity from mild to excruciating. Though uncomfortable, it is treatable, either by medical consult, stretching, or the simple passage of time. One way to mitigate sciatic irritation is to invest in a highly supportive mattress, which lifts the hips in alignment with the shoulders and provides uniform pressure relief across the body.

FAQs

Well folks, that does it for our guide to the best mattresses for sciatica and lower back pain! When looking for one of your own, make sure to keep a firm eye trained on support, firmness, and mobility to ensure comfort and range of motion while you snooze.

Summary: The Best Mattresses for Sciatica

Bridget Chapman

Bridget is a Certified Sleep Science Coach and senior editor here at Sleepopolis. From testing mattresses to writing about various sleep health topics, her goal is to help you get a good night's sleep. You can also find her in videos on our YouTube channel. Bridget graduated magna cum laude from San Diego State University with a degree in journalism and a minor in English. Before joining the Sleepopolis team, she was a TV news reporter and worked in cities across the country. She loves spending time outdoors, checking out new restaurants, snuggling with her pets, and of course — getting some quality Zzz’s.