Best Mattress for Sleep Apnea 2023
- By Jessica
- Last Update: Feb 12, 2023
Everyone needs quality and undisruptive sleep for their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. However, if you have sleep apnea, your sleep can be uncomfortable because of the loud snoring, fatigue, awakening, and daytime sleepiness you will be experiencing.
However, a 2017 research showed that sleeping at a 7.5-degree angle minimizes obstructive sleep apnea by 31%. It implies that an excellent adjustable mattress will go a long way in helping you reduce sleep apnea symptoms.
While the best mattress won’t cure sleep apnea, it can aid in minimizing occurrences of the condition and enhancing your sleep quality. Therefore, we shall provide you with a detailed guide on the best mattress for sleep apnea 2023 to help you sleep better. Let’s get started.
How to Choose the Best Mattress for Sleep
First, it is best to understand that the right sleeping angle for someone with sleep apnea differs from the rest. So, you will have to choose the best mattress for sleep that is adjustable and compatible with your condition. Below is how to choose the best mattress for sleep.
- Consider Good Company Reputation
Choose your mattress from a company with a positive reputation with its clients, a company that is honest and transparent in its business practices.
- Check Customer Reviews
It is advisable to look for top reviews on the mattress you choose. If it has many users’ positive reviews, it is an ideal option for you.
- Outstanding company policies
We advocate that you check for aspects like warranties of at least five years, return policies, reliable shipping, and extended in-home sleep trials when choosing a mattress.
- Safety
Each mattress featured in our review is safe, and you can use it without worrying. However, always inquire about safety before you make a purchase.
- Adjustable base
Sometimes, you may find yourself sleeping on your back. However, if you have sleep apnea, an adjustable base will come in handy to help you raise your head without having to use your pillows.
Even if an adjustable base is quite expensive, you will get value for your money.
- Firmness level
Sleeping on your back is usually not the best option. However, if you always do, you must choose a mattress with a firmer base. If you occasionally do side and stomach sleeping, you will have to choose from different firmness levels for a comfortable sleep.
Firmer surfaces would be ideal when sleeping with your stomach, while a softer mattress would be suitable when sleeping on your side.
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This mattress type is a comfortable innerspring containing two layers of coils alongside an organic cotton euro-top cover to offer three firmness options. Saatva classic is a luxurious and classy mattress.
Moreover, the mattress has a plush pillow top to give you the required pressure relief. Its zoned design ensures that your body is in appropriate alignment. The bed is also responsive, and you won’t have difficulty moving it around.
Pros
- Several firm options
- Offers 365-night home trial
- Made from organic and natural materials
- Free delivery and set up
- Lifetime warranty
Cons
- Not ideal for foam enthusiasts
- Costly
- Its adjustable cost is not included in the buying price
The plank by Brooklyn bedding is a medium-firm mattress that assists pregnant women in maintaining proper stomach alignment. It gives excellent balance, comfort, and support to the body. Additionally, this mattress type is affordable, and it’s a bed in a box mattress that will help you with sleep apnea.
You will get it in three firmness to offer pressure relief if you are a side sleeper. Also, its plush pillow and a layer of soft foam assist in alleviating pressure around the hips and shoulders while its coils give you solid support.
Pros
- Offers two extraordinary firmness levels in a flippable mattress
- Optional cooling panels for a great sleep experience
- Delivered in a box for easy transportation and access to your bedroom
- 10-year warranty
- 120-night risk-free trial
Cons
- Expensive
Since side sleepers require plusher than stomach and back sleepers, the helix midnight mattress is ideal for them. This mattress contains a comfortable medium firm plus enough pressure to curb aches and sore spots.
It’s a high-quality hybrid mattress that ensures your spine is in neutral alignment while sleeping. Moreover, it has advanced cooling materials, which are good for hot sleepers. The mattress is also soft and responsive, meaning moving it around is much easier.
Pros
- Offers support to side and back sleepers who weigh up to 230 pounds
- Suitable for people with extreme-pressure joints
- Offers additional back support
- 15-year warranty
- 100 nights free trial
Cons
- There is a noticeable odor when you unbox the mattress that lasts up to 48 hours
Personal comfort A10 bed is a modern bed with personalized settings. It has built-in Bluetooth, meaning you can link your smartphone and set the firmness of whatever side of your bed.
It also features a top cooling layer and a thick comfort layer for you to experience a plush feel. Some models, like the flex head, enable you to adjust the head position when you want to sleep on your back.
