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Three things in your bed make the biggest difference to restful sleep: a breathable, cooling cover, balanced medium-firm support and a pressure-relieving material like memory foam. Your body temperature naturally drops as you fall asleep, and sleeping too hot can cut into deep and REM sleep. A 2003 study in The Lancet found that medium-firm mattresses roughly doubled the odds of improvement for people with low back pain compared with firm ones. Memory foam, first developed for NASA aircraft seats, contours to your body to relieve pressure.
Better sleep isn't only about going to bed on time. How you sleep, and what you sleep on, matters just as much. Here are three things to look for in your mattress for deeper, more restorative sleep.
3 tips at a glance
| Tip | Why it matters | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Breathable, cooling cover | Sleeping too hot can reduce deep and REM sleep | Breathable fabrics, gel or cooling foams, airflow |
| 2. Balanced support | Medium-firm mattresses eased back pain better than firm ones in a 2003 trial | Pocketed coils, reinforced edges, a firmness that fits your sleep position |
| 3. Pressure-relieving material | Contouring foam spreads your weight and eases pressure points | Memory foam or latex-like comfort layers |
Tip 1: Choose a breathable, cooling cover
Your body is designed to cool down for sleep. According to the Sleep Foundation, your core temperature starts dropping about two hours before bedtime, around the time your body releases melatonin, and keeps falling until early morning.
When you sleep too hot, that process gets disrupted. The Sleep Foundation notes that a higher core temperature is linked to less slow-wave (deep) sleep, and excess heat appears to reduce REM sleep. It recommends a bedroom temperature of about 65°F, or 65 to 68°F.
What to look for: a breathable cover that lets air move, plus cooling comfort layers like gel-infused foams. A cool room helps, but a mattress that traps heat can still leave you warm and restless.
Tip 2: Get balanced, medium-firm support
A mattress shouldn't be too hard or too soft. Too firm, and it pushes back against your shoulders and hips. Too soft, and you sink in, throwing your spine out of alignment.
Research backs a middle ground. In a 2003 randomized trial published in The Lancet, researchers led by Francisco Kovacs of the Kovacs Foundation in Spain gave 313 adults with chronic low back pain either a firm or a medium-firm mattress, without telling them which. According to the study's summary, people on medium-firm mattresses were about twice as likely to report less pain in bed, less pain when getting up and less pain-related disability.
What to look for:
- Individually pocketed coils that respond to each part of your body separately.
- Reinforced edge support, so the whole surface feels supportive, not just the middle.
- A firmness that matches how you sleep. Side sleepers usually need more cushioning at the shoulders and hips, while back and stomach sleepers often prefer a firmer feel.
Tip 3: Pick a pressure-relieving material
Memory foam has an unexpected origin. According to Space.com, it was invented in 1966 by aeronautical engineer Charles Yost under a NASA contract to improve crash protection in airplane seats at NASA's Ames Research Center. It wasn't made for astronauts' beds, as is often claimed, but it went on to become one of the most popular mattress materials in the world.
Memory foam softens and molds to your body in response to your weight and warmth, spreading pressure more evenly across your shoulders, hips and back. It also absorbs movement, so you're less likely to feel a partner shifting during the night.
What to look for: gel-infused memory foam, which helps reduce the heat that traditional memory foam can hold, or latex-like foams that contour while staying more responsive.
A mattress with all three: the MLILY Midnight
The MLILY Midnight Hybrid Mattress brings all three tips together in one 12-inch hybrid:
| Tip | Midnight feature |
|---|---|
| 1. Breathable, cooling cover | Breathable cover fabric designed for airflow, plus Copper Gel AeroFusion® Memory Foam and micro-channel gel foam that help regulate temperature |
| 2. Balanced support | 6" individually pocketed springs with reinforced foam encasement for edge support |
| 3. Pressure-relieving material | 1.5" Copper Gel AeroFusion® Memory Foam, plus Gel AeroFusion® Memory Foam (1.0 Firmer) or Latex-like AdaptiFoam® and Liquid Gel CoolFlex™ Foam (3.0 Plusher) |
| Price | $1,999 Twin, $2,699 Queen, $3,099 King |
|---|---|
| Type | 12" luxury hybrid |
| Firmness | 1.0 Firmer (back and combination sleepers), 3.0 Plusher (side sleepers) |
| Warranty | MLILY 10-Year Warranty |
| Sizes | Twin, Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, California King |
Sleep especially hot? The Midnight ICE Hybrid Mattress adds an enhanced cooling knit cover with PCM-coated threads and ActiveTemp™ PCM foam, starting at $2,499 in Twin XL. Not sure which firmness to pick? Read our guide to MLILY firmer vs. plusher mattresses.
A tip from the MLILY team: test a mattress in the position you actually sleep in, for at least a few minutes. Lie on your side if you're a side sleeper, and pay attention to your shoulders and hips. If they feel jammed, try the plusher option. If you feel like you're sinking, go firmer.
Just so you know: this article is for general information only and isn't medical advice. If you have ongoing back pain or trouble sleeping, talk with your doctor.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a mattress good for restorative sleep?
Look for three things: a breathable cover and cooling materials so you don't sleep too hot, balanced medium-firm support, and a pressure-relieving comfort layer like memory foam.
Is a firm or medium-firm mattress better?
For many people, medium-firm. In a 2003 Lancet trial led by Francisco Kovacs, people with chronic low back pain on medium-firm mattresses were about twice as likely to report improvement as those on firm mattresses.
Does body temperature affect sleep quality?
Yes. Your core temperature drops as you fall asleep. According to the Sleep Foundation, a higher core temperature is linked to less deep sleep, and excess heat can reduce REM sleep. A bedroom of about 65 degrees Fahrenheit is recommended.
Was memory foam invented by NASA?
Memory foam was invented in 1966 by engineer Charles Yost under a NASA contract to improve crash protection in airplane seats. It wasn't originally designed for astronauts' beds.
How much is the MLILY Midnight mattress?
The MLILY Midnight Hybrid Mattress is $1,999 in Twin, $2,699 in Queen and $3,099 in King and California King on mlilyusa.com.
Feel the difference for yourself
Try the Midnight and Midnight ICE in person at one of more than 1,500 MLILY retail locations, or shop online.
Sources
Research
- Kovacs, F. M., et al. (2003). Effect of firmness of mattress on chronic non-specific low-back pain: Randomised, double-blind, controlled, multicentre trial. The Lancet, 362, 1599–1604. Summary: Newswise.
Background and product information
- Sleep Foundation, Best Temperature for Sleep.
- Space.com, Everyday Tech From Space: "Memory Foam" for the Masses.
- MLILY USA, Midnight Hybrid Mattress and Midnight ICE Hybrid Mattress.
