Highest Rated Side Sleeper Beds For Shoulder Pain

The most popular sleeping position for the majority is on the side. The rest sleep either on the back, stomach or multiple postures. We found that side seeping although preferred; could lead to serious health complications. When you sleep on the side, more body curves are exposed increasing the chance of pressure build up.

The side you face while sidesleeping can have a positive and negative impact on your health and sleep. Sleeping on your left side has a host of health benefits, and you have a higher chance of having sweet dreams. Sleeping on your right side isn’t comfortable, and you’re likely to have nightmares.

Despite, the shortcomings it is still the most preferred by the majority and offers a lot of sleep benefits. When you don’t sleep in the proper side posture, you develop neck, back or shoulder pain, including spinal problems.

We have listed the best beds if you are experiencing shoulder pain, how to identify one and which materials are high-grade for enjoying quality sleep. We’ve also included tips on how you can relieve some of the discomfort other than sleeping on the right bed.

Purchasing a Bed When You Sleep on Your Side with Shoulder Pain

There is a list of factors to consider when you sleep on the side having shoulder pain. They help you pick the most appropriate bed for you. The pain is a serious issue among sidesleepers because they put pressure on the area as they are sleeping. Back and stomach sleepers don’t put much pressure on this region.

What Causes Shoulder Ache?

The aching could be as a result of numerous factors. The pain can be as a result of;

• Poor positioning while sleeping
• Disease – example, Osteoarthritis
• Over-exercising
• Aging
• You can hurt yourself working during the day
• Staying stationary
• Rotator cuff tear or Tendonosis

Regardless of what the cause may be, you‘ll have to find a most suitable mattress. The most comfortable sleeping surface is constructed using material that will contour to the shoulders creating even weight distribution, therefore, giving pressure relief.

As a sidesleeper, you expose the curves and put a lot of pressure on them which causes pain and discomfort while sleeping. While awake you also have to be cautious not to hurt yourself.

Putting too much strain because of pressure could result in heat spots. They will slow down the healing process or even make the pain worse. The highest rated mattress will alleviate some of the pain and help speed up recovery.

Firmness

The most preferred firmness level for a sidesleeper is medium-firmness. Although some will find a soft mattress to be ideal, and if you prefer a softer feel it should have sufficient support for the spine, neck, and shoulders. It’s also essential for spinal alignment.

Back and stomach sleepers don’t have as many curves, and a firm mattress may do just fine. For a sidesleeper, because of the many exposed curves, you’ll find that a medium-firm bed that slightly sinks in, contouring to the body curves offers better support and comfort.

The wrong firmness feel could have severe implications on your health and the quality of your sleep. A firm mattress will not allow sinking in and contouring, causing you to put too much pressure on the region and in the process hurt yourself. A soft bed will sink in too much creating discomfort.

To avoid or relieve these pains, look for a bed with medium soft or medium firmness. Heavy side sleepers may find a firm mattress more accommodative.

If you did like to learn more about hard surface beds. We created a firm mattress buyer’s guide.

Common Denominators

As we got to understand some of the pain that we get while sleeping, the more we realized how valuable it is to sleep in the best suitable mattress for your sleeping position. A lot of times, we’ve found that we tend to have aches when we don’t relax on a surface that offers a firmness feel that complements our sleeping style.

Your body aches all have a common denominator, the sleeping position. When you don’t position yourself appropriately on the bed, you’ll find that you put too much pressure on these regions and in the process hurt yourself.

To avoid hurting these regions of the body, bedding that has the right amount of comfort feel, and support will be necessary. Your positioning also has a part to play.

If necessary, use pillows for support but place them in the right place. Wrong placing could have the opposite effect.

How to Relieve Shoulder Joint Discomfort for a Side Sleeper?

There are many approaches that a sidesleeper can take to relieve some of the discomforts that they experience. They include surgery, physiotherapy, and getting better sleep. We’ve focused on getting better quality sleep to help alleviate the pain.

Improve Spine Alignment

Sidesleeping is the most preferred sleeping position for the majority of sleepers. However, when you don’t position yourself correctly, you’ll find that you develop some health complications. The challenges of side sleeping include getting pressure relief, proper spinal alignment, and sufficient support.

Soft to moderate firmness provides a soft and firm sleeping surface that allows for contouring, while at the same time offering the much-needed support. When sidesleepers sleep on a surface that lacks evenness and support, the spine becomes poorly aligned leading to body pains.

