The Best Mattress Toppers for Side Sleepers

Last Updated April 04, 2024

If your preference is for sleeping on your side, well, you’re not alone there. In fact, for most people, sleeping on their sides is the most comfortable way to fall asleep and get a peaceful night’s rest. However, side sleeping can cause a few problems for your body, especially if your body isn’t supported correctly.

Sore hips, shoulders and a lower back are just some of the ailments that come from sleeping on your side without the proper support (i.e. the right pillow and the right mattress). Your pillow and mattress are both vital to ensuring you are sleeping on your side in a manner that’s safe and comfortable for your body.

Suppose you’re currently waking up sore and wondering why – the answer is probably your pillow or mattress. If you’ve tried changing your pillow and still are waking up with aches and pains, it’s time to consider if your mattress may be behind it all.

Now, mattresses aren’t exactly the cheapest thing in the world, so if a new and supportive mattress isn’t in the budget right now, consider the next best thing: a mattress topper. A good mattress topper will be able to provide you with the support your whole body needs throughout the night, as well as make sure that you’re comfortable, and most importantly, pain-free the next day. 

Overall, side sleepers are better suited to softer mattress toppers than stomach or back sleepers. The mattress topper should be soft enough to cushion the pressure points of hips, knees and shoulders, yet supportive enough to encourage optimal body alignment.  A mattress topper that’s too firm for a side sleeper will likely cause pressure point pain in areas like the hip and shoulder joints. 

Yet with so many mattress toppers available, how do you know which is best for side sleepers? Good news – we have the answers. We’ve created a list of the best mattress toppers for side sleepers. We hope it helps!

Best Mattress Toppers for Side Sleepers

Best Overall

Emma Flip Topper

Best Overall

Cost: $329 (Queen)

Trial length: 100 nights 

Warranty: 10 years

For that extra dose of cosiness, the Emma Flip Topper supports you in exactly the right places and ensures a pleasant sleeping environment. ​With pressure-compensating HRXSupreme foam and soft Airgocell® foam, it’s comfortable no matter what your sleeping type, but especially for side sleepers as its Airogcell foam helps keep your body aligned as you sleep on your side. The other cool thing about this mattress topper is you can switch up the sides for a firmer or softer experience – making it ideal for side sleepers of all types. It’s complete with a breathable UltraDry Cover, helping you sleep cool and dry all night. Not to mention it’s 100% vegan, non-toxic, and certified according to the highest OEKOTEX-100 standards.

Best Value

Ecosa

Best Value

Cost: $400 (Queen)

Trial length: None

Warranty: 10 years

The Ecosa Topper will give you a “squishier” sleep or will restore support and comfort to your current mattress with the product description claiming it will make your mattress 20% softer. Being a relatively soft mattress topper, it’s ideal for side sleepers to cushion the pressure points, but firm enough to keep your body in alignment.

Also, if you have an Ecosa mattress and find the medium setting of your Ecosa Mattress too firm, the topper will give you some added comfort. However, you don’t need an Ecosa mattress to get the most out of this topper. Additionally, if you sleep hot this topper will help cool you down with its G-7 Gel Memory Foam. Infused with gel particles, the unique 3D gel structure allows air to flow through pin core holes, so you’ll have no more sweaty nights.

Best for Back Pain

Tempur Pedic

Best for Back Pain

Cost: $522.62 (Queen)

Trial length: None

Warranty: 25 years

Though a US product (which you can ship to Australia via Amazon), Tempur-Pedic certainly makes the best mattress topper for back pain. The Tempur Topper Supreme is made with the unique TEMPUR material and has a firmness of 5. It provides solid yet comfortable support, which minimises back pain and provides a comfortable night’s sleep. While a softer mattress topper is generally recommended for side sleepers, if you already suffer from a bad back, you don’t want a mattress topper that’s too soft, which is where you might find the Tempur Pedic mattress topper a good fit. It’s also perfect for a mattress that’s too soft, or perhaps one that’s too old and has started to sag. It also comes with a 25-year warranty and provides motion and noise absorption. Plus, the topper cover is washable and has an adaptive body temperature mechanism to help keep you cool all night long.

Softest Mattress Topper

Peacelily (Luxury Plush)

Softest Mattress Topper

Cost: $469 (Queen)

Trial length: 100 nights

Warranty: 10 years

Peacelily’s 100% natural Dunlop latex rubber mattress topper is handcrafted from high quality, natural materials to provide you with premium comfort while keeping things eco-friendly and sustainable. It comes with the option of the Luxury Plush or the Firm (more expensive) comfort option to suit your personal needs. We recommend the Luxury Plush for side sleepers, however, for a more comfortable night’s sleep. The Peacelily’s latex foam scored a 99/100 on the internationally recognized LGA physical properties test, meaning it demonstrates a combination of remarkable resilience and durability.

