Firmness is the one mattress spec that people guess at more than any other, usually because it is described in words rather than numbers and those words mean slightly different things depending on who is using them. Soft, medium and firm are not standardised, so the same word can describe genuinely different mattresses depending on the brand. What actually matters is how your body weight and sleeping position interact with the mattress, not the label on the box.
Sleeping position matters more than personal preference
Side sleepers generally need more give in the mattress, particularly around the shoulders and hips, since a firmer surface creates pressure points exactly where the body is narrowest. Our soft mattress range is built with this in mind, allowing the body to sink slightly rather than resist it.
Back sleepers usually do better on something in between, since too much give lets the lower back sag out of alignment while too little creates pressure along the spine. Most people in this position are well served by our medium firmness collection, which is genuinely the most commonly recommended option across all sleeping positions when in doubt.
Front sleepers, and anyone who tends to move around a lot through the night, usually need more support to stop the hips sinking too far. Our firm mattress range is built for this, and it is also the better choice for heavier body weights regardless of sleeping position, since more weight naturally compresses a softer mattress further than intended.
Construction affects firmness as much as the label does
Beyond the soft, medium and firm labelling, the actual construction changes how the mattress feels in practice. Pocket sprung mattresses tend to feel more responsive and bouncy, with individually wrapped springs that move independently under pressure. Memory foam mattresses feel slower and more moulded, holding the shape of the body rather than pushing back against it.
If you like the idea of both, a hybrid mattress combines a pocket sprung base with a memory foam layer on top, giving you the support of springs with the pressure relief of foam. This has become the most requested construction type for double and king size beds specifically, since it suits two people with different preferences sharing the same mattress.
Getting the size right alongside the firmness
Firmness and size are worth deciding together rather than separately, since the right firmness on the wrong size mattress will still leave you compromising on sleep quality. Our double, king size and super king mattress ranges are all available across every firmness level, so you should not need to compromise on one to get the other. If you are ever unsure, medium firmness remains the safest starting point for most sleepers, and our full mattress collection is the easiest place to compare everything side by side.
