We are all different when it comes to the type of mattress we prefer. Some of us like it hard and others go for a softer sleeping surface.
Much of it depends on the sleeping position we adopt. Side sleepers generally like something that forms to the exact contours of their body, while back sleeper needs something firmer, and ultimately, the tummy sleeper will choose something that does not unnaturally curve the spine in the wrong direction.
Soft beds are not for everyone. Lax sleeping surfaces have a difficult time providing both optimal support and maintaining supreme comfort. However, if you want to feel as if you are floating on cloud nine, then you got to read on.
For our purposes, we want to review at least couple of the best soft and plush mattresses on the market and decide what qualities they bring to the table. After, our detailed buyers’ guide should form the cornerstone of your purchasing process. Also, it is important to know whether a soft bed is the right one for you. If you decide on one, we will help you find the best type of sleeping surface.
Buyer’s Guide for Soft Mattress
Firmness & Support
These are two entirely different things when it comes to beds despite the implied similarity. And yet, they are paramount when making any purchasing decision.
When we lie down on a bed, we have to feel comfortable. Many of us prefer the soft and plush sensation, even if the cozy feel of the mattress only suggests it. More importantly, the spine needs to be aligned correctly – preferably straight. Also, there should be no pressure points between your body and the sleeping surface. This is what we call the right support. Get it right, and you have more chance of fending off back pain and the like.
The firmness refers to the global feel of the sleeping surface. You can flip many mattresses to have two different sleeping experiences. When you are deciding on what to buy, choosing between firmness and support are two of the most critical factors.
Are you looking for a harder surface? See our recommended mattresses here.
Pick the Right Plush Material
Generally speaking, memory foam and hybrids provide for the best plush and soft material. However, certain coziness can also be obtained from latex and innerspring. We will have a look at all three.
Memory foam – Due to the moldable nature of this bed, it is the best choice if you are in the market for a plush and soft mattress to sleep on. The moldable surface fits the contours of your body like a second skin. Best choice.
Hybrid – This one is right up there regarding softness with the pure-play memory foam alternative. We placed this one at a close second because you need to research more thoroughly to get the right material mix of foam, spring or latex.
Innerspring – This bed comes with all different firmness levels. If you are a person who prefers traditional beds, innerspring could be the best for a soft surface.
Latex – this mattress has bounce, but it is not the best if you want a soft surface.
Consider the Edge Support of Plush Mattress
With traditional innerspring beds, edge support is a given because all of the individual coils held in various pockets need to be kept in place and protected from possible damage. No matter how soft a mattress you want, edge support is important.
This is because the correct amount of edge support keeps your body from sinking when you are lying near the edge of the bed. Also, when you are putting on your slippers in the morning, you do not want to slide off the bed on to the floor because the whole side of the bed cannot support your weight.
Those of you who know about edge support might think that memory foam and latex bed do not have any. On the contrary, top bed brands pride themselves on their edge support. Check out their reviews so that you know more.
Temperature (Sleeping Cool)
When deciding what kind of temperature you want in the bed with you during the night, you have to choose between the different types of mattress.
We are sure that you have deduced from our writing and other reviews that memory foam is the most prominent heat retention culprit. This sleeping surface requires body heat to form to your body shape. If you do not mind the heat for an indulgent and cozy atmosphere, then look no further.
However, if you still want to enjoy the benefits of a soft and plush mattress and enjoy all of the advantages of memory foam, have another look at the reviewed beds. You will immediately see that we presented and reviewed two hybrid solutions.
And we stick by them. A mix of materials is the best way to sleep cool during the night. However, if you need a pure-play eco-friendly option, organic latex is what you are looking for.
Sleepers Who Should Avoid Soft Bed
Around two-thirds of people prefer to sleep on the side. It’s a natural reaction to what was the innate resting position when we were in the womb as a fetus. This sleeping position is also ideally suited to relieve your back.
However, this is only possible if you are supported by the right sleep system dedicated to side sleepers. In this case, ‘right’ means that it must meet a variety of requirements to avoid painful tension caused by inadequate sinkage and support.
The basic prerequisite for this is the outstretched and straight position of the spine. This also includes the proper support of the head or the cervical spine with the right pillow. In addition, side sleepers need optimal sinkage in the shoulder and hip areas, while the waist requires increased support.
