Fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal condition that causes pain all over the body with accompanying emotional and mental distress symptoms. It affects around 2% of the adult population, and there’s currently no cure.
Another horrible symptom of fibromyalgia is sleep problems, including insomnia. People with fibromyalgia have abnormal sleep and wakefulness brainwaves, making it impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep.
While a sleep schedule and meditation can help healthy adults get more sleep, with fibromyalgia, sleep remedies are all about comfort – you need to alleviate pain so that you can wind down without wincing.
Pain relief and management are critical, but you also need a comfortable bed, starting with selecting the right mattress.
This article explores choosing the right mattress for fibromyalgia.
What kind of mattress is good for fibromyalgia?
You want a mattress that relieves pressure on your muscles and joints and absorbs impacts with minimal bounce. The best mattress for the job is a memory foam or a hybrid mattress with at least 4cm of memory foam.
Memory foam is the creme de la crème for fibromyalgia because it has extremely low responsiveness – this means that when you move, toss, and turn, the mattress retains its shape and doesn’t spring back.
It would help if you avoided bouncy and springy mattresses because the bouncy effect increases pressure on the muscles and joints and creates more motion transfer, so you will feel your partner getting in and out of bed more.
The downside to memory foam is it retains heat, so if heat makes your fibromyalgia worse, look at memory gel mattresses like the Sleepeezee Jessica 1800 or a charcoal-bamboo memory foam mattress like the Mlily Bamboo Deluxe.
What mattress firmness is good for fibromyalgia?
Now that you know to look at memory foam and hybrid mattresses with at least 4cm of memory foam, we can consider mattress firmness.
The first thing to note is that firmness is relative – a medium-soft mattress feels firm to someone under 130lbs, and a firm mattress feels soft to someone over 230lbs. As such, it’s best to choose a mattress based on your weight.
For fibromyalgia, we recommend balanced firmness – a mattress that offers a perfect balance of squishiness and support.
If you weigh less than 180lbs, this means a medium mattress, and if you weigh up to 225lbs, this means a medium-firm mattress.
Providing you choose a memory foam mattress, it will squish under your body and relieve all that pressure on your muscles and bones.
Mattress recommendations for fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia causes pain randomly, so no mattress in the world will stop you from getting pain when you lie down. However, a sufficiently soft mattress that supports your spine and body will reduce pain in bed.
Here are a few mattresses to look into further:
This medium-firm hybrid mattress has 5cm bamboo-charcoal memory foam for squishy, breathable comfort. It’s a fantastic choice if you weigh between 180-230lbs and primarily sleep on your back with occasional side sleeping.
Pictured: Sleepeezee Pocket Gel Poise (£949, king). ). Available from Bedstar. The Online Bed Superstore.
This medium mattress won the 2019 Good Housekeeping award with an epic 6cm cooling memory gel and a pillowtop filled with anti-allergy Sensifil fibres. It’s perfect if you sleep on your side with occasional back sleeping.
Pictured: Silentnight Geltex Carme (£639, king). Available from Bedstar. The Online Bed Superstore.
The Silentnight Geltex Carme is treated with Purotex – a natural probiotic for anti-allergy qualities – and has a 4cm Geltex memory foam pillowtop for incredible comfort. It’s fantastic for back, side, and occasional front sleepers.
IPictured: Sealy Sark (£699, king) Available from Bedstar. The Online Bed Superstore.
The Sealy Sark is a medium-firm mattress with 4cm of Geltex memory foam that actively cools you. Generous layers of zoned foam and 1,000 pocket springs provide support, giving you balanced comfort and support.
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