Best mattress for hip pain 2024: Say goodbye to restless nights from £299

Dodgy hip hindering your beauty sleep? Switching to one of the best mattresses for hip pain may help relieve your aches. Most people experience the odd ache here or there after a long night’s sleep, but when that pain is recurrent and localised to the hip it can be more of a problem. Unfortunately, hip pain is extremely common, and whether it’s muscular or joint-related, soreness and stiffness in this part of the body can be caused by a wide range of issues.

One key thing you can do to relieve your hip pain, particularly if it’s worse at night, is to change what you’re sleeping on – and believe us when we say we’ve tested some of the best mattresses around. Sleeping on a surface that’s too firm, too soft or simply worn out may not give your body the support it needs to wake up feeling refreshed and pain-free. The solution is to shop for one that’s designed to keep your body on an even plane by providing support in targeted areas while relieving pressure points.

In our roundup below, we’ve highlighted a number of options perfect for alleviating hip pain. Keep scrolling for our mini reviews, or jump to the end of the page for our buying guide covering all the need-to-know info on sleeping with hip pain.

Best mattress for hip pain: At a glance

The best mattresses for hip pain you can buy in 2024

1. Emma Original: Best foam mattress for hip pain

Price when reviewed: From £339 | Check price at Emma

• Great for… restless and light sleepers
• Not so great for… sleepers wanting a super soft mattress

This foam mattress from Emma is a best-selling bed-in-a-box that provides plenty of support and surprisingly good air circulation for a foam mattress. It’s a medium-firm option that allows the body to sink in slightly, keeping the spine aligned and pressure off the shoulders, knees and, crucially, the hips.

The Emma Original is a good option for all types of sleepers, but side and back sleepers will reap the greatest benefits from its zoned design. It’s mapped out in such a way that it keeps the spine properly supported throughout the night, and reduces stress on key pressure points, such as the hips.

Best of all, the Emma Original won’t break the bank at £559 for a UK king size, and with a range of generous offers on throughout the year you’ll be able to pick it up even more cheaply. There’s also a 200-night trial period for complete peace of mind.

2. Simba Hybrid Pro: Best hybrid mattress for hip pain

Price when reviewed: From £929 | Check price at Simba

• Great for… hot sleepers
• Not so great for… sleepers on a budget

It’s not cheap – the price quoted is for a single – but this hybrid mattress (meaning it uses a combination of springs and foam layers) from Simba is the best we’ve ever tested. It’s firm and supportive without feeling overly hard, which makes it excellent for dealing with sleep-related soreness such as bad backs and hip pain.

One common complaint with hybrid mattresses is that they can get hotter than spring mattresses because of the reduced airflow caused by the foam. However, the Simba Hybrid Pro cleverly gets around this by using a layer of wool near the top, which does an excellent job of keeping things cool, even on hot nights.

With a depth of 28cm, the Hybrid Pro is thick with all the extra layers, but it’s still a good size for most fitted sheets. And in the unlikely event that you’re not happy, there’s a 200-night money-back guarantee, so you can try it out and return it for a full refund if it’s not right.

3. Nectar Memory Foam Mattress: Best-value mattress for hip pain

Price when reviewed: From £475 | Check price at Nectar

• Great for… those on a limited budget, fans of a long trial period
• Not so great for… firm mattress lovers

Nectar’s best-selling mattress isn’t the most affordable on the market, but it’s one of the cheapest to offer a full year’s trial period. In fact, Nectar was the first bed-in-a-box brand to provide such a scheme, and it was so successful that many competitors have since followed suit. That being said, if you’re a hip pain sufferer, it’s unlikely that you’ll need to make use of it as this mattress is equal parts firm, supportive and comfortable.

Generous trial period aside, the Nectar mattress is nice and thick, which our testers have found to be better for support, and the layered foam is great at providing support where it’s needed most while taking the weight off pressure points, such as the hips. This makes it perfect for people who live with hip pain.

How to choose the best mattress for hip pain

What causes hip pain?

Some surveys suggest that around 20% of adults suffer from hip pain, but why? Unfortunately, there’s no clear-cut answer. Countless conditions can result in soreness or stiffness in the hip, so it’s always a good idea to pay a visit to your GP or physiotherapist to get a proper diagnosis.

Some of the most common causes of hip pain include muscle injuries, arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis and structural issues with the joint. Sleeping on the wrong type of mattress can exacerbate symptoms of these conditions, or even trigger the pain itself.

Why does my hip pain feel worse in the morning?

Your hip pain might feel worse in the morning because of your sleeping position, or because your mattress is either too firm or too soft. For this reason, it’s important to ensure you’re sleeping on the best type of mattress for dealing with hip pain. In terms of position, side sleepers most commonly experience hip pain, so if that’s you try switching to sleeping on your back and see if it helps.

What is the best mattress firmness for dealing with hip pain?

We don’t know if Goldilocks suffered from hip pain, but she certainly had it right in terms of her mattress choice. Soft mattresses don’t offer enough support to keep the body on an even plane, and very firm mattresses can put added stress on pressure points. Neither is ideal if you suffer from hip pain, so the best bet is to aim somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. Most experts agree that a medium-firm mattress is a good compromise.

What is the best mattress type for dealing with hip pain?

There are three key mattress types to consider when shopping around: pocket spring, memory foam and hybrid. Pocket-spring mattresses rely on multiple individually housed springs for support, which are great for air circulation. Memory foam mattresses have lots of layers of special foam that respond to the contours of the body – they’re extremely supportive, but they can get a bit sweaty if you’re a hot sleeper.

Hybrid mattresses rely on a combination for the best of both worlds. Foam and hybrid mattresses tend to be the best options for those suffering from recurrent hip pain.

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