To improve spinal alignment, the bed needs to contour to your body curves without sinking in too much. Too much sink causes discomfort and could worsen the pain. You’ll find some side sleepers use body pillows to get the extra support needed to improve spinal alignment and support.

However, it’s important to take care not to position the pillow wrongly as it could harm you. The pillows help align the spine and relieve the excess pressure off the shoulders.

Pressure on Pain Points

When you sleep on your side, there are more body curves exposed as compared to stomach and back sleeping. As a result, you’ll find that a sidesleeper tends to develop numerous pressure points. When you’re not correctly positioned, the neck, shoulders, hip and back regions all have the potential of producing painful pressure spots.

For a sidesleeper, to get the right amount of comfort requires a moderate soft to a medium firm mattress that will be soft enough to contour to the body curves but also firm enough to provide sufficient support where necessary. When the bed conforms to the body shape, it creates equal weight distribution, relieving the pressure off these regions.

Increased pressure on aching shoulders will make the ache worse and slow down healing. The heat that develops in the high pressure spot also contributes negatively to the healing process.

To alleviate pains, a sidesleeper needs to relieve pressure off that spot.

If you are experiencing lower back discomforts: See our side sleeping guide for back pain suffers.

Best-Rated Materials for Side Sleeping Individuals with Shoulder Problems

There are specific mattress construction materials that offer a better sleeping experience for a sidesleeper with pain problems. They are memory foam, latex, hybrid and innerspring. We have discussed them in detail below.

Memory Foam

Memory foam is ideal if you are a side sleeper because of its viscoelastic nature. The foam contours to the body giving pressure relief. It returns to its original shape once you’re off the mattress. It’s among the most sought-after bedding in the industry for the majority of sleepers.

It’s perfect for a sidesleeper with shoulder pain because of its pressure relieving properties. It’s soft and firm, giving comfort without having to compromise support. However, you may love memory foam feel but there are disadvantages to using it which may make your pain worsen.

It tends to sleep hot, causing the mattress to sag. Sagging causes the bed to lose shape and becomes uncomfortable. The pressure on the neck, shoulder and hip regions increases in the process, which could harm you.

There will also be a challenge with spinal alignment if you’re not well positioned. For the utmost sleeping experience as a sidesleeper with shoulder pain, get advanced foam with better specifications for a beautiful rest.

Latex

Unlike memory which tends to get hot and lose the support while sleeping, you can opt to go for latex foam. It sleeps cooler and has more durability. Note, however, that latex is excellent if you’re used to the feel it offers. If you’re used spring or memory foam, it may give some discomfort.

Latex is available in two varieties, synthetic and natural. They both almost have the same feel but organic latex tends to be springier. Latex has pin holes which help improve heat regulation and provide better comfort.

Organic latex is more expensive. It’s because it offers more comfort and support. The coziness it provides is similar to what you’ll experience on memory foam with a spring feel and support like that of coil springs.

It’s suitable when you’re a sidesleeper with shoulder pain because it’s cool, comfy and supportive. It’s also great when you‘re searching for a durable bed.

You can read more: Which Latex Mattress is Best?

Hybrid

Hybrid mattresses combine the top-quality latex or memory foam materials with coil springs to provide a fantastic sleeping experience. The layers of foam or latex offer comfort and pressure relief while the innerspring layer provides the support. Hybrid beds are best because you get the perfect support, comfort and pressure for the shoulder pain.

The best mattress for a sidesleeper with shoulder pain offers a fresh, cozy, supportive and pressure relieving sleeping surface. It also must have the required firmness level. You’ll find that hybrids with medium firmness are suitable.

Unlike memory foam mattresses that get hot when you’re sleeping which can affect your healing, hybrids stay cooler.

The foam layers in most hybrids have a cooling gel infusion for heat regulation. Other features help stay cool, such as the spring layers. They have proper ventilation that offers airflow. The foam layers are mainly for comfort and providing pressure relief.

All the support and bounce comes from the spring layer.

Innerspring

We are skeptical against using an innerspring unless it’s the one that provides the comfort feel that you desire. It’s been around for almost a century now, and as expected, popular among the majority especially in the USA.

A lot of us grew up sleeping on innerspring, but it has its disadvantages so we wouldn’t advise for side sleepers with shoulder pain.

Springs lack the necessary support needed for the spine, back, shoulders and hips. It’s also not as comfortable, and regardless of which sleep position you take, it can hurt you. It’s very hard and therefore doesn’t offer a cozy sleeping surface.

