Support vs Comfort for a heavier sleeper with medical issues?

Hi Vanessa,

Many thanks for your question about finding the right level of support in a mattress for a heavy sleeper. It can be a minefield when looking for a bed for a sleeper who weighs 18 stone mainly because most retail mattresses support stops exactly at 18 stone.

Most people confuse support vs comfort when shopping for a new mattress. But we can help clear that up here and give an idea of a suitable mattress to meet your sleeping needs.

Mattress Support Explained:

Mattress support is provided by either a pocket spring unit (like our mattresses) or a slab of reflex foam (firm man-made foam). It should always be based on your bodyweight and not the comfort or feel of the mattress. Mattress comfort is provided by upholstery on top of this mattress support unit.

The video guide below on spring tensions helps explain in more detail. Alternatively, the mattress support table will help show you which spring tension each sleeper needs, in your case a 1.6 gauge for both sleepers.

Bodyweight	Spring tension
Upto 16 Stone / 50-101kg	Medium (1.4mm)
16 Stone / 101kg Upwards	Firm (1.6mm)
Available in Bespoke Products (Please Call)	Soft (1.2mm)

Mattress Comfort Explained:

Mattress comfort is always provided by the upholstery fibres or layers of natural fibres that are built up on top of the pocket spring or support base. The type of materials, GSM (Grams per square meter) and order in which they are layered all make a difference as to how firm the comfort of the mattress is.

The GSM is super important when looking for a new mattress as it allows you to then compare models. Have a look at our mattress compare tool to see how to accurately compare mattresses side by side.

Softer fibres create a soft feel mattress. Firmer fibres will create a firmer feel mattress etc. Have a look at the table below to see how different fibres feel – take note that the way they are layered and with which other fibres will change and tweak the overall feel.

Upholstery Layer	Fibre Type	How it will feel?	Price Point
Polyester	Synthetic	Soft	Cheap
White Fibre	Synthetic	Soft/Medium	Cheap
Recycled Fibre / Eco Fibre	Synthetic	Medium	Cheap
Memory Foam	Synthetic	Medium/Firm	Mid Price
Igel / Hybrid Foam	Synthetic	Medium/Firm	Mid Price
Polycotton	Synthetic/Natural Blend	Soft/Medium	Mid Price
Linen	Synthetic/Natural Blend	Medium	Mid Price
Wool (Pure)	Natural	Soft/Medium	High-End
Cotton (Pure)	Natural	Soft	High-End
Silk	Natural	Soft	Expensive
Horsehair	Natural	Medium	High-End
Mohair	Natural	Medium/Firm	High-End
Hemp	Natural	Medium	High-End
Latex (100% Natural)	Natural	Medium/Firm	High-End
Coir	Natural	Firm	High-End
Flax	Natural	Firm	High-End
Coarse Cashmere	Natural	Firm	High-End
Bamboo	Natural	Super Soft	Expensive / Exclusive
Horsetail	Natural	Firm	Expensive / Exclusive
Alpaca	Natural	Soft	Expensive / Exclusive
Cashmere (Pure)	Natural	Soft	Expensive / Exclusive
Vicuna	Natural	Super Soft	Expensive / Exclusive

Firmer feel mattresses for heavier sleepers:

Below are two of our mattress models to help start you off if you want a firmer feel but with deep comfort layers for shoulders and hips. The Artisan 1500 is the softer of the two if you’re concerned with the Artisan Bespoke our firmer 100% natural fibre mattress.

The Artisan Bespoke is the firmest 100% natural fibre mattress we can provide. This mattress paired with a firm 1.6 gauge pocket spring tension based on your body weight to ensure you are correctly supported underneath the natural fillings.
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Artisan Bespoke Mattress

1: 500GSM BRITISH WOOL

2: 1200GSM BLENDED BRITISH FLEECE WOOL AND COTTON

3: HAIRPROOF CAMBRIC COVER

4: 1200GSM PURE HORSETAIL

5: 1200GSM HORSEHAIR

6: 1000GSM WHITE CASHMERE INSULATOR

7: 1600 CALICO ENCASED POCKET SPRINGS [49MM] [1.28MM]

TOTAL 5100GSM

DEPTH 27-30CM

CHEMICAL FREE COVER

Next up would be our Artisan 1500 mattress which is a medium firm feel. Softer than the Artisan Bespoke but still a 2 sided natural fibre mattress albeit at a lower price bracket due to the mix of natural and man made fibres.

Artisan 1500 Mattress

1: 500GSM WOOL

2: 600GSM REBOUND POLY COTTON (50/50 BLEND)

3: 700GSM POLYESTER

4: 600GSM REBOUND POLY COTTON (50/50 BLEND)

5: 700GSM POLYESTER

6: 1200GSM CASHMERE HAIR PAD AS INSULATOR

7: 1500 SPUN BOND POCKET SPRINGS (SOFT, MEDIUM OR FIRM)

TOTAL: 4300GSM

CHEMICAL FREE COVER

We’ve also provided our handy beginner’s mattress buying guide below for more tips.

We hope that helps and if you have any more mattress related questions please get back in touch on [email protected] or 0161 437 4419.

Sleep well
John & Ryan