What's the best mattress for heavy people?

What are the best mattress fillings for a heavy sleeper?

It’s not just the support part f a mattress that heavier sleepers need to pay particular attention to but the mattress upholstery or fillings. These mattress fillings are often referred to as the comfort layer of a mattress. There can be hundreds of different brand terms for these comfort layers making it really confusing when looking for a new mattress. There are a few you probably want to avoid as well as they are simply not suitable for heavier sleepers.

But don’t worry there are plenty of fillings that are fantastic in keeping you comfy in bed. All leading to a perfect nights sleep.

It’s important when looking at fibres that you know which order they are in, usually firmer to softer, as they layer up towards the top layer of the mattress. It’s also crucial that you know the GSM (grams per square meter) of the fibres in any mattress you’re looking at. Softer fibres are fine providing they are deep enough (i.e. a sizable 500gsm or higher), plus they have other supporting fibres to stop them compressing so quickly. Have a look below at suitable fibres for heavier sleepers.

What’s the best mattress for a heavy sleeper in the UK?

The answer to this is one that is both supportive and that has adequate upholstery layers to offer comfort.

Most retailers just focus on spring support and ignore comfort when it comes to heavy sleeper beds. However, we find this to be unfair. Now that you know what spring tension you need and how different fibres will feel, it’s time to start looking for comparable models and avoiding unsuitable beds.

Upholstery comfort layers are the key to getting a decent night’s sleep, regardless of your weight. Don’t just settle for reflex foam or some extra-firm polyester. There are plenty of suitable luxury fibres too!

What to look for as a heavy sleeper:

• Choose a mattress with a 1.6 gauge Firm or 1.9 gauge Extra Firm Pocket Spring.
• Ensure adequate firmer support layers like Reflex Foam, Horsehair, Flax or Coir.
• Choose a mattress that is at least 27cm -33cm deep.
• Avoid cheap one-sided memory foam mattresses.
• Look for a 2000 pocket spring count for extra support.
• Mattresses can be paired with removable toppers, which can be replaced after a few years (rather than the entire mattress).

Top 3 mattresses for heavier sleepers

If you’re a heavy sleeper then you are going to need specific support in a mattress that can accommodate 115kg plus per sleeper. Usually, these mattresses are well hidden in retailers who will try and plonk you onto a firm spring tension bed and hope for the best.

However, you’re going to need more than a 1.6 gauge pocket spring. You also need mattress upholstery (i.e. the comfort layers) that can both offer support but also accommodate your needs. As a starter for ten, the three models below all offer suitable comfort layers and support for the heavier sleeper.

1. Artisan Bespoke (Extra Firm Spring as a bespoke order)
2. Resilience 1
3. Resilience 2

Beds for Larger Sleepers

Mattress retailers do not accommodate bigger sleepers. This is defined by us as anyone over 20 stone. Most mattress ranges limit the weight to 18 stone or 252lbs, with a combined weight of 30 stone. As you can understand, the heavier the sleeper the more stress is put on the mattress which, if exceeded, causes the mattress to fail, dip or reduce its lifespan.

Retailers will still sell you their firmest model even though it is completely unsuitable, and then you’re stuck with a bed that will no doubt fail after a few years, bringing you back to square one.

The retail shops will at best simply try and sell you an expensive incredibly firm mattress if you fall into this category. These are usually known as Orthopaedic or ‘ultra-firm’ mattresses. We believe this is highly unfair and unsuitable as they simply point you to the firmest bed rather than one that has both support and comfort layers. We are one of the only companies out there to specialise in bespoke beds for bigger sleepers.

Beds for people who weigh 20 stone plus follow different rules to standard mattresses, as support requires much more attention.  Unfortunately, the truth is that bigger sleepers will need to replace their mattress much more frequently than the lighter sleepers. This is an inevitable fact. What we want to offer is not just a bed that ‘will do’ but a bed you’re actually comfortable on. Not just a firm slab of heavyweight foam. Whilst you may need to replace a standard bed more frequently than a lighter sleeper, with our dual construction design we can limit the need to replace the entire mattress. Our Resilience mattresses offer you the solution.

