The Best Mattress for Heavy People

If you weigh more than 200 lbs, you may be unsure of what you need from a mattress to get the right balance of support and comfort. Since most beds aren’t designed to accommodate larger bodies, there are certain features to look for and some to avoid for great, long-lasting sleep.

To make things easier, we have taken the guesswork out of finding a bed that’s built to suit your needs. Keep reading for tips on selecting a mattress, along with our picks for the best mattresses for heavier people.

What Should a Heavier Person Look for in a Mattress?

• Firmness: The more you weigh, the more you will sink into a mattress’s upper layers. Too much sinkage may result in improper spinal alignment, placing more strain on your lower back. As a general rule, heavier people should avoid mattresses labelled as “soft.” Instead, choose one that has “firm” in the rating, like “firm,” “luxury firm,” or “medium-firm.”
• Construction: Higher-quality mattresses have special layers designed to hold weight and conform to the body. High-density foams, like the ones used in our mattress recommendations, also tend to be more durable than ones made from inexpensive, lower-density foams.
• Edge Support: A mattress with strong edge support can better withstand sinkage at the side or foot of the bed. It can also make getting out of bed easier for people with mobility issues.
• Temperature Control: Heavier people sink further into a mattress. As a result, more of your body is surrounded by parts of the mattress that insulate and trap in heat. This makes it harder for air and sweat to dissipate in the night. A bed with cooling materials can improve airflow and help move heat away from the body.

Best Foam Mattress for Heavy People: Douglas

Douglas is an award-winning foam mattress made in Canada. It comes in three different models: Original, Alpine, and Summit. Each model includes successively greater levels of pressure relief and motion isolation, which is important if you share your bed with a partner.

What Makes This Mattress Great for Heavy People

• Firmness: Douglas offers a series of medium-firm mattresses, each with a base layer of thick support foam.
• Construction: Douglas mattresses range from 10″ to 12″ in height, but are all composed of 3 durable foam layers that provide pressure-point relief to your shoulders, hips, and back. The support foam base is a minimum of 6″ thick, which helps minimize movement across the mattress while still offering stability along the edges.
• Edge Support: Foam mattresses are not usually known for having strong edge support. However, the Douglas Original received an above-average edge support score of 7.8/10 during the third-party engineer testing.
• Temperature Control: Douglas includes a layer of cooling gel foam to dissipate body heat and improve airflow throughout the mattress. It also comes with a moisture-wicking mattress cover for a refreshed feel, but increases in cooling features with higher-end models.

Weight Limit

250 lb per side (500 lb total)

What Else We Love

• Machine-washable cover
• 365-night sleep trial
• Free shipping & returns
• 20-year warranty
• Prices start at only $599 CAD

Read Douglas Review Shop Douglas

Best Hybrid Mattress for Heavy People: Logan and Cove

Logan & Cove is a hybrid mattress made with a combination of pressure-relieving and temperature-regulating technologies. With a plush cover that feels cool to the touch, cooling gel foam, and individually pocketed steel coils, Logan & Cove offers a mix of comfort and support.

What Makes This Mattress Great for Heavy People

• Firmness: Logan & Cove offers a range of medium-firm mattresses with supportive steel coils.
• Construction: Logan & Cove mattresses start at 12″ in height, but increases with higher-end models. The mattress has a minimum of two cooling and supportive premium foam layers, and a 9″ layer of individually pocketed coils arranged in 5 zones, each calibrated to support every part of your body. Upgraded models include at least one layer of micro-coils.
• Zoned Support: The coil support base is reinforced in the central third of the bed with thicker, stronger coils designed to hold more weight. Because most of the body’s weight resides around the hips and torso, mattresses with a reinforced middle section can provide good support for heavier bodies.
• Temperature Control: Logan & Cove provides cooling features like coil airflow channels, heat-dissipating gel memory foam, and a cooling top cover.

Weight Limit

250 lb per side (500 lb total)

What Else We Love

• Quilted cover with cooling nanofibres
• Elegant hand-finished details
• 365-night sleep trial
• Free shipping & returns
• 15-year warranty
• Prices start at only $799 CAD

Read Logan & Cove Review Shop Logan & Cove

Best Cooling Mattress for Heavy People: Octave

Octave is a memory foam mattress that delivers cooling features like a CryoFusion™ cooling nanofibre cover, heat-dissipating copper-infused memory foam, and phase-change material. The memory foam layers provide pressure-point relief and support for a variety of weights and body types.

What Makes This Mattress Great for Heavy People

• Firmness: Octave provides a medium-firm feel, which is a good match for every kind of sleep style.
• Construction: Octave stands 12″ tall and increases in height as you upgrade to more advanced models. Its layers of Elastex® foam and multi-zoned support foam provide full-body contouring, pressure-point relief, and balanced support beneath your shoulders, back, and hips.
• Zoned Support: The reinforced middle section helps ensure more even wear-and-tear on your mattress when supporting a heavier body.
• Temperature Control: Octave has advanced cooling features such as a cooling nanofibre cover, CopperGel™ memory foam infused with phase-change material to balance body temperature, and multi-zone support foam with built-in air channels for better air circulation. Upgraded models come with more features like aerated latex foam, additional cooling threads in the nanofibre cover, and cooling gel foam.

Weight Limit

250 lb per side (500 lb total)

What Else We Love

• Machine-washable top cover with cooling nanofibres
• 365-night sleep trial
• Free shipping & returns
• 15-year warranty
• Prices start at only $699 CAD

Read Octave Vista Review Shop Octave Vista

Final Thoughts

Douglas, Logan & Cove, and Octave are designed for a diverse range of weights and body types, while still delivering in other key areas such as cooling benefits.