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Mattress Firmness Selection Guide
Is it important to consider the firmness level when buying a mattress? The answer is absolutely yes! To some extent, mattress firmness impacts how well it provides cushioning and pressure relief. The different firmness scales provide a wide variety of sleep comfort and accommodate individual needs. However, sometimes people confuse it with the concept of SUPPORT.
Here we try to distinguish between them and list the basic characteristics of each firmness scale & some things to consider when choosing the right firmness. We hope this can help you to make your decision.
What’s Mattress Firmness (vs. Support)?
Typically, firmness is used to describe the feeling of a mattress that you lay on, which is highly subjective and might vary from person to person. Distinctively, support can be defined as the mattress’s ability to keep your spine aligned, which is relatively objective and isn’t the same as firmness. Plus, firmness is directly associated with the comfort layer at the top of a mattress, while support is more related to the base layer.
Novilla Mattress Firmness Scale
Due to its subjectivity, the methods used by many manufacturers to measure mattress firmness may vary. But when describing firmness, we will often use a 1-10 scale to help consumers understand it. The lowest number means the softest level, and the highest end, the firmest. For reference, below is the mattress firmness scale from Novilla.
| Firmness Level | Feel | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| 9-10 | Extra firm | This might be too firm for most people. You will experience the feeling of sleeping on the floor with this firmness. However, some heavier sleepers might be in love with Extra Firm firmness. |
| 8 | Firm | You can feel a slight sinkage of your body, but the pressure points are not significantly relieved while sleeping. |
| 6-7 | Medium firm | Body sinkage obviously, it can relieve sleep pressure better while having moderate support. |
| 4-5 | Medium Soft | The degree of sinking increases, and the pressure of sleeping is reduced. At the same time, the support force is relatively weak. |
| 2-3 | Soft | Sometimes called a Plush mattress, you can feel the experience of sinking into the mattress. |
| 1 | Extra Soft | There are very few Extra Soft mattresses on the market. This hardness has almost no firmness and poor support. |
How to choose a right mattress firmness?
Sleeping position:
Sleeping position refers to the way a person prefers to sleep in bed, including sleeping on the back, side, and stomach or even the tendency to change positions a lot all night.
● For side sleepers, medium soft or medium firm mattresses that provide some extra cushioning for the undue pressure on the shoulders and hips would be the best choices.
● Stomach sleepers need a firmer mattress than side and back sleepers. Stomach sleepers tend to have pains in their back for an unnatural arch in the lower back if there is not enough support for the midsection. So medium firm or slightly firm mattresses would be recommended.
●For back and combo sleepers, may need a firmer sleeping surface that prevents their heavier body parts from sinking too much to ensure their spine alignment as much as possible and is responsive enough to help support them timely when changing positions. So the ideal mattress firmness for back & combination sleepers should be medium firm.
Body weight:
Body weight or type may influence the feeling you sleep on a bed. For instance, light-weight and average sleepers are likely to have sharper pressure points than heavy sleepers when sleep on the same mattress, namely, they need a softer bed to cradle the points and sleep comfortably. Therefore, medium soft and medium firm mattresses are recommended for light-weight and average people, and medium firm and slightly firm mattresses, for heavy people. But still remember, heavy people need to choose at least a 12-inch thick mattress. And our Novilla Vitality Mattress might be the best.
Novilla Mattress Firmness Guide
Novilla mattresses fall into medium firmness level, which is the best firmness for most sleepers. To meet different needs, Bliss Memory Foam Mattress and Vitality Hybrid Mattress are designed to deliver a softer feel and strong support for spine alignment, which is friendly to most sleepers. Choosing a just right mattress is not a simple process. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
It’s not easy to get the just right mattress at one time, but Novilla has a 100-day sleep trial that gives you the chance to try it. Come to check a mattress that’s right for you.
This article is for informational purposes and should not be a substitute for medical advice from your doctor or other professionals.
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