Hi Luke,

Thanks for getting in touch and sorry to hear your Emma mattress is causing your back pain. We get plenty of comments about Emma and other synthetic foam mattresses that are too firm for lighter sleepers which can cause back and shoulder pain in bed during the night. These synthetic foam boxed mattresses are usually only one sided, so the foams and materials used are usually firmer to help prevent settlement.

This settlement occurs far faster in one sided mattresses as they can't be turned to even it out. This is one of the major criticisms of these types of mattress and you can read more on it here.

Given you're a front sleeper it is more than likely that the mattress doesn't have enough of an initial sink to accommodate your shoulders and chest. Meaning your sleeping with your chest being pushed back and out of alignment with your neck. Especially given the fact the Emma mattress is causing thoracic pain at night. Thoracic back pain is usually caused by slouching, especially at office seated desk jobs.

What is sounds like is happening is the mattress comfort layers are too firm and are forcing your back into a slouch position when sleeping on your front. Ie the mattress needs to give a bit more to allow your spine and back to sit comfortably in alignment. Instead, it is pushing back to much against you moving your back out of alignment.

This is a major criticism of all boxed foam mattresses which are one size fits all. They are very slow to respond and react, given they are vasco heat retentive man made memory foam (often under the guise of propriety space-age names!). They also offer limited comfort in the top layers compared to say a natural fibre which has a higher loft and is more progressive. As a front sleeper, you need more tailored comfort in the mattress upholstery layer which one size fits all mattresses will fail to address.

Best mattress for a stomach sleeper under £700:

The best advice for your price point would be our Origins Pocket 1500 hand made mattress in a 1.4 tension pocket spring. It's progressive enough to accommodate a front or side sleeper. At your weight, it will allow more of a soft sink in the very top layer before medium support lower down the upholstery layers. It's also two sided so can be turned and rotated each month to extend the lifespan compared to one sided models.

It also has a wool top layer for better breathability during the night so you're not face deep in synthetic memory foam. There is one currently left in our outlet in a Kingsize you can view here.


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

We hope that helps and gives you further mattress buying guidance. If you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on info@localhost or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well
John & Ryan