Budget Mattress Topper

Onebed

Budget Mattress Topper

Cost: $360 (Queen)

Trial length: 125 nights

The Onebed topper is a great budget option for side sleepers looking for a more comfortable night’s sleep without breaking the bank. The Onebed is ideal as it uses Davina Foam, which conforms to the body’s shape, relieving pressure and preventing the body from twisting into a painful position during the night. Good news for side-sleepers who need to have their spine supported and stabilised! Fun fact is the Onebed topper is the only Aussie mattress topper to use Davina Foam. This topper also has five-zone orthopaedic support—providing a good level of firmness to the head, shoulders, lower back, and thighs. And, coming in at just $360 for a Queen topper, it’s certainly bang for your buck.

Best Mattress Topper for Side Sleepers – Buyer’s Guide

If you’re a natural side sleeper, then it’s a really good idea to invest in a mattress topper that has been specially designed to provide your body with the support it needs. This will prevent any strain on sensitive pressure points, such as your shoulders or hips, whilst simultaneously ensuring that your spine is kept aligned. 

However, when you’re looking at which mattress topper is best for you, there are a few things you need to consider. We’ve put together a list of points to give some thought to when you’re shopping around, which will help you find one that will provide you with the right support for side-sleeping and ensure that you’re comfortable all night long.

Material

The most common material you’ll see used in mattress toppers for side sleepers is memory foam. This is one of the best options for side sleepers as it’s able to mould itself to the natural contours of the body and give you the feeling of sinking into your mattress, whilst ensuring that your entire body is supported and kept in a position that won’t result in any aches or pains. 

If you’re not so keen on the idea of a memory foam mattress topper, then there are also natural alternatives available. One of these is ultra-plush down, which uses an over-filling technique to produce an extra thick mattress topper that will provide support and comfort for side sleepers without any memory foam being incorporated into the construction.

Natural latex is another excellent alternative to memory foam, and it works much in the same way by moulding itself to the contours of your body and providing support for your hips, shoulders and back throughout the night. Natural latex is also highly durable, so it will be able to handle a great amount of tossing and turning without showing any signs of wear. 

And, of course, there are mattress toppers that are made up of a combination of different materials. This usually involves a bottom layer that is constructed using memory foam, and a top layer that is made from a cushioning material such as down or quilted fibres. These mattress toppers give you the best of both worlds, and can often provide additional comfort and support that single-material options may not be able to. 

Thickness

It’s also important to give some thought to the thickness of your mattress topper as well, as the difference between these can have a massive impact on how well it will support you if you tend to sleep on your side. 

The thickness can vary as much as 1” – 4”, which can make finding the perfect level for your individual needs a little confusing. So, to help make things clearer, we’ve summarised each thickness below.

  • 1” Mattress Toppers: This level of thickness will add a very subtle change to your existing mattress, and will provide you with a fair amount of support without adding a dramatic height to your bed.
  • 2” Mattress Toppers: These will make a big difference to the feel of your bed, and will basically remove the feeling of your existing mattress, yet are not so thick as to take away any support that it offers. 
  • 3” Mattress Toppers: A 3” topper will dramatically change the feeling of your bed altogether, and will provide a huge amount of extra support for your spine and for the pressure points that are often affected by side sleeping.  This size is often the most popular choice for side sleepers.
  • 4” Mattress Toppers: A mattress topper of this thickness is essentially like putting another mattress on top of your existing mattress. Your back, shoulders and hips will be fully supported throughout the night, however it will add a lot more height to your bed, which isn’t ideal for some people.

Breathability

You also need to think about how breathable your proposed mattress topper is as well, as this will have a huge impact on how comfortable you are throughout the night. 

Memory foam mattress toppers are often infused with a cooling gel, which means that they will help to keep your body temperature at a consistent level throughout the night and prevent you from overheating.

Natural latex is also very good at regulating your body temperature and has naturally-occurring air chambers that allow air to circulate up through the mattress topper which doesn’t only prevent you from overheating but also allows your skin to breathe throughout the night. 

Warranty

Finally, you’ll want to look at what kind of warranty your mattress topper includes. These can range from 30 days right up to 10 years, and finding one that will cover you for a replacement over a long period of time will help to give you peace of mind when purchasing, as well as confidence in knowing that you’re buying a quality product.

Some mattress toppers also come with a money-back guarantee or a trial period, and these are also good to look out for if you’re uncertain about whether you’ve made the right choice. 

Summary

Mattress toppers are a cost-effective product that will improve the quality of your sleep, without having to fork out thousands for a new mattress. With a range of materials at a range of thicknesses and price points available, you’re sure to find the perfect one for your side sleeping needs. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us today!

Are you in search of the prime destination for mattress reviews in Australia? Look no further than our comprehensive platform! Our extensive analyses are dedicated to helping you find the perfect mattress that aligns with your personal preferences. Whether you’re after sublime comfort, unparalleled support, or unique features, we’ve got all angles covered.

Take a virtual tour of mattressreviews.com.au, where you can explore an impressive array of top-rated mattress options, enabling you to make a well-considered decision for a night of uninterrupted sleep.

Ally Burnie
Head Dreamer Ally Burnie
Journalist, presenter and host based in Sydney with a passion for cooking, outdoor adventures, hiking, humanitarianism, and travel.
Ally Burnie Head Dreamer Ally Burnie
Journalist, presenter and host based in Sydney with a passion for cooking, outdoor adventures, hiking, humanitarianism, and travel.

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