Helix Mattress Review

Written by Logan Block, Mattress Reviewer

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Our Certified Sleep Science Coaches have reviewed more than 220 mattresses in our lab, testing each one on its materials, comfort, cooling, support, and other categories.
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In This Review

I’ll be reviewing Helix’s line of 6 mattresses. They vary in firmness and support levels so there is an option for every sleeper type and body weight. The Helix Midnight is the most popular as it appeals to the largest range of people.

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Launched in 2015, Helix Sleep grew into one of the most popular bedding brands on the market. What sets it apart from the competition is its expansive line of mattresses, ranging from the super-soft to the ultra-firm and sturdy. This variety allows sleepers of different styles and preferences to find a mattress that works for them. In this roundup of Helix mattress reviews, I’m going to introduce you to some of the beds from the standard Helix line.

We’ll be talking about six mattresses that have different firmness levels: the plush Sunset, the soft Moonlight, the medium-firm Midnight, the responsive Dusk, the supportive Twilight, and the firm Dawn. I’ll briefly describe the models, chat up their distinct features, and then provide links to full reviews of each bed.

Helix also offers each mattress in a Luxe version. You can head to our roundup of Helix Luxe mattress reviews to learn all about them. While all of the standard Helix mattresses are different, they do happen to share a lot of similarities, so let’s kick things off by exploring a few of those.

Helix Mattress Video Review

Helix Mattress Similarities

As I mentioned up top, there are six mattresses in the standard Helix line. Though they have distinct vibes, their designs are similar. So, let’s examine some of the attributes present in each bed.

• Hybrid Build: Every Helix has a hybrid design, so they’re built with foam top layers over wrapped coils. While the amount and type of foam varies, the unified hybrid design ensures that each bed produces a balanced vibe of both pressure relief and support.
• Cooling: Similarly, all Helix mattresses are designed to sleep cool. Not only do the sections of pocketed coils promote excellent airflow throughout the mattress, but each Helix bed also features a “Soft Touch” cover made of a stretchy and breathable fabric. If you’re a naturally hot sleeper, you could find a lot to love in the Helix line of mattresses.
• Pressure Relief: Excellent pressure relief is a big selling point for each Helix mattress. From the softest model to the firmest one, these beds work to actively alleviate tension across the spine and body.
• Edge Support: Each Helix mattress features a robust section of reinforced edge support around the bed. This maximizes the usable surface area of the structure, allowing sleepers to snooze all the way to the sides. It’s an important feature for all to consider, but one that could be especially beneficial for couples. It also adds to the mattresses’ durability, as it prevents premature sagging.
• Shipping: Each Helix is a bed-in-a-box mattress, so it ships compressed in a box. You’ll have to unbox it at home and allow about 24 hours for it to fully decompress.

Comparing Helix Mattresses

Let’s dig into each standard Helix mattress one by one. I’ll provide you with a brief product summary, talk about what kinds of sleepers might like it most, and then close things out with a link to a more in-depth mattress review. Check out the handy chart below to learn the basics about each of these beds. 

Helix Sunset

The softest bed in the Helix line, the Sunset employs a top layer of plush memory foam for deep contouring and pressure relief. Though the bed is stabilized by a sturdy section of pocketed coils, you’re likely to enjoy some nice sinkage.

Construction Specs:

• Comfort layer – The Sunset comfort layer is built with the brand’s special “Memory Plus Foam,” which has a slow response to pressure for contouring relief at the shoulders and hips.
• Transition layer – This layer is made of the Helix Dynamic Foam. It has a similar feel to latex, so it’s bouncy, supportive, and slightly firmer than the memory foam above it.

Firmness: 5.5/10 on the firmness scale. When compared to the industry standard of 6.5/10 for medium firmness, it’s clear that this bed is quite soft.

Motion Transfer: Low motion transfer, which means the bed is excellent at dissipating movement evenly across the structure. This is a big plus for couples, who shouldn’t wake each other while tossing and turning at night.

Pressure Relief: The thick top layer of memory foam provides excellent pressure relief to the shoulders, hips, and lower back.

I’d recommend the Sunset as the best mattress for side sleepers. These folks prefer softer structures that provide deep pressure relief at the shoulders and hips. They should find lots of comfort in this plush and gentle bed.

Helix Moonlight

The next softest bed in the Helix line is the Moonlight. It differs from the Sunset in that it utilizes the brand’s Dynamic Foam in both the comfort and transition layers, producing a gentle yet buoyant vibe.

