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Best mattresses for a 400-pound person

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Written by: Alex Savy
Read 25 minLast updated on March 12, 2023

Not all mattresses are made equal, especially when it comes to supporting sleepers over 400 pounds. More often than not, choosing the wrong mattress can lead to premature sagging, and a flattened core. This can lead to painful sleep as the hips will continually be out of alignment with the spine, putting unnecessary strain on the back.

That’s why I’ve put together my top 4 best mattresses for a 400-pound, plus some tips on what to look for when choosing the best durable mattress that can support the extra weight. 

Let’s take a look.

Overview:

Titan Plus Luxe
Editor’s Choice

Titan Plus Luxe
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Plank Firm by Brooklyn Bedding
Best Flippable Mattress

Plank Firm by Brooklyn Bedding
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Puffy Mattress
Best Memory Foam

Puffy Mattress
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Novosbed Mattress
Best For Less than $1000

Novosbed Mattress
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List of 4 Best Mattresses for a 400-pound Person

Editor’s Choice — Titan Plus Luxe

Brooklyn Bedding Titan Plus Luxe

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Highlights:

  • TitanFlex™ foam acts like a latex alternative, offering responsive contouring that enables.
  • The TitanCaliber™ core uses over 1000 coils, supporting your shoulders and hips for better spinal alignment.
  • Gel memory foam top and breathable coils help keep you cool throughout the night.

The Titan Plus Luxe is my Editor’s Choice for the best mattress for a 400-pound person due to its robust coil core, latex alternative foams, and cooling gel memory foam top layer. Titan uses a TitanCaliber™ core filled with eight inches of durable, tempered steel coils designed to be impression-resistant and durable for years. This helps keep your mattress from developing lumps from extra body weight. Titan also uses TitanFlex™ foam, a unique foam that acts similar to latex. I think latex lovers will enjoy the price point of this latex alternative compared to Saatva HD’s natural latex. There is a price difference of $1717 between these two brands, allowing you to save while enjoying a sag-resistant and impression-resistant mattress.

Another feature I think is helpful for getting better sleep, especially if you’re sensitive to trapped heat, is Titan’s gel memory foam and breathable coils. The gel foam can absorb heat, while the coils work to make the core of the mattress heat-dispersing, helping you feel cooler overall.

 

Best Flippable Mattress for a 400-pound person — Plank Firm by Brooklyn Bedding

Plank Mattress

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Highlights

  • Flippable design allows for two firmness options that can suit even the pickiest heavier sleeper.
  • TitanFlex™ acts like a latex alternative if you need more pressure relief.
  • The extra firm side is designed to keep your spine straighter.

The Plank Firm by Brooklyn Bedding is our best flippable mattress for a 400-pound person due to its solid edge support (which I have tested), its unique latex alternative foam, and its engineered flat side. The convenience of Plank, due to its robust design for heavy sleepers, has some of the strongest edge support that heavy sleepers can take advantage of. I felt a bit slippery on the extra-firm side, but didn’t notice any extreme sagging or risk of rolling off due to the firm core. In addition, the Plank shares similarities with the Titan, as it also has TitanFlex™ foam on its softer side that helps cushion your sore spots, so you feel better pressure relief.

Along with this, I think the extra-firm side is a feature worth mentioning if you’re worried about spinal posture. I’ve tested the extra-firm side of the mattress, and it’s made up of a thin quilted top over high-density foam that provides a flat surface for your back to lie straighter on. It’s incredibly supportive, and I was kept flat while lying on my back, improving my spinal alignment while providing some cushion.

Back Sleeping on the Plank Mattress
Back Sleeping on the Plank Mattress

I tested the Plank, and found its 1 inch of sinkage on the Extra Firm side to be excellent if you’re a heavier sleeper needing support — the core is created to hold extra weight and pressure. The Plank outperforms the Puffy in this regard, being firmer by 2.5 times.

Read our full Plank mattress review for more information.