For this reason, a suitable sleeping surface for side sleepers is characterized by high point elasticity. A mattress for side sleepers may accordingly consist of latex, high-quality foam or a classic innerspring.
Furthermore, many mattresses now have lying areas that are tailored to the needs of the individual parts of the body and can respond accordingly well. So there are tighter recumbent areas for lighter body parts, such as the head or legs, and more pliable areas for the shoulders and the pelvis.
You now understand why a soft bed is not really the way to go if you sleep on your side. Support in all the right places is what you should be considering. Also, weight is an issue. The heavier you are, the more support you need.
Perks of Having a Softer Mattress
Side
On that note, side sleepers, like those with broader shoulders, should be careful to relieve their cervical spine. Also, the shoulder area must always be able to sink into the mattress. The bed has to be adjusted at the shoulders and the hips so that the spine is in no way kinked to the side. Furthermore, pressure must be exerted on the shoulders or hips when lying down on a good side-sleeper mattress, the spine must have a straight line.
Again formability of the mattress is key. That does not mean that we must forfeit soft and plush for hard and coarse. On the contrary, a good mix is a place where the attributes mentioned above should meet.
It all boils down to the right zoning and elasticity on the surface. The products mentioned in our reviews are all naturally forgiving, making side sleeping very enjoyable.
Back
If the mattress does not fit your personal requirements, the muscles cannot relax, and the bones are not sufficiently supported. That hits the intervertebral discs particularly hard. At night, they should regenerate and fill with fluid to get fit for the day. If you have back pain and a sleeping surface that is seven to ten years old or the wrong type, you should look for a new sleeping pad.
A good sleeping surface should have different zones. For the top-quality results, it should have a little give on the shoulders and pelvic areas. When you lie on your back, then the buttocks must be able to sink. Of course, you must feel that the mattress also rests on the waist and gently supports it. Very important, it must not push back against your physique.
Once you are supported in all the right places, you can think about getting the ideal soft and plush sleeping surface. It’s all about creating the perfect harmony.
If you experience a lower back discomfort read our recommended mattresses.
Stomach
If you like sleeping on your tummy you need to feel as if you are floating on a cloud. Only by creating a soft and plush feeling will you be able to attain that. But also other considerations come into play. You don’t want to sacrifice wellbeing for short-term comfort.
Before we go any further, you should know that if you are a stomach sleeper, you are going to bed in the worst possible position every night. This makes it doubly important that you do your research for the right bedding.
Soft and plush is one thing and you do not have to forfeit it. It just has to be allocated to the right part of the sleeping surface so that the pelvis is supported, and the gaps between your body and the bed are non-existent. Be sure to combine everything with the right pillow for the best sleep.
Lightweight Sleepers
The lighter you are, the less firmness is required in your bed. Weight is a crucial component in the mattress-decision-making process. If you go to a traditional bricks-and-mortar store, the salesperson would hopefully be able to give you some more information. When you go online, you need to do your research and read as many reviews as possible.
Whatever you find, be sure to check the return policy so that you can be sure if the soft and plush sleeping surface is the best one for you. Oh, we forgot one more thing. If you sleep with your partner on a shared mattress, his or her weight must also be put into the equation for optimal comfort.
As long as your body is supported where it should be based on the points we made in the above sections; you can go as soft as you like as a lightweight sleeper.
Which Type of Material is the Softest?
Memory Foam
The memory effect refers to visco foam in bedding products such as mattresses or viscous toppers. The material in memory foam sleeping surfaces has viscoelastic or thermoelastic properties. It adapts to the body contours better than no other material. In essence, Visco foam reacts to the body’s heat and pressure – this is called the memory effect and you can learn more here.
Thanks to this technology, it is possible to lay the body on the mattress in a pressure-free and orthopedically correct manner. Also, circulatory disorders, such as in the shoulder area can be avoided, which is particularly recommended for side sleepers.
Taking all of what we just said into consideration, we can safely say that the memory foam sleeping surface is the softest of the bunch. Thanks to supporting the body where it needs it, you will feel soft and cozy. Just be aware that body heat gets stored easily and it is a wholly man-made product.
