Best Mattresses for Athletes

If you’re an athlete, you know that sleep can greatly impact performance. Whether you want to run faster, jump higher, lift heavier, or have faster reaction times, a mattress that’s comfortable, supportive, and alleviates aches and pains is one of the linchpins of achieving healthy sleep each night.

Professional athletes and recreational exercisers should look for a mattress that feels good for their body type and sleeping position while catering to their unique needs. Keep reading for our curated list of the top-rated beds for athletes. We also share important considerations for selecting a mattress for as an athlete or active individual, such as mattress type and muscle recovery.

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Best Mattresses for Athletes

• Nectar – Best Affordable Mattress for Athletes
• Bear Original – Best Mattress for Active Recovery
• Brooklyn Bedding Spartan – Best Mattress for Couples
• Helix Midnight Luxe – Best Customizable Bed for Athletes
• The WinkBed – Best Bed in a Box for Athletes
• Nolah Evolution – Best Cooling Mattress for Athletes
• Tempur ProAdapt – Best Mattress for All Sleeping Positions
• Saatva Classic – Best Mattress for Back Sleepers

Chosen by Experts and Advocates

Although we don’t have any professional athletes on the Mattress Nerd team, we’ve all done our time between the bases or on the gridiron. As such, we understand how important good rest and recovery is to achieving 100% capability on the field. The mattresses on this list excelled in performance factors (pressure relief, durability) that make them specifically good for athletes, whether you’re going for olympic gold or simply going for a morning run. To learn more about how we grade sleep products, check out our review process.

Nectar: Best Affordable Mattress for Athletes

Not every athlete can play for the NFL or get their picture on a Wheaties box. If you want a mattress that will support your athletics without breaking the bank, the Nectar has your name written all over it. 

Though a Queen size Nectar is marked at $1,298, the company often runs sales that bring the price down to below $1,000, and solid pressure relief (4 out of 5) and durability (4 out of 5) scores, this affordable mattress performs very well for athletes who want a bed that aids and recovery and supports substantial weight. Also, the Nectar mattress comes with a lifetime warranty—perfect for you athletes who plan to continue your active lifestyle for years to come.

See our full Nectar Mattress review to learn more. Check out our best affordable mattresses roundup for additional options.

Bear: Best Mattress for Active Recovery

The Bear mattress’ standout feature is its cover, which features Celliant fibers. This recovery technology absorbs body heat, transforms it into infrared light, and redirects that light back into your muscles. This reaction is meant to improve circulation, which can encourage faster muscle recovery. It’s also made with pressure-relieving memory foam and a supportive foam base layer. This combination gives the mattress a good balance of body contouring and spinal support.

All of these qualities make the bed ideal for athletes who want the recovery benefits of improved circulation, temperature regulation, and whole body contouring.

See our full Bear Mattress Review to learn more. 

Brooklyn Bedding Spartan: Best Mattress for Couples

Regardless of their lifestyle, couples typically require a mattress that checks a specific set of boxes in order to sleep well together: motion isolation, edge support, and cooling. Active couples may need even more cooling and recovery-promoting features in order to achieve a good night’s sleep on the same mattress.

The Spartan offers all of these in a luxury hybrid design. The pocketed coils offer cooling and edge support, while a deep comfort system provides better-than-average motion isolation compared to most hybrids. Additionally, the Spartan has a performance fabric cover made with Nanobionic R-3, which promotes recovery. The cover is also infused with a phase-change material, which aids the coil core in promoting temperature regulation.

See our full Brooklyn Bedding Spartan Mattress review to learn more. Check out our best mattresses for couples roundup for additional options.

Helix Midnight Luxe: Best Customizable Bed for Athletes

Finding a mattress that offers the trifecta of healthy spinal alignment, pressure relief and comfort is important for anyone, but it’s especially crucial for professional athletes and regular exercisers whose lifestyle is dependent upon great sleep. Helix’s standard line of mattresses includes six hybrids that vary in firmness and materials to suit different needs.