Construction Specs:

• Comfort layer – Built with the latex-like Dynamic Foam, this layer is buoyant, soft, and naturally cooling. It’s got a quick response to pressure, so it should position the sleeper more on top of the bed than in it.
• Transition layer – Next up, you’ll land on yet another layer of Dynamic Foam. This gives more lift and support to the structure.

Firmness: 5.5/10 on the firmness scale. Like the Sunset, this bed is soft.

Motion Transfer: The bed is okay at isolating motion, though the double layers of Dynamic Foam do produce some bounce. Long story short — this may not be the best bed for couples.

Pressure Relief: While it doesn’t provide the same deep contouring relief that the Sunset does, the Moonlight does feature some nice pressure relief at the hips and lower back.

For that reason, I’d recommend the Moonlight for side sleepers and back sleepers who prefer a softer mattress. The top layers of foam should provide some nice pressure relief to the lumbar region while the coils work to lift the hips in line with the shoulders. 

Helix Midnight

Billed as the brand’s most popular model, the Helix Midnight is a medium-firm option for folks in search of deep pressure relief. Here, you’ll find a balanced feel of both gentle memory foam and bouncy Dynamic Foam.

Construction Specs:

• Comfort layer – The Midnight’s comfort layer is the same memory foam material we saw in the Sunset. This sets a pressure-relieving tone full of sinkage and deep body-contouring.
• Transition layer – However, whereas we saw a Dynamic Foam transition layer in the Sunset, here, we’ve got one of high-grade polyfoam. This material is quite firm, so works to curb the sinkage of the top layer of memory foam.

Firmness: 6/10 on the firmness scale. When compared to the industry standard of 6.5 for medium firmness, it seems this bed is right about medium-firm.

Motion Transfer: The top layer of memory foam helps absorb and dissipate movement, so this bed isolates motion pretty well.

Pressure Relief: This mattress is fantastic at relieving pressure at sensitive spots along the body, namely the shoulders, hips, and lower back.

All in all, I think this could be a great all-purpose bed for a range of sleeping positions. It’s firm, but not too firm; soft, but not too soft, which means it strikes a satisfyingly balanced vibe. Back-and-side combo sleepers could be particularly well-suited to the Helix Midnight.

Helix Dusk

Like the Midnight, the Helix Dusk is a medium-firm model. However, it places a layer of Dynamic Foam over memory foam to create a slightly bouncier feel than the other Helix models we’ve discussed.

Construction Specs:

• Comfort layer – A top layer of Helix’s latex-like Dynamic Foam sets a bouncy yet pressure-relieving tone from the jump. Though you won’t sink into this layer like you would on memory foam, you’ll still likely experience it as fairly soft.
• Transition layer – Beneath the Dynamic Foam, we land on a thin layer of memory foam. By placing it here, Helix has helped reduce the material’s sinkage while still taking advantage of its fantastic body-contouring properties.

Firmness: 6/10 on the firmness scale. When compared to the industry standard of 6.5 for medium firmness, this bed is about medium-firm.

Motion Transfer: The Dusk doesn’t transfer motion super-well, so you might feel your partner’s movements in the night.

Pressure Relief: There’s some nice relief on the Dusk, but it’s not the same kind of deep pressure relief you’d experience on the Sunset or the Midnight.

In fact, I’d recommend the Helix Dusk primarily for back sleepers and combination sleepers. These folks should enjoy the combination of pressure relief and bounce, ensuring pain-free sleep without that “stuck-in-the-bed” feeling.

Helix Twilight

Built with layers of memory foam and sturdy high-density poly foam, the Helix Twilight is a firm bed for folks who still need some pressure relief at the shoulders and lower back. It’s the second-firmest mattress in the line, so it should work best for back and stomach sleepers.

Construction Specs:

• Comfort layer – As we’ve seen in some of the other models listed here, the Twilight kicks things off with memory foam. This material has a slow response to pressure, so it allows the sleeper to sink in for cushiony relief at the shoulders, hips, and lower back.
• Transition layer – A transition layer of high-density poly foam ensures that the structure doesn’t get too overwhelmed by the memory foam comfort layer’s sinkage. Since poly foam is so much firmer than memory foam, it sets the tone for the bed’s overall feel.

Firmness: 7/10 on the firmness scale. When compared to the industry standard of 6.5 for medium firmness, this bed is on the firmer side.

Motion Transfer: This mattress isolates motion fairly well, thanks to the top layer of memory foam, which works to actively absorb and dissipate movement across the structure.

Pressure Relief: While the memory foam top layer does provide a bit of cushioning at the shoulders, I think this bed provides the most pressure relief at the hips and lower back.

That being said, I’d recommend the Helix Twilight for back, stomach, and combo sleepers. These folks should enjoy the bed’s firmness and bounce, which work to position the sleeper more “on top” of the bed than “in” it.