Pros
- Advanced and elegant
- Made with certified foam
- You get a 120-night free trial
Cons
- Quite expensive
The nectar classic is a foam mattress that gives you a good balance of contouring. It also offers support to pregnant women.
It contains a 3-inch comfort layer of memory foam, then a 2-inch and 7-inch high-density polyfoam to hug your body and relieve pressure in any areas you experience pressure build-up.
Sleeping in this mattress makes you sink and experience the conformity to your body shape because of its slow-moving memory foam touch and feel.
Pros
- Affordable
- It gives the required contouring and support
- Has a more extended trial period
Cons
- Too firm for lightweight sleepers
- Not suitable for people who don’t like the hugging feeling of memory foam
- May absorb excess body heat
Buyers Guide to Mattresses for Sleep Apnea
Below is everything you need to know about mattresses for sleep apnea, but first, let’s look at the following:
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a state that makes you stop breathing during sleep because of blockage of your airway (obstructive sleep apnea) or maybe your brain is unable to regulate your breathing. Because of insufficient oxygen, you will wake up so that you can resume breathing. Even though the reflux will keep you alive, your sleeping habits are highly affected since you do not get a restful sleep.
Not having a good sleep can make you stressed, which is not suitable for your health. Sleep apnea affects anyone, from children to infants and even older adults.
Sleep Apnea Symptoms
Sleep apnea has numerous symptoms. Some you will spot, while others your doctor will diagnose. Below are the sleep apnea symptoms:
- Snoring: It is widely seen in patients with sleep apnea. However, it is not seen in all people with the condition.
- Feeling exhausted when waking up: Sometimes, even if you have heard a whole night’s sleep, you will wake up extremely tired.
- Daytime sleepiness: In extreme cases, you will notice drowsiness when driving or performing other operations.
- Change in brain function: This includes difficulty concentrating, memory loss, or any brain-related problems.
- Mood variance: Anxiety and depression are also associated with sleep apnea.
- Pauses in breathing: You will experience loss of breath, making you wake up.
- Waking up frequently in the middle of the night: It can be hard to know why you wake up, but the common reason is usually heartburn, or sometimes you have to access the washrooms.
- Wired breathing patterns: Most sleep apnea people will experience Cheyne-strokes breathing (CSB), a specific breathing pattern. It leads to rapid breathing that may get more profound and, at the same time, shallower. Then eventually, the entire breathing will seize altogether. You will begin breathing again, and the pattern will continue until you wake up.
- Feeling restless while experiencing night sweats.
- Headaches when you are awake.
How does Sleep Apnea Affects Sleep?
When you are experiencing sleep apnea, The frequent awakenings always affect your sleep. It usually makes restorative sleep impossible, making you have an uncomfortable sleep. Eventually, you will have severe daytime drowsiness, irritability, and fatigue.
You will have a hard time at your workplace since you will be experiencing sleep, making it challenging to work or concentrate.
Sleeping Positions and Sleep Apnea
Sleeping positions significantly affect sleep apnea positively or negatively. Some sleeping positions may not be ideal if you suffer from this condition. That’s why we strive to provide you with as much information as possible on the best sleeping positions to increase and the ones to reduce for the management of sleep apnea. Take a look.
- Side Sleeping
According to the sleep better council, practicing side sleeping while bending your knees a little bit upward and facing the chest is the appropriate position for sleep apnea patients. Research has shown that sleeping on the left will reduce sleep apnea more than when facing the right.
When you side-sleep, it helps maintain optimal blood flow and reduces the occurrences of sleep apnea you experience at night. It also comes with additional benefits like lowering insomnia and alleviating gastroesophageal reflux. Additionally, it ensures your spine is in appropriate alignment.
In addition to side sleeping, get the right pillow, preferably a thicker one, to support your neck and head. Alternatively, you can use body pillows because they are bigger and they will aid in keeping your body in the correct position.
- Back Sleeping
Back sleeping is appropriate for spinal alignment. However, it is usually not the proper sleeping position for persons with sleep apnea. It makes gravity stretch the soft tissues to the throat downward, which is quite risky since it can make the individuals collapse as they sleep and cause airway blockage.
Back sleeping can also make you snore more. Please get a pillow that can support you for side sleeping.
- Stomach Sleeping
Opting for stomach sleeping is okay if you suffer from sleep apnea. It generates gravity on your side and stretches the tissues inside your mouth and throat forward. Eventually, this will minimize the chances of airway obstruction.
