Who doesn't dream of sleeping like a baby and waking up every morning feeling refreshed and ready to climb mountains?
For this reason, nothing beats a good mattress, because the quality of your sleep depends on the quality of your mattress—thanks to optimal comfort that promotes muscle relaxation and ensures you wake up pain-free, without that unpleasant feeling of having aged 20 years overnight. Soft, medium-firm, firm, or very firm— how to choose the right firmness for a mattress is one of the most common questions for anyone looking for the right bedding.
Choosing the right firmness level for a mattress is primarily a matter of body type, rather than personal preference. You may prefer to sleep on a soft mattress, but do you really sleep well on it? To spare you the same misadventures as Goldilocks with the three bears, let’s explore how to choose between a firm mattress and a medium-firm mattress.
Mattress Firmness: A Concept That Depends on Body Type
The role of a mattress is to support the body while you sleep—but not just any old way! Perhaps we should have said “support the body intelligently,” since a mattress tailored to the sleeper allows them to maintain a natural sleeping position, particularly proper spinal alignment.
In fact, pain experienced during the night or upon waking in the morning is primarily caused by a sleeping position that is not suited to the body’s natural contours (such as its natural curvature), which leads to muscle tension and contractions. It therefore makes sense that the sleeper’s body type (height and weight) is a key factor in determining a mattress’s firmness, since the same product will not feel the same to different people.
Thus, for a lighter person applying moderate pressure to the mattress, a medium-firm level of firmness is recommended. Conversely, a heavier person will need more support. But keep in mind that height matters, as it affects how weight is distributed across the mattress. For example, a person who is 80 kilos and 1 min 50 s m tall exerts greater pressure (relative to the contact surface) than a person who is 80 kilos and 1m80 tall.
Mattress Firmness: A Story of Technology
What makes a mattress firm or medium-firm? The answer is simple: the technology used in its construction. Latex mattresses, foam-filled mattresses, memory foam mattresses, pocket-spring mattresses, and more—technological advances continue to improve the quality of our sleep.
If you need a firm mattress, choose a pocket-spring mattress
Firmness should not be confused with hardness; the mattress must support the body's movements and contours. To do so, it must be firm, yet flexible enough to adapt to the sleeper's body shape.
That’s why the pocket-spring mattress is a revolution in firm mattresses. Composed of more than 450 springs individually encased in a closed cover—hence the term “pocket springs”—it guarantees optimal comfort. In addition, this type of mattress can feature springs of varying heights and diameters in specific zones to provide different levels of firmness depending on the area of the body (for example, firmer support under the hips but gentler support under the neck to maintain its natural curve).
Of course, the more pocket springs a mattress contains, the better the support, since the firmness level adapts more effectively to different areas of the body. There are even models with memory foam.
Finally, the use of pocket springs offers one more advantage: it improves the mattress's ventilation, thereby wicking away trapped moisture.
If you need a medium-firm mattress, choose a latex mattress
Latex mattresses are among the best options for those looking for a medium-firm mattress.
A medium-firm mattress is designed for people of small build (who exert little pressure on the mattress) or average build. It is also ideal for people with back problems or pain, provided, of course, that a medium-firm mattress is suitable for their body type.
A mattress made of natural latex foam—such as those from Kipli—or synthetic foam has the advantage of being elastic while providing excellent support. This flexibility allows it to adjust its firmness based on the pressure exerted by different areas of the body, providing natural support for the neck and ensuring proper alignment of the spine and pelvis. By conforming to the body’s contours, a latex mattress ensures a perfect fit and an adaptable, medium-firm density.
No matter which mattress you choose, let’s emphasize the importance of the bed frame and mattress combination. The bed frame and mattress combination acts as a shock absorber, providing adequate support for the spine even when body weight is unevenly distributed during sleep. Even a very high-quality mattress is worthless—or at best, of little value—without its bed frame, and even worse if it’s placed directly on the floor. That’s why mattresses are sold with a specific bed frame.
The selection of these two bedding items—which are purchased separately—must therefore be coordinated, and this applies even when replacing only the mattress. However, it is advisable to replace the box spring when replacing the mattress.
Firm or medium-firm mattress: How do you know which one is right for you?
As we've just seen, the firmness of a mattress depends largely on the sleeper's body type. Although height-to-weight ratios or body type charts can guide you in choosing a firm or medium-firm mattress, in practice, the mattress might not be right for you.
It's best to test the mattress before buying it. However, since online prices are often more attractive, this isn't always possible. You can always go to a store to test several mattresses and then buy the model online, but not everyone is comfortable with this approach or feels it's the right thing to do.
Aware of this issue, more and more online retailers are offering a trial period of a few weeks, after which you can choose to keep the mattress or exchange it.
How can you determine if the firmness level is right for you, or if you should instead choose a firmer or medium-firm mattress? There are several ways to find out.
- When lying on your side and propped up on one elbow, your elbow should not sink in more than 3 or 4 cm. If it sinks in too much, the mattress is not firm enough.
- While lying on your side, slide one hand under the small of your back (at the lumbar region). If your hand slides in too easily, it means the mattress isn't sinking in enough—and is therefore too firm for you.
- While lying on your back, roll over onto your side. If this movement is difficult, it means the mattress sinks in too much and, as a result, lacks the firmness your body type needs.
A mattress that’s too firm or not firm enough can cause pain that you’d rather not have when you wake up: back pain, neck pain, tension in the legs and arms, and so on. Over the long term, areas of the body that have become sensitive due to poor sleep can lead to chronic pain.
And since buying new bedding is, after all, a significant investment, take your time to make the right choice.
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