Where we differ is that we are foam specialists; we can offer a range of high support reflex and PU foams for the support aspect of your mattress. We then match this with a higher density range of hybrid or latex Foams using our dual construction method. This means that any wear or sagging that occurs over time can be reduced by having a removable replaceable topper.

Resilience Mattresses Specifications

Below you will find the makeup of the Resilience mattresses, which is useful when compared to other bariatric or reinforced bed manufacturers.

What’s the maximum weight a sleeper can be for a mattress?

The majority of mattresses are manufactured to accommodate a certain weight of sleeper, usually with a maximum tolerance set of 18 stone or 115kg.

Anything that’s plus size is usually ignored over this limit. This is usually as far as it goes. You’re not told whether this is in total or per sleeper, and whether this changes per bed size.

There is also no information given on what the feel, longevity or response the mattress will give when pushed to its weight limit. This is a very difficult specialist area, so we empathise with the retailers on their decision to avoid it. However, we quite like the tricky questions as it keeps us on our toes and allows us to show how we, the experts, differ to the misguided sales staff.

Our new Resilience Mattress range for heavy sleepers / plus size sleepers has been designed specifically to offer both comfort and support for sleepers 114kg / 18 stone plus. So whether you’re a 6ft 6 20 stone rugby player, or you simply prefer a really firm mattress, we have a range that is suitable for you.

Different tensions for different sleepers

Many customers come to us because they are completely confused when trying to find a mattress to suit two different weights of a sleeper.

If you and your partner are very different in terms of weight (i.e. 8 stone vs 18 stone), then it will be very hard, if not impossible, to get one mattress to suit you both. Most retailers will hedge their bets and go either for a very firm mattress to suit the heavier or put you somewhere in the middle. We, however, don’t like this approach, as it gives you the one size fits no one response. This is where split tension or dual tension beds come into play and can literally save you from years of awkward sleeping.

If you and your sleeping partner are very different weights then it may be more practical to get two different beds. It’s not as extreme as it sounds. In traditional pocket sprung beds, such as our Artisan Bespoke you can have dual tension springs, with one side softer and one firmer or zip and linked mattresses to achieve this.

How to get a mattress for differently weighted sleepers?

By having two different mattresses, both sleepers can get the right mattress for their individual needs without compromising. Due to our dual construction method, we can supply you with two different mattresses (i.e. two 2”6 small single beds to make a kingsize when put together). Utilizing two different zip and link spring tensions, we can accommodate a 9 stone sleeper and a 20 stone sleeper on one bed.

What are the benefits of split tension beds?

You both get a side of the bed that is suitable for your body weight, firmness preference, and comfort. This means that heavier sleepers don’t have to suffer from an overly soft or unsupportive mattress. This would be a mattress that will – over time – cause a poor night’s sleep and will sag far quicker than the correct spring tension.

What are the limitations of split tension beds?

It wouldn’t be very wise if we didn’t give you the full picture, and there are limitations to this. The mattresses have to be the same depth, or else you will end up with a ridge down the middle of the bed where they join. We can advise on which in our range go together to address this.

It may also mean that you don’t have as large a choice of a mattress as you can’t simply match any of our mattress range together. That said, it still has to be miles better than the retail equivalent of giving you both a bed that meets neither of your requirements. The other limitation is for sleepers that want to regularly change or swap sides of the bed. You would need to move and rotate the mattresses into the other side to do this.

Summary

We believe we are one of the only suppliers who can offer a supportive and comfortable bed for bigger sleepers. The replacement topper service ensures that you’re reducing your future outlay where parts need replacing. Again, please contact us for a friendly chat about your requirements where our bespoke team can assist you.

Regardless of your size, we believe everyone should be able to find a bed that provides them with a supportive and comfortable night’s sleep. Don’t settle for any less.

Why not get in touch for confidential advice if you’re a heavier sleeper?