Helix Dawn

The Helix Dawn is the firmest bed in the Helix line, made with layers of bouncy Dynamic Foam, sturdy poly foam, and supportive pocketed coils.

Construction Specs:

• Comfort layer – The Dawn’s comfort layer is composed of the brand’s Dynamic Foam, which sets things off with a bouncy, supportive, and cooling vibe.
• Transition layer – Below the layer of Dynamic Foam, you’ll land on a section of high-density poly foam. Firm with a quick response to pressure, this material works to bring a ton of lift and support to the structure.

Firmness: 7.5/10 on the firmness scale. When compared to the industry standard of 6.5 for medium firmness, it’s clear this bed is on the firm side.

Motion Transfer: This bed doesn’t isolate motion super-well, so you could feel your partner’s movements in the night. Of all the Helix mattresses, this is both the firmest and the bounciest, so it makes sense that it wouldn’t have the best motion isolation.

Pressure Relief: I felt the most relief when I was lying on my back and stomach. In both positions, I could feel the top layers of foam lifting my hips in alignment with my shoulders for some nice pressure relief across the spine.

Given how bouncy, firm, and supportive the Helix Dawn is, I’d recommend it most for back and stomach sleepers. These folks will benefit most from the bed’s strong lift, which situates the sleeper squarely on top of the structure.

More from Helix

Beyond its standard line of six hybrid mattresses, Helix has a complimentary Luxe line, in which each bed corresponds to its standard version, but with a few souped-up features. Helix also offers the Helix Plus, which is specifically designed for heavy people. Lastly, there’s the Birch, which is a separate Helix brand — the Birch is an all-natural, eco-friendly mattress. And somewhat recently, both Helix and Birch have branched out into the world of children’s mattresses.

Helix Luxe

• The Helix Luxe line basically takes the six standard mattresses and amps them up with a pillow top, extra layers of foam, and zoned support coils. The zoned support coils are a plus for anyone with back pain, since they promote a neutral spinal alignment. 
• The Helix Luxe mattresses include a Tencel mattress cover, which is more breathable than the standard cover and regulates temperature.
• Though most sleepers will enjoy this elevated, luxurious feel of the Luxe beds, I especially like them for couples. The extra foam helps to isolate motion across the structures.
• The Luxe mattresses sleep slightly cooler than their standard counterparts, which could be a big plus for those who overheat at night.
• Not surprisingly, the Luxe mattresses are more expensive than the standard ones.
• For more information, check out my full Helix Luxe mattress reviews.

Helix Plus

• The Helix Plus is Helix’s mattress that is specifically designed for heavier sleepers (those over 250 pounds).
• Its reinforced steel coils support larger body types and its comfort layer has dense memory foam that won’t squish down as easily as traditional memory foam.
• It’s well-suited for heavy back sleepers, who should find a nice mix of pressure relief and support in this hybrid bed.
• Learn more in my full Helix Plus mattress review.

Birch

• The Birch is found on a separate Helix-owned site. It is an eco-friendly mattress that’s made with all-natural, non-toxic materials.
• It has a nice bouncy feel (thanks to its latex comfort layer) and is a good option for combination sleepers.
• It has a firmer feel and will be most comfortable for back, stomach, and back and stomach combination sleepers.
• The Birch is more expensive than the standard Helix mattresses.
• Learn more in my full Birch mattress review.

Helix Kids Mattress

• Helix has launched a mattress made specifically for kids. With a core of innerspring coils, the bed is flippable, with memory foam layers on both sides of the springs.
• One side of the Helix Kids mattress is firmer and designed for 3–7 year-olds, with the other side a bit softer and designed for 8–12 year-olds. 
• Full Helix Kids mattress review coming soon!

Birch Kids Natural Mattress

• There’s also a Birch mattress for kids. It has a similar design to the Helix Kids mattress (a core of coils with memory foam on each side), but is made with organic and sustainable materials.
• Some of the mattress’ environmentally friendly credentials include Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and GREENGUARD Gold certifications. These certifications mean the bed has met the highest standards of safety. 
• Like the Helix Kids mattress, the Birch is flippable, with a firmer side for younger children and a softer side for older kids.
• Full Birch Kids Natural mattress review coming soon! In the meantime, click here for more info on the launch of this unique bed.

Helix Mattress Review Summary

Helix mattresses offer a wide range of support levels and feels so there’s one for every type of sleeper. I think the Helix Midnight and Dusk mattresses will appeal to the widest range of sleep preferences. I would recommend strict side sleepers look at the softer options like the Sunset or Moonlight, while the stomach sleepers will probably prefer the firmer support of the Twilight and Dawn models.

