How to Choose a Mattress as a Heavy Person

No matter your body weight, a mattress should offer the right balance of features to maintain healthy spinal alignment, avoid overheating, and reduce pressure on the shoulders, lower back, and hips. We’ve found that certain features are key to finding this balance for people over 230 pounds.

Mattress Type

Selecting the right mattress type is the first step to choosing a suitable mattress, and some designs better accommodate the needs of people over 230 pounds.

• Foam: All-foam beds can be suitable for heavy people if they include high-density foam. Models with thick memory foam layers may lack adequate firmness and durability for sleepers over 230 pounds.
• Latex: Known for breathability and a bouncy surface, latex models offer pressure relief with less sinkage than memory foam and can be a good fit for heavy people needing firmer support.
• Hybrid: Hybrids are a great choice for heavy people because they combine the support and airiness of coils with softer layers of foam or latex. Hybrids span the full range of firmness levels, so be mindful of your needs and comfort preferences when selecting a hybrid model.
• Airbed: These beds feature adjustable air chambers, which allow for a personalized feel on both sides of the bed. Airbed mattresses are a great choice for couples with different firmness needs, but they are typically expensive.

Durability

Durability is one of the first things we look for in a mattress designed for heavy people. Sleepers over 230 pounds exert more pressure on a mattress, making less durable models prone to early wear and tear. A mattress should last for at least six to eight years, so we suggest focusing on well-constructed models made from quality materials like reinforced coils, dense foams, and natural latex.

Edge Support

Edge support refers to the stability of a mattress’ perimeter. Strong edge support prevents sagging when sitting or sleeping near the perimeter, which is especially important for people over 230 pounds.

Responsiveness

Responsiveness means how quickly a mattress adjusts to your movements. Bouncier materials, like latex and coils, provide pushback against your weight and make it easier to move across a bed. Responsiveness is particularly important for heavier individuals, as softer mattresses tend to restrict movement.

Temperature Control

Heavy people sink more deeply into a mattress, which can reduce airflow around the body and allow heat to build up. Finding a mattress with good temperature regulation, like an airy hybrid or latex model, can help reduce heat retention, as can cooling features like gel infusions and breathable fabrics.

Finding a mattress that suits both a person over 230 pounds and a lighter partner can be challenging. To find a compromise, we suggest strategies that allow each person to find an ideal level of support.

Try a Split Bed or Airbed

Consider a split bed or airbed with adjustable firmness settings. Many brands offer split king mattresses that can be customized with a different firmness level on each side. Adjustable airbeds allow each partner to adjust the firmness on their side of the bed using a remote control or smartphone app, ensuring both partners get the support they need.

Use a Topper on One Half of the Bed

Another option is to choose the firmness level that’s right for one partner, then use a mattress topper to adjust the firmness on the other half of the bed. A soft topper can provide additional plushness for the lighter person, while a firmer topper can add support for the heavier partner.

Sleep and weight share a complex, bidirectional relationship. High-quality sleep has been linked to losing and maintaining weight, while poor sleep quality can lead to weight gain. 

Likewise, being obese increases your risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and other sleep disorders. In addition to OSA, gaining weight also puts you at a higher risk for acid reflux, arthritis, and other medical conditions that interfere with sleep.

Studies have established that sleep influences bodily processes that affect weight such as metabolism, appetite, and insulin production.

Sleep regulates many aspects of your diet, including when you feel hungry, how hungry you feel, and how much you eat. 

Sleep is directly tied to the production of your two “appetite hormones.” Ghrelin is a hormone that directs your body to consume more food, and leptin signals you’re satisfied and don’t need any more food. When you don’t get enough sleep, ghrelin levels increase and leptin levels decrease. This may lead to overeating and weight gain.

Not getting enough sleep can also influence which foods you crave by stimulating your reward pathways. This causes you to eat for pleasure, rather than eat because you’re hungry, and you may choose unhealthy food that tastes good over more nutritious options. 

