If you’re struggling to get comfortable on your mattress, your sleeping position could be a contributing factor. If you’re someone who sleeps on your front and you’re wondering how (and to what extent) this should be a factor in your mattress choice, we’ve spoken to a range of sleep experts on how to choose the right one for you.
“Sleeping on your front is generally the trickiest position to get right, because it puts your spine in an extended position”, says physiotherapist Nell Mead. The more of a dip you have in the lower back, “the more chance you’ve got of having lower back issues”, explains Tempur sleep expert and mattress specialist Emma Sharp.
But should we be changing our sleeping position because of this? Physiologist and Land of Beds sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan explains: “It can take one to three weeks to adapt to a new position, and during this process of adaptation, the person may find that it takes longer to fall asleep, or that they wake more frequently.” She adds that it can lead to “thinking more about sleeping, and even trying too hard to sleep which can cause some agitation – both physical and mental.”
With this in mind, if you’re looking for a mattress that can best support front sleeping, read on for expert advice from physiotherapists and sleep and mattress specialists within the industry.
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Mattress firmness for front sleepers
Front sleeping “often increases extension through the lower back and rotation through the neck, which can contribute to stiffness or discomfort over time”, says Ricardo Silva, musculoskeletal sports physiotherapist and partner of Physique Management. With this in mind, a slightly firmer mattress “can help limit excessive movement and stop the hips from sinking too much, which would otherwise increase load on the lower back”, he advises.
Mead warns against going too far the other way: “If your mattress is too soft, your hips will sink lower than your shoulders and your lumbar spine will arch too far, so it’s better to sleep on a medium-firm mattress that keeps your whole body on a level playing field.” With this said, she highlights the importance of factoring in your body weight, too.
Simba hybrid luxe mattress
If you’re a front sleeper looking for a medium-firm mattress, our top pick in our review of the best mattresses, Simba’s hybrid luxe mattress, is a great medium-firm option. In her full in-depth review of the Simba hybrid luxe mattress, our tester, Helen Wilson-Beevers, said it was “supportive without being rigid”, while “cushioned without feeling sink-in soft”.
She praised: “I’d say it’s noticeably firmer than many of the mattresses I’ve tried in the past, but it never tips into feeling uncomfortably hard. Instead, the foam layers create a gently responsive surface that adapts as I move around, so I always feel supported. I’d say it’s around 8 out of 10 for firmness, and it has retained its structure and support perfectly over time.”
Buy now £1699, Simbasleep.com
Echoing this, Mattress Online sleep scientist Hannah Shore says: “Broadly speaking, the larger your stature the firmer the support you will need.” Similarly, Stephanie Romiszewski, sleep physiologist and author of Think Less, Sleep More, says firmness recommendations for your sleeping position are “comfort patterns, not sleep rules, and individual build and preference matter more than materials and bed types”.
How you sleep on your front could indicate your mattress is too soft or firm. Sharp explains that if you bring your legs up to the side when on your front, a position that “has been linked to taking pressure off the lower back”, it “could mean that the mattress is not providing enough support or pressure relief, especially around the lower back area.”
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Mattress support for front sleepers
As a front sleeper, improving support while you sleep doesn’t end with your mattress. Mead suggests putting a pillow under your stomach, adding that it “might be worth putting a pillow under your chest, so your head can hang down a bit, rather than being twisted.” As another option, Sharp suggests opting for a bed with adjustable lumbar support.
As with any sleeping position, your pillow is important. “The pillow will interact with the mattress; for example if you have a mattress that you sink into more, you may want a slightly thinner pillow”, says Shore. When it comes to front sleeping, Mead suggests that “you should ideally either lose your head pillow entirely, or use the thinnest one possible”.
“The further your head is propped up, the more your neck has to rotate and extend, and that’s a recipe for a stiff neck in the morning. A good option might be to put a thin pillow under your hips instead, as that can reduce the lumbar arch significantly.”
Read more: Best pillows 2026, expert-tested for every kind of sleeper
With all this in mind, it’s still worth managing expectations. “A mattress does not create sleep, but it can remove physical distractions that wake you, such as pain and numbness”, says Romiszewski: “So, the practical aim is comfort and support of the body, not optimisation of sleep. The first question is to ask yourself – am I experiencing discomfort, pain or numbness anywhere? Because if not, then a new mattress won't help.”
What is the best type of mattress for sleeping with back pain?
A firm mattress is often cited as the best for people with back pain, but Shore says if this was correct, all mattresses would be firm. Instead, she says “the firmness of your mattress should complement your unique body shape and size” – in other words, the larger your stature, the more firmness you need from your mattress.
When it comes to back pain, it’s also important not to overestimate what a mattress can do. As Dr. David Garley, GP and sleep expert at The Better Sleep Clinic, explains: “If you’ve got a bad back then the right mattress can help. But a good mattress isn’t going to fix a back that is sore for these other reasons”.
Meet the experts
- Nell Mead – Physiotherapist and author of How To Be Your Own Physio
- Dr Nerina Ramlakhan – Physiologist, sleep expert and author of Tired But Wired, Fast Asleep, Wide Awake and The Little Book of Sleep
- Ricardo Silva – Physiotherapist currently working as a football physiotherapist in the Baller League, specialising in musculoskeletal injuries, rehabilitation and athlete performance
- Emma Sharp – Tempur education and advocacy manager and sleep expert
- Hannah Shore – Head of Sleep Science at Mattress Online
- Stephanie Romiszewski – Sleep physiologist, creator of BBC Maestro's course, Sleep Better and the author of Think Less, Sleep More (Atlantic Books, 2026)
- Dr David Garley – GP, sleep specialist and Director of The Better Sleep Clinic
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