If you’re looking for a luxury bed with lots of layers and great support, you might want to opt for the Helix Luxe version. Heavy sleepers will likely do best on the Helix Plus (which was specifically designed for them), while eco-minded shoppers will prefer the Birch. And of course, children will do best on one of the kids mattresses. I’d recommend heading over to Helix Sleep and taking their sleep quiz, which will tell you which model is best for your sleep needs.

Taking firmness, pressure relief, support, and comfort into consideration, this is how I would categorize the standard Helix mattresses.

Which Helix Mattress is Best for You?

Back Sleepers — I think back sleepers could enjoy any one of these Helix mattresses depending on their preferences. I’d say the best ones for them are probably the Helix Midnight, Helix Dusk, or Helix Twilight.

Side Sleepers — Side sleepers tend to prefer softer mattresses that alleviate tension at the shoulders, hips, and lower back. Depending on their body type, I’d recommend that strict side sleepers check out the Helix Sunset, Helix Moonlight, or Helix Midnight.

Stomach Sleepers — Opposite of side sleepers, stomach sleepers will usually go for firm mattresses with plenty of lift and support. So, these folks would probably be best served by either the Helix Twilight or Helix Dawn.

Combination Sleepers — Do you move between positions in the night? While all of these beds have a responsive feel ideal for combination sleeping, you may want to consider snagging either the Helix Midnight or Helix Moonlight. They both feature particularly excellent mobility. 

Heavy Sleepers — If you’re over 250 pounds, I’d recommend going with the Helix Plus. This bed was designed with higher body weights in mind, and it’s going to offer the support these individuals need.

How Much Do Helix Mattresses Cost?

Price is certainly an important factor when choosing a new mattress. Take a look at the Helix pricing chart below. I’d also add that all the Helix models are very affordable and the Helix was picked as our best hybrid mattress under $1,000. Make sure to check out our Helix coupon page for the latest discounts.

Prices listed are before discount or offer for each size.

FAQ

Helix Vs

Now that we’ve gone over all the standard Helix mattresses, let’s see how they stack up against the competition. Below, I’m going to compare the standard Helix line to two of its biggest competitors on the mattress market: Casper and Purple.

Casper

• Like Helix, Casper sells several different types of mattresses, though it’s perhaps best known for its original all-foam Casper mattress. This bed has a balanced foam feel and is about medium-firm.
• The brand also has a few hybrid models, including the Casper Hybrid, the Casper Nova Hybrid, and the Casper Wave Hybrid.
  • The Casper Hybrid is perhaps most similar in feel to the Helix mattresses outlined in this guide. It’s medium firm, bouncy, and supportive.
  • The Casper Nova Hybrid is a softer model with gentle layers of foam up top for pressure relief at the shoulders and hips. I recommend this bed for side sleepers.
  • The Casper Wave Hybrid is the brand’s luxury model, so it has a super plush vibe that could work wonders for side sleepers or those suffering from joint pain.
• Casper beds are bouncy with good mobility, excellent pressure relief, and all-around solid support.

Purple

• Purple is another popular bedding brand that sells a few different mattresses. This brand is known for its Hyper-Elastic Polymer comfort grid. This grid is purple in color and stretchy, bouncy, and pressure-relieving in feel.
• In fact, the major hallmarks of any Purple mattress are its bounce, pressure relief, and cooling vibe.
• The original Purple mattress places its polymer comfort grid over foam support layers. The Purple hybrid mattresses employ the same polymer comfort grid, but over pocketed coils for an even bouncier vibe.
• The hybrids feature the same constructions, but with differing amounts of Hyper-Elastic Polymer. This establishes a range of firmnesses from the firm Purple 2 (with a 2” comfort grid), to the medium-firm Purple 3 and soft Purple 4.

More Common Helix Comparisons

• Helix vs Purple
• Helix vs Tuft & Needle
• Helix vs Casper
• Helix vs GhostBed
• Helix vs Saatva

Our Review Process

At Sleepopolis, our team of Certified Sleep Science Coaches has personally tested each mattress. We start by unboxing the mattress to figure out how difficult (or easy) it is to get the mattress from the box to the bed. Then, we spend time laying on the bed in different positions, taking time to assess it on our backs, stomachs, and sides. Next, we perform our Sleepopolis tests, using specialized tools to measure qualities like motion transfer, bounce, and pressure relief. Our last step is to open up the mattress and take a look at each layer. These steps allow us to give our final verdict on the mattress. Jump back to our mattress picks.

Bridget Chapman

Senior Product Editor

About Author

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.

Combination Sleeper