Latex
A latex mattress is durable and offers excellent support and shape properties, see our top latex picks. Still, they are less frequent than spring mattresses. But they have many advantages over the conventional variants, which make them superior in many respects.
A latex mattress is made of foamed rubber. There are both natural and synthetic latex products. The latter is made from petroleum and often do not match the quality of the natural variety. Latex mattresses are considered to be particularly hygienic and less susceptible to bacteria. This makes them the first choice for allergy sufferers. Also, they are characterized by high adaptability to the body, but they are not soft per se.
They are suitable for almost all sleeping positions and are also used by people with back problems. Due to the high material density, they are very heavy. They must frequently be turned, but are particularly durable. Because the production is more complicated, be prepared to pay more.
Innerspring Coil
No, they have nothing to do with bird feathers. What is referred to are the spiral springs inside the mattress, which cushion the body weight? Typically, the structure is symmetrical: The inner spring core is covered at the top and bottom by a protective layer, for example of felt or fleece. In this way, the compression of the wire springs is avoided. As a final position, a foam plate ensures a soft feeling and the whole thing is enclosed by the mattress cover.
Thanks to their point-elastic suspension, these models are in principle suitable for every type of sleeper. One of the outstanding advantages of the construction is the good ventilation: there is significantly more air in the spring core than, for example, in foam mattresses. Therefore, heat and moisture are removed.
Regarding soft and plush, you can buy an innerspring with any firmness level, making them as soft as you require.
Hybrid
Along with memory foam, this is probably the top-grade choice out there. Our reviews of the above beds in this article confirm this. Both of them are hybrid models. They have the advantages of body contour shaping from the memory foam material without the heat retention.
Getting hot during the night is one of the things most people complain about when they have a pure-play memory foam sleeping surface. The hybrid either comes combined with innersprings or latex to obtain optimum functionality, durability, breathability, and comfort for the best price on the market.
So, if you are someone who prefers soft and cozy, choose the hybrid. Make sure you read a view reviews to get all the information you need, and you will soon be sleeping on the perfect hybrid mattress out there.
Our Top 2 Plush & Softest Mattress Reviews
The New Purple .4 – Perfect Softness
Features:
- Ultimate pressure relief
- Multiple sleeping positions
- Cool sleep experience
- Bed-in-a-box delivery
Our Ratings: 9.6/10
The company touts this new product as the world’s most comfortable mattress. We tested it to find out whether this was just an empty claim.
The New Purple .4 is composed out of four layers that act in sync to give every type of sleeper the experience they are looking for. Having a hybrid structure of various materials does this. Inside the bedding, you will find memory foam coupled with spring coil technology interspersed on a smart grid that makes sure you get support and sinkage where you need it.
To top it off, the fabric is breathable, reducing sweating during the night.
The soft bedding comes with a ten-year warranty and a 100-night risk-free trial period – in other words, if you don’t like this soft sleeping surface, they will come round and take it away and offer you your money back in full.
The Alexander Signature – Great Comfort
Features:
- Thermic Phase Change Cooling fabric
- CertiPUR-US certified memory foam
- No degassing
- Made-to-order
- Excellent body temperature dispersion
Our Ratings: 9.5/10
The Alexander Signature is a product made by Nest bedding. It is their biggest seller. Before we go into the nitty-gritty of getting your hands on one, let’s take a look at how this mattress is made up.
This is a hybrid sleeping surface composed of both memory foam and pocket coils to allow for the ultimate softness. The company also claims that it will please sleepers of any type. Initially, we thought this a very bold claim.
But in truth, it isn’t. Nest bedding is made the moment you have completed your order online. For some of you, this might last too long. Generally, delivery takes up to five days because of this custom-made feature. But we found it was worth the wait for a mattress fabricated only for you.
We very much doubt that you will need the 100-day risk-free trial because the moment you sink into the forgiving quilted luxury topping, you are a goner.
Our Final Thoughts
For many of us, soft is the only way imaginable when lying in bed. For others, the mere thought of it sends shivers down one’s spine. It does not matter. We are all different in the end.
What is of import is that you see all of our mattress reviews and make the best and right choice when you are scouring the market for a soft mattress. Comfort is important, but be sure that your body and spine has all the support they need. You don’t want to have the naysayers telling you, ‘I told you so.’