Plank Mattress Types of Sleepers
Plank Mattress On Bed Frame

Best Memory Foam Mattress for a 400-Pound Person — Puffy Mattress

Puffy Mattress

Highlights

  • Motion isolation properties let you toss and turn without disturbing your partner, making this a good option for partners.
  • Cushioning Cooling Cloud Foam helps cradle pressure points, making you feel comfortable on your back, stomach, or side.
  • The cover is removable and can be thrown in the wash, helping keep your sleeping space clean.

The Puffy is my best memory foam mattress for a 400-pound person due to its cradling layers, durable edge support, and removable cover. Despite being all-foam, Puffy can still keep up with the likes of Saatva. I’ve tested Puffy, and found its foam layers are fast-adapting, similar to coils, so you’ll feel that comfort and contouring of the body while sleeping on a Puffy. I’ve also found the edge support is quite good on the Puffy, with the edge collapsing only a little while lying and sitting on it, so you can enjoy the entire surface of the mattress without worrying about rolling off.

Another feature I think is an excellent point to discuss is the cover. I got to try the easy-to-use zippers, quickly taking apart the cover for a wash in the machine. This means you don’t have to worry about banning food and drink from the bedroom, as the cover can be easily maintained. As a bonus, the mattress has an inner shell. I didn’t have to worry about fitting a cover around slippery layers, I just had to pop the cover around the shell encasement in a matter of minutes.

I tested the Puffy, and I noticed its slow-adaptive layers definitely make it one of the best memory foam mattresses if you’re over 400 pounds. I measured its bounceback speed to be 1.7 seconds, which is slow enough to cradle tense spots and relieve pressure. Puffy outperforms the Plank for recovery speed, being 17% slower.

Read our full Puffy mattress review for more information.

puffy mattress firmness
Puffy Mattress On Bed Frame

Best For Less than $1000 — Novosbed Mattress

Novosbed Mattress

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Highlights

  • The excellent price point makes this a suitable option if you’re over 400 pounds and need a budget-friendly mattress.
  • Moderate sinkage helps promote healthy spinal alignment, especially if you’re heavier.
  • Thick comfort layers can isolate motion, which may benefit couples.

The Novosbed is my best mattress for a 400-pound person for less than $1000 due to its price, balance of fitness and comfort, and ability to isolate motion. The Novosbed is priced only $100 more than the Puffy, and during the holiday season, its price drops to below $1000. That makes the Novosbed more affordable during certain times of the year if you need a luxury, sturdy mattress to support people over 400 pounds. From my tests, the Novosbed has a sturdy core due to its reported 1.92 inches of sinkage, firmer than the Puffy by 0.58 inches. The Novosbed made me feel cradled in its sinkable layers without feeling stuck or at risk of my hips sagging too deep in the mattress. 

In addition, I tested the comfort layers in the Novosbed and measured a bounce-back of 0.9 seconds, the same as the AS3 for 0.9 seconds. That means the Novosbed can provide enough comfort while cradling and isolating motion. Furthermore, motion transfer was minimal during my tests with the Novosbed, making this a good option for couples.

What I Don’t Like About This Mattress

One feature I don’t like about the Novosbed is that it may feel a bit slow to move freely along the top of the mattress and switch positions quickly due to its motion-isolating layers.

Read our full Novosbed mattress review for more information.

Novosbed Mattress Construction
Novosbed mattress cover

Our Methodology - Why I Picked These Mattresses

The best mattresses for sleepers over 400 pounds need to be extra firm to support the extra weight, and durable (firmer mattresses tend to be more durable as they’re designed to carry extra weight). They should also use high-quality materials, like memory foam and coils.

When choosing my best mattresses for this list, I chose mattresses with fewer comfort layers (like the Plank’s Firm 0.75 inches), as this puts you in near-direct contact with the strong core, which can improve spinal alignment.
I also looked for cores with durability in mind, like coils, or highly-dense polyfoam. I also choose mattresses with a bounce of at least 5 inches. A high bounce means the mattress is more responsive, and likely more durable and firm.
When I was reviewing mattresses, I also checked for factors such as how cooling the mattress was, how its edge support felt, as well as how quickly it recovered from compressions. I go through more methodology tips later in the article so you can better choose the right mattress that can adequately support a 400-pound person better.