The company offers an online sleep quiz to help you determine which model is best for you, and it includes questions about your weight, sleeping position of choice, and personal preferences. All six beds have strong airflow through the coil layers, so they’ll sleep cool, which is a plus for active individuals. They’re also high-value when compared to other hybrids: every size costs less than $1,400 before discounts are applied.

See our full Helix Midnight Luxe Mattress review to learn more. 

The WinkBed: Best Bed in a Box for Athletes

A bed in a box is a relatively new concept that means your mattress is rolled and compressed for shipping. If you’re hoping to save yourself the trouble of visiting a physical mattress store and enjoy the perks of a sleep trial period, bed-in-a-box mattresses are good options.

The WinkBeds mattress has a Tencel cover that’s highly breathable and should aid in temperature control for athletes. It also features a euro-pillow top that feels plush to the touch yet maintains a supportive feel. The WinkBed also features a coil-on-coil design that includes a transition layer of flexible, zoned microcoils to promote spinal alignment and a pocketed coil support layer to prevent sagging while enhancing breathability and bounce. Best of all, it comes in four firmness options, making it suitable for a wide range of sleepers.

See our full WinkBeds Mattress review to learn more. Check out our best bed-in-a-box mattresses roundup for additional options.

Nolah Evolution: Best Cooling Mattress for Athletes

The Nolah Evolution claims to sleep exceptionally cool, and that was our experience in testing. It comes with advanced cooling features such as graphite-infused foam on top, breathable support coils below, and cooling fibers in the cover to help draw heat away. This allows for a more restful sleep for athletes who sleep hot.

The Nolah is also good at helping to prevent pain from non-supportive mattresses. Lightweight stomach sleepers should get the hip support they need to help prevent lower back pain. Back sleepers and most side sleepers will also find good cushioning support at the joints and good spinal alignment to keep you moving during the day.

Read our full Nolah Evolution Mattress Review for more details. If you aren’t interested in the Nolah Evolution mattress, check out our list of the best cooling mattresses for more great options.

Tempur ProAdapt: Best Mattress for All Sleeping Positions

The Tempur Pro-Adapt offers a variety of firmness levels, meaning no matter which sleeping position you prefer to recover from exercise in, this mattress has you covered. It also offers excellent pressure relief and spinal alignment, two factors that help mitigate post-workout soreness. 

While the Tempur-ProAdapt comes at a steep cost ($3,199 for a Queen) the quality speaks for itself. If you value comfort and recovery, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better option than this mattress.

See our full Tempur ProAdapt Mattress review to learn more. 

Saatva Classic: Best Mattress for Back Sleepers

While innerspring mattresses usually excel in responsiveness and breathability, most also lack enough foam to provide generous comfort or pressure relief. The Saatva is an exception, with a coil-on-coil construction and thick comfort layers that support the sleeper’s body while providing a gentle cradle.

Its coil layer allows it to sleep cool for most, and it’s available in three firmness settings that should suit most athletes regardless of their weight or sleeping position. That being said, the Saatva Classic really shines for back sleepers. The memory foam comfort layer offers contouring and pressure relief, while the two layers of coils support the spine in its natural s-curve.

See our full Saatva Classic Mattress review to learn more. Not interested in the Saatva Classic? Check out our best mattresses for back sleepers for more options.

What Mattress Firmness is Best for Athletes?

Even for the average person, firmness is one of the most important factors to keep in mind when browsing for the right mattress. Firmness refers to how hard or soft a mattress feels, so it’s a subjective measure because how a bed feels to you will depend on your body weight, sleeping position and preferences. To simplify firmness and feel, most mattress companies designate a word, like “soft” or “medium-firm,” to each mattress model in their lineup. In our reviews, we rate them on a 1–10 scale (1 being very soft, 10 being very firm).

The most popular firmness levels are 4–7, but there are sleepers, including athletes, whose preferences may fall outside of that range. Petite side sleepers, for example, may feel best on a very plush mattress that allows their lightweight bodies to sink in. Plus-size back sleepers, on the other hand, usually feel best on a very firm, supportive bed that offers an even sleeping surface to keep the hips and shoulders elevated.