The challenge with innerspring is that even soft springs can harm you. They lack the support, and in most cases, they sag, which compromises the support further. Unless you’re used to innerspring and have found a quality mattress, we advise using hybrid, latex or memory foam.

For a much in-depth overview, read our review of the top-grade innerspring beds.

Top 5 Side Sleeping Mattresses for People with Shoulder Ache Reviewed

Our top rated mattress for side sleepers with a total score of 9.8/10. It offers perfect comfort and support for all sleeping positions, and specialized pressure relief excellent for sidesleeping.

The Nectar bed features an all-foam structure comprising of four distinctive layers wrapped in a dust mite resistant Tencel cover. Tencel is an excellent material for covers because of its superb qualities of efficient breathability and it wicks excess moisture and heat for the most cooling sleep.

The foam layers are uniquely constructed and arranged to achieve the most comforting feel, and giving adequate support to all the critical body regions. The memory foam comfort layers provide excellent pressure relief and distribute weight evenly. Polyfoam layers offer sufficient support, compression support and pressure relief.

Nectar gives the most relieving and hugging contouring that pampers sleepers with feathery comfort. The firmness is optimized for side sleepers as the pressure points require enough give to avoid uncomfortable sleeping.

To get a much more in-depth overview. Read our Nectar analysis here.

In the second position, the Alexander Signature Hybrid is a close contender with an overall rating of 9.5/10. The medium to soft surface perfectly accommodates side sleepers who require plush surfaces for avoiding pain in the shoulder and hip pressure points.

The Signature Hybrid structure comprises of innerspring coils independently encased to minimize noise and motion transfer. On top of the coils, foam layers offer comfort and pressure relief for the most fulfilling sidesleeping experience.

A special gel is infused into the comfort memory foam to give a pleasing contour and pressure relief. Copper is infused into another foam layer to achieve efficient thermoregulation properties. The springs provide a firm pushback to ensure a well-balanced supportive pushback and proper spinal alignment.

The plush treatment is very appealing to side sleepers who enjoy an excellent bouncy mattress with generous support for all the body regions. The springy pushback makes moving on the bed during sleep easy and helps minimize motion transfer.

The Zenhaven all natural latex mattresses offer two firmness settings best for eliminating shoulder pain common in the side sleeping position. The soft to medium side perfectly suits side sleepers balancing between maximum comfort and firm support for the correct spinal alignment while sleeping on your side.

The natural Talalay latex used for the Zenhaven is top-grade premium quality American made latex that stands way above the conventional imported latex.

The latex layers are zoned into five different regions, by varying the size and distribution of the pinholes which achieve optimum support for different body parts. Latex is a natural dust and mite repellant making the Zenhaven hypoallergenic and eco-friendly.

By using a woolen quilt below the breathable cotton cover, the Zenhaven achieves fire retardant properties without requiring the need for chemicals. The organic wool also adds breathability and makes the cover more efficient in regulating heat and moisture on the skin of the sidesleeper.

Are you interested in this type? See how well they did during our test.

The Casper offers a new innovative multi-zoned support foam structure with improved support, with an overall rating of 9/10. Any sidesleeper can easily encounter pain in the sharp pressure points if they sleep on a surface not customized for them. The Casper bed is specially tailored to ensure that sidesleeping is as comfortably supportive as possible.

The unique zoning allows the shoulders to sink in more into the foam for effective pressure relief, and the hips properly align to ensure that there’s no pain in the lumbar region when you wake up. The support foam has a new structure as well that improves breathability for a more cooling sleep, and better weight distribution.

The stable structure of the Casper support foam limits motion transfer significantly. It’s great for couples or those who co-sleep with a partner who moves a lot during sleep. The support foam gives the Casper its unique tub-like shape and guarantees its longevity.

Read our full review to find out how well Casper performed during our assessment.

Our Final Thoughts

Side sleepers will be comfortable sleeping on a medium-firm or soft mattress. It’s because it provides sufficient comfort, support and pressure relief. The soft comfort layers will contour to the body shape while the firm layers give support.

Highest quality mattresses that offer such benefits are best for side sleepers who have shoulder problems as they prevent pressure build-up, wrong spinal positional and body aches. Shoulder pain for a sidesleeper is particularly a challenge as he/she will put pressure on the region while sleeping.

They need beds that complement side sleeping for a pleasant sleeping experience and can alleviate shoulder pain.