How Do You Choose the Best Mattress for a 400-Pound Person?

To choose the best mattress for a 400-pound person, ensure that you are looking for a mattress that doesn’t sag, and a mattress designed for heavy people. These typically include a hybrid coil system or latex, as both are designed to handle more weight than usual, and have a longer lifespan than soft, low-density memory foam. 

Mattress Firmness Levels for a 400-pound Person

The ideal firmness levels for a 400-pound person would be firm to extra-firm, as a study shows that using a firmer bed can improve sleep quality (1). Not only that, but a firmer mattress is able to support more weight due to a more robust core. On the flip side, not choosing the right mattress can adversely affect your sleep and overall health (2).

Testing a memory foam mattress firmness
Testing a memory foam mattress firmness

Sharing a Bed with a 400-pound Person

Sometimes, you and your partner have different weight categories, necessitating different firmnesses so you both sleep comfortably. The easiest way to do this is with a split king mattress, with one side’s mattress designed for a lightweight person, while the other mattress side is designed for a 300-pound person, or any heavy-weight group.

Choosing a Mattress for a Restless Person

If you or your partner are restless sleepers, sleeping on an extra firm mattress can cause motion to travel easily. That’s why it’s essential to look for the best mattress for a restless partner that is also designed to carry extra weight, as these will be supportive while isolating motion. Mattresses with a memory foam layer that is slow-adapting to absorb motion, or coils designed to have a bit more give to absorb more motion than average tend to make excellent choices.

Mattress Quality

Quality is also a factor that decides the best mattress, which is why considering mattresses exclusively made in the USA may be a valid option for you, as mattresses made here tend to have stricter standards to adhere to. You will find that they have inherently higher quality, and typically come with certifications that prove they meet quality material guidelines, which not only makes them typically last longer, but also a safer mattress to introduce in your home. 

Size of the Mattress 

When choosing the best mattress size for a 400-pound person, it’s essential to consider your room size and how it corresponds to your mattress size, as a small room will require you to find a smaller mattress. Smaller mattresses, such as a Twin or Double, can still provide enough surface area and support for a heavier sleeper, plus increase overall foot space so even small rooms feel bigger. Or, if you have ample room space, or need extra space to sleep on, considering the best mattress size, like an Olympic queen mattress, may be suitable.

Also Read: How Much Does a Mattress Weight?

F.A.Q.

What is the Best Mattress for Someone Over 400 Pounds?

The best mattress for someone over 400 pounds typically includes materials designed for lumbar support and are firm or extra firm. Materials such as reinforced coils, latex, high-density foam, or a mix of all three tend to be the most supportive.

What Materials are Best for a Mattress to Support a 400-pound Person?

The best materials to support a 400-pound person tend to be coils or latex. It’s also essential to look for mattresses that specifically offer lumbar support, such as the Saatva HD, which can ensure the hips and spine are always aligned.

Conclusion

When it comes to looking for the best mattress for a 400-pound person, as long as you are looking for solid and durable materials, such as coils, latex, latex alternatives, or high-density memory foam, you’ll choose a mattress that will last you and your home a long time. And the higher the firmness, the longer-lasting it will be, especially for heavier sleepers.

In my opinion, the Titan Plus Lux is the most durable and long-lasting mattress to support 400 pounds. It uses steel coils and TitanFlex™ foam to support you night after night without creating body impressions or sag, ensuring you get your best sleep.

 

Additional Resources:

  1. NIH National Library of Medicine (2006.) Subjective rating of perceived back pain, stiffness and sleep quality following introduction of medium-firm bedding systems. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2647070/ 
  2. NIH National Library of Medicine (September 2011.) Sleep disorders and work performance: findings from the 2008 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America poll. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20887396/

Our research

27

Mattresses Considered

112

Hours of Research

2

Sleep Experts Consulted

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