Hi Jade,

Many thanks for your question about the best mattress for two different heighted sleepers one of which has back pain. Back pain can be really uncomfortable and lead to nights of disturbed sleep. We hope to give you some advice to help you choose a more suitable mattress to remedy this.

Choosing the right mattress for a bad back:

The majority of mattress retailers push very firm supportive orthopaedic mattresses. Even though chiropractors have long reversed this advice in favour of choosing the best support unit for your bodyweight which is both comfortable and supportive. Ie not using super solid mattresses.

You need to look for a mattress that has enough support, from a tailored spring tension and also deep comfort layers. With a bad back, you need to sink slightly into the mattress before the support.

You need to start by picking a spring tension that suits each of your weights. Which is why a zip and link or split tension mattress may be best.

Choosing the right mattress spring support:

Mattress support is dictated by your bodyweight. However, most retailers totally confuse this with the 'comfort' or overall feel of the upholstery. Sadly 99% of mattresses are sold as soft, medium or firm based on the pocket spring tension rather than their upholstery. Which means most mattresses are missold if the sales person hasn't asked your weight and taken this into consideration.

Pocket springs are made for weight ranges so you need to know which gauge, 1.2, 1.4 or 1.6 is suitable for your body weight.

Different feel mattress sides for different comfort preferences?

Due to the way all quality mattresses are made you can't have two different comfort preferences in the upholstery on each side. This is because the upholstery layers need to be the same height so the bed sits at the same height and also so the layers naturally settle over time at the same rate.

This is why hand made 2-sided mattresses need to be turned each month.

However, what you can do is always add a topper to the mattress if you wish to soften it slightly. With a zip and link you can fit a single topper to one side to help soften it without increasing the height too much of one side. We don't recommend pushing together two different mattresses as over time they can become uneven and lead to awkward sleep patterns.

With a bad back, you really want to avoid a firm feel mattress in the upholstery layers. Opting for a medium-firm feel in the comfort layers instead of firm. It may even be the current firm feel your partner likes that's causing his back pain. Id investigate this further by seeing if adding a duvet underneath your sheets to your existing mattress helps his back pain. This is because sleeping on top of this before your covers will help soften the very top layer of your mattress and may help you both reach a comfort compromise and show that a medium feel mattress is best for your partner with back ache.

Have a look at the two mattress options below for an idea of what you should expect depending on your budget.

Origins Pocket 1500 Mattress:

Jade please take a look at our Origins Pocket 1500 maybe in a zip and link model if you both need a different spring tension. It’s a true medium feel in the upholstery later and comes in a 1.4 medium gauge pocket spring support. Ideal for sleepers up to 16 stone. We can also make it in a 1.6 firmer feel spring if your partner is over 16 stone.
It also has a wool top layer for better breathability and is two sided.

Origins Pocket 1500 Mattress
1: 300GSM WOOL
2: 750GSM VERY SOFT POLYESTER
3: 500GSM POLYESTER PAD
4: ONE INCH FOAM INSULATOR LAYER
5: 1500 SPUN BOND POCKET SPRINGS
TOTAL: 1550GSM
DEPTH 30-33CM

Next up have a look at our Artisan Bespoke 004 in the spring tension suitable for your bodyweights. It’s a hand made 100% natural fibre mattress that is two sided.

It has a medium feel in the natural upholstery with a forgiving top layer. Great for pressure points and bad backs. The 1600 individual pocket springs allow restless sleepers to move quickly, freely and effortlessly.

Artisan Bespoke 004 Mattress
1: 1200GSM BLENDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON
2: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER
3: 200GSM SOFT BAMBOO
4: 1200GSM PURE HORSETAIL
5: 1000GSM BONDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON
6: 1600 CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [ 49MM ] [1.28MM]
TOTAL: 3600GSM
DEPTH: 27-30CM
CHEMICAL FREE COVER

How much should I spend on a mattress?:

We hope that helps and gives you further mattress buying guidance Jade. It may be best to give us a call to discuss further to make sure we're meeting all your requirements.

If you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on info@localhost or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well
John & Ryan