Many mattresses are suitable for side sleeping, but some are specifically designed to provide optimal support and comfort for your hips and shoulders when you sleep on your side. And for us, the very best option is the Helix Midnight Luxe, which blew away our testers for its cozy support for side sleepers in our Helix Midnight Luxe mattress review.
Created by Helix with side sleepers specifically in mind, the Midnight Luxe has been updated recently and our tests have revealed that it's even better at keeping your body gently aligned while you sleep while providing a truly luxurious feel.
It's up there with the best mattress we've tested this year, especially for side sleepers, but it's a pretty good fit for back sleepers, too, thanks to upgraded lumbar support.
Read on to find out precisely why we think the Helix Midnight Luxe is the best mattress for side sleepers you can buy and why its won this Tom's Guide Sleep Award.
Why the Midnight Luxe hits the side sleeping sweet spot
Helix has cleverly curated its entire mattress range so that there's a model for every kind of sleeper, and the Midnight Luxe is its top side sleeper option. There's also the cheaper and less sophisticated Midnight, and the high-end Midnight Elite, but for us the Midnight Luxe delivers that just-right combo of performance and price.
In our most recent tests we've found that it provides outstanding pressure relief for side sleepers, and that it's just as comfortable and supportive for back sleepers too. This means that it's a great choice for combination sleepers as well as for couples with differing sleep styles.
Anyone looking for a similar all-round feel but at a more affordable price would do well with the Brooklyn Bedding CopperFlex Pro Hybrid, which is slightly firmer but packed with strong cooling features. The closest straight alternative to the Midnight Luxe, though, is the reliable Saatva Classic: the 14.5" Plush Soft or Luxury Firm options will suit lighter or heavier side sleepers respectively.
The Helix Midnight Luxe impressed us with its incredible pressure relief around the shoulders and hips, which is exactly what you want from a side sleeper mattress. Its plush pillow-top really helps ramp up the comfort, while its zoned lumbar support makes it great mattress for back pain.
The Midnight Luxe also delivers in all those other ways that you expect from a premium mattress: it isolates motion really well, making it even more attractive to anyone who shares a bed, its edge support has been upgraded so that it feels nicely sturdy along all sides, and its temperature regulation is decent. Plus, if you need additional cooling or extra lumbar support, there are optional upgrades available to ramp up the Midnight Luxe's performance.
It's hard to find fault with the Helix Midnight Luxe; if we wanted to be picky we'd point out that the 120-night sleep trial is a little thin compared with other mattresses on the market. But then again, 120 nights is easily enough time to work out whether the Midnight Luxe is right for you, and we're pretty sure that most people will find that it's the best side sleeper mattress you can get your hands on.