Meal timing is another way sleep influences your diet. Your circadian rhythm — guided by sunlight — helps your body metabolize food during the day. If you don’t follow a consistent sleep schedule from night to night, you may feel hungry outside your normal meal times.

The food you eat can influence your sleep, as well. The best foods for sleep include kiwis, tart cherries, fatty fish, nuts, and whole grains — all of these contain nutrients that help induce feelings of sleepiness and relaxation. On the other hand, people who eat meat before bed often experience sleep problems. Current research suggests protein may interfere with natural sleep processes.

OSA is a sleep disorder defined by pauses in breathing during sleep. These pauses occur due to extra tissue in the throat and other types of physical blockages in the upper airway, which cause breathing passages to narrow and limit airflow.

Obesity is considered the leading risk factor for OSA. Roughly three-quarters of people with the disorder are considered obese. 

People with sleep apnea may experience hundreds of pauses in breathing over the course of a single night. The struggle to breathe can cause them to wake up constantly, and these episodes can take a major toll on sleep quality. As a result, OSA frequently leads to excessive daytime sleepiness, difficulty concentrating and remembering, and sexual problems. Many people with OSA are also heavy snorers.

The most common treatment for OSA is continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) therapy. CPAP machines pressurize air, then deliver the air to the sleeper through a connective hose and face mask covering the nose and/or mouth. Weight loss and lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking can also reduce OSA symptoms.

What Are Health Risks of Sleep Apnea and Obesity?

In addition to daytime sleepiness and other immediate effects of OSA, people with this disorder are also at higher risk for long-term health problems, including heart disease. Many of these issues are related to the cardiovascular, metabolic, and pulmonary systems. Obesity can pose many of the same health risks, so OSA can increase this risk even further.

How Does Sleep Apnea Affect Cardiovascular Health?

Obstructive sleep apnea affects the cardiovascular system because each pause in breathing causes blood oxygen levels to decrease. This in turn triggers a “fight or flight” signal to your body that you’re in danger, elevating your blood pressure and heart rate in the process. Over time, these dips and spikes can lead to inflammation and plaque buildup in your blood vessels.

Additionally, OSA increases glucose and carbon dioxide levels in the bloodstream, interferes with the body’s ability to regulate heartbeat, raises resistance to insulin, and changes how oxygen and carbon dioxide travel through your body. These can lead to a wide range of long-term health problems, including:

• Heart failure
• Coronary heart disease
• Stroke
• Atrial fibrillation
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes

Another condition OSA puts people at higher risk for is “metabolic syndrome,” a hybrid disorder characterized by obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and dyslipidemia.

Sleep Apnea and Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome

People with OSA often experience symptoms of the disorder known as obesity hypoventilation syndrome, or OHS. OHS occurs when extra weight exerts pressure on the chest wall and compresses the lungs. This can make it difficult to take deep breaths. Roughly nine out of 10 people with OHS also have OSA.

OHS has been linked to cardiovascular problems such as high blood pressure and heart failure. Severe OHS symptoms can also increase the risk of death for people with OSA.

Does Losing Weight Improve Sleep Apnea Symptoms?

People with OSA can reduce their symptoms through weight loss. Reducing fatty deposits around the neck and throat can widen the breathing passages, and decreasing abdominal fat can help improve lung capacity.

Studies have shown that weight loss of at least 10% can cut the severity of OSA symptoms in half for people who are moderately obese. As effective as weight loss can be for treating OSA, this is not a “cure” and most people need additional treatments and therapies to manage their symptoms.

Does Sleep Apnea Treatment Help with Weight Loss?

Some research suggests treating sleep apnea can make losing weight easier. One study noted that OSA patients had higher ghrelin levels compared to people with the same body mass who did not have OSA. After two days of CPAP therapy, the OSA patients were able to decrease their ghrelin production to similar levels.

However, other research suggests long-term CPAP therapy can lead to weight gain. While further research is needed to pinpoint exactly why this is, a general rule of thumb is for people with OSA to supplement their CPAP with weight loss and lifestyle changes in order to manage and reduce their symptoms.