With that said, the “best” firmness level for any athlete will depend entirely upon their preferences, sleeping position and body weight, just like any other sleeper. As a rule of thumb, firmer mattresses are typically recommended for back and stomach sleepers, and softer mattresses are typically recommended for side sleepers. Before making a decision, we recommended learning more about firmness in our mattress firmness guide.

What Type of Mattress is Best for Athletes?

The five most popular types of mattresses sold today include innerspring, hybrid, all-foam, latex and airbed. Each offers unique pros and cons for athletes, so it’s important to understand them before making a decision. Here’s an overview of each type.

Innerspring

Innerspring beds are considered the most traditional mattress type, pairing a thin layer of foam with a steel coil, or innerspring, support system. Generally speaking, they have moderate price points, are available in many firmness options and stay cool. However, minimal comfort layers prevent them from offering the cushioning that most athletes want. They also tend to have high motion transfer rates, which can be an issue for couples. Head over to our best innerspring mattresses for more info.

Hybrid

Hybrid mattresses have thicker foam comfort layers and a pocketed coil support core. They offer some of the benefits of innerspring mattresses, such as durability, breathability and support, with the comfort and conforming of all-foam beds. As long as the right firmness level and feel is chosen, there aren’t any noteworthy drawbacks of this style for athletes. While they tend to be the most expensive mattress type, budget-friendly hybrid mattresses are available.

All-Foam

Memory foam mattresses and mixed foam mattresses combine layers of foam in varying densities. They tend to have lower-than-average price points. Memory foam beds, in particular, offer close conforming to help alleviate pain and pressure throughout the body. Foam beds also have above-average motion isolation, making them a good choice for athletic couples. If pressure relief is important to you, a foam mattress could be a good option, but keep in mind that they tend to sag quicker and will likely retain more heat than a hybrid or innerspring bed.

Related: Best Memory Foam Mattresses

Latex

Latex mattresses come in all-foam and hybrid designs. Most have at least one layer of latex in the comfort portion of the bed, and some have support cores that are made entirely of latex. These mattresses conform closely like memory foam but offer more bounce and sleep cooler. However, they can be expensive. Take a look at our best latex mattress roundup for some of our favorite options.

Airbed

Airbeds offer adjustable firmness for athletes who want to customize the feel of their mattress as needed. These are the most expensive mattresses on the market, but most offer close conforming, isolate motion well and sleep cool. On the downside, airbeds can be prone to mechanical breakdown, may sleep hot if they have thicker comfort layers and may produce noise from the air pumps. You can find more on this subject in our best air mattresses roundup

Muscle Recovery and Sleep

The relationship between sleep and muscle recovery is widely known, but it can be helpful to understand the science of sleep to understand how it impacts your body over time. Sleep occurs in two stages: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep.

REM sleep provides energy to the brain that supports it during waking hours. Non-REM sleep, or deep sleep, allows the brain to rest with very little activity, meaning that blood supply shifts to the muscles instead. During non-REM sleep, growth hormone is also secreted, which stimulates tissue growth and muscle repair.

Getting 7–9 hours of quality sleep each night is crucial, especially for athletes, but making sure you’re spending adequate time in the non-REM phase of sleep can make the difference between sleeping eight hours and feeling “groggy” and sleeping eight hours and feeling truly rejuvenated.

FAQ

Recap of the Top-Rated Mattresses for Athletes

Mattress Model	Award	Firmness
Nectar	Best Affordable Mattress for Athletes	6.5/10
Bear Original	Best for Active Recovery	7/10
Brooklyn Bedding Spartan	Best Mattress for Couples	Varies
Helix Midnight Luxe	Best Customizable Bed for Athletes	6/10
The WinkBed	Best Bed in a Box for Athletes	Varies
Nolah Evolution	Best Cooling Mattress for Athletes	5.5/10
Tempur ProAdapt	Best for All Sleeping Positions	Varies
Saatva Classic	Best Mattress for Active Back Sleepers	Varies