Always ensure your pillow does not block the mouth or nose during stomach sleeping. Use a thin pad. The thinner pillow reduces strain around your neck while sleeping, facing downward.
Tips for Sleeping with Sleep Apnea
Here are several tips for sleeping with sleep apnea.
- Consider a CPAP Machine
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is an effective treatment for managing sleep apnea. You just need to put it on at night, and you will be good to go. The machine will help prevent your throat from collapsing.
Ensure you get the appropriate CPAP mask and machine that aligns with your needs. Remember to clean the CPAP tools frequently and wipe your face thoroughly before fixing it at night. Additionally, ensure you engage a medical specialist when you want to get the machine so that they can give you the one that suits your needs.
- Get a CPAP Pillow
You can get different styles, shapes, lofts, pressure, and firmness of pillows. When the pillow dislodges your CPAP, you can get a CPAP pillow. The pillows are specifically made to shelter the CPAP masks. They come with indented areas aligned on both edges of the pillow to create space for your mask.
As much as you are getting a CPAP pillow, ensure your mattress is in good condition to work in harmony with your pillows to offer you a comfortable sleep.
- Use an Adjustable Bed Frame
Sleeping at an angle plays a significant role in reducing sleep apnea at night. For that reason, you can get an adjustable bed frame to manage the condition. An adjustable bed frame does not interfere with your sleeping position, meaning you can enjoy your sleeping position.
A study done in 2022 showed that sleeping at an inclined angle minimizes the chances of sleep awakening and snoring, thus enhancing your sleep quality.
You can find single and double-adjustable frames. It all depends on your preference and the number of people you have.
- Have a Wedge Pillow
The wedge pillow is a specific triangle-shaped pillow that you use to raise the upper part of your body as you sleep. It helps you sleep better if you have sleep apnea. You will find them in different sizes, made from numerous materials.
Additionally, a Wedge pillow helps keep your head at an angle so that your airways will be open as you sleep.
Other tips for sleeping with sleep apnea include:
- Limit alcohol and smoking
- Consider using a humidifier
- Change your sleeping position
- Try yoga
- Use oral appliances
- Have a healthy weight
- Carry out moderate exercises
- Have a sleep schedule
Firm vs. Soft Mattress for Sleep Apnea
Medium-firm is the most effective mattress to manage the symptoms of sleep apnea. It will keep you lifted through the night, opening your airways and minimizing damage.
On the other hand, a soft mattress can cause extra sink age, increasing the symptoms of sleep apnea.
Best Types of Mattresses for Sleep Apnea
Below are different types of mattresses for sleep apnea.
- Adjustable Airbeds
Some people usually confuse these types of mattresses with air mattresses. These come with built-in air channels to enable you to regulate the firmness level. They come with a remote for you to deflate or inflate the bed.
Since adjusting the bed’s firmness is not a problem, you will choose the appropriate amount of side sleeping you require to help keep your spine in a good position.
In some scenarios, you can pair mattresses with adjustable bases, elevating the head of your bed and reducing obstructive sleep apnea symptoms.
- Foam
Foam mattresses are made from various types of foam, like latex and memory foam. They won’t cure sleep apnea, but they assist you in sleeping more comfortably on your stomach or side.
Most foam types allow you to experience higher freedom of movement while sleeping.
- Hybrid
Hybrid mattresses come in a mixture of supportive coils and soft foam. They give you enough support, making your night peaceful. They do not limit movement since they have coils and a bit of bounce.
Conclusion
Getting the correct type of mattress can help you sleep better and reduce sleep apnea symptoms. We have seen that adjustable air beds are the best option for sleep apnea since they come with built-in air channels to enable you to regulate the firmness level. However, you can select the one you prefer since they are all meant to minimize sleep apnea symptoms.
Before shopping for any sleep apnea mattress, consider the firmness level, material, adjustable base, and in-home sleep trial. The goal is to find a bed that elevates your head and changes your sleeping position to minimize sleep apnea symptoms.
Always ensure you engage your doctor when you are experiencing sleep apnea symptoms. They will advise you and recommend what is best for you.
Jessica is a lover of both life and gardening. She loves to share his passion for both on social media. He often posts about his latest gardening projects, as well as tips and tricks for others who might be interested in starting their own gardens. She also frequently posts about the different aspects of his life that he enjoys, from spending time with friends and family to exploring new places.
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