If you are a heavy and light couple, there’s no denying that the lighter person gets the raw end of the deal in bed, feeling every tremor when the heavier one of you tosses, turns, and gets into bed. Heavier people also need firmer mattresses, so the lighter person can sleep on what feels like a concrete slab.
However, catering to the lighter person with a soft mattress creates an uncomfortable sleeping platform for someone heavy. Hence, you need to strike a balance and call on technology to eliminate the effects of motion transfer.
This article reveals the best mattresses for heavy and light couples, helping everyone get a good night’s sleep.
Let’s jump in!
Mattress firmness and materials
A mattress’s firmness determines how it feels depending on your body weight. For example, a medium-firm mattress feels relatively soft to someone weighing over 200 lbs, while it feels rather hard to someone under 160 lbs.
For heavy and light couples, mattress firmness should accommodate the heavy person, but the materials should accommodate the lighter person.
The best combination is a medium-firm mattress with a generous layer of memory foam or memory gel for the comfort layer to give it a softer surface. The support will stay rigid for the heavy person, and the first few centimetres of travel will be soft for the light person.
Our favourite mattress is the Silentnight Mirapocket 1400 (£798, king), which has a 1400-zoned Mirapocket spring system and a mattress depth of 28cm.
Latex foam is another option. Although latex is bouncier than memory foam, it absorbs impacts just as well. The Giltedge Beds Hampshire is a great example.
Another option is a pure foam mattress. Foam mattresses like the Giltedge Beds Cellflex (£199, kingsize) offer excellent motion isolation, although they lack nuanced support and are much thinner in return for a lower price.
