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Is Purple Mattress Good for Back Pain?

Derek Hales

Written by: Derek Hales

Updated On:

Purple mattresses take a unique approach to support and comfort, relying on their patented hyperelastic polymer grid.

Looking more like something you’d find in a science lab, this grid serves as the top layer of comfort in all Purple mattresses.

Purple Restore Back Sleeping
Purple Restore Back Sleeping

But is the grid good for sleepers with back pain? The short answer is, yes—it can be.

What causes back pain?

One of the primary causes of back pain is poor spinal alignment while sleeping. When your spine lacks alignment, vertebrae within your spinal column can shift or move, which can lead to back pain.

One of the best ways to alleviate back pain is to promote spinal alignment.

This can be done in a number of ways, but the three most common recommendations are:

  1. A Firmer Mattress (6-8 out of 10 on the firmness scale)
  2. Improved Edge Support
  3. Improved Pressure Relief

Purple Mattress for Back Pain

With these three factors in mind, we can quickly identify the best Purple mattresses for back pain.

MattressOverall ScoreFirmnessEdge SupportPressure Relief
Purple Original9.4757.69.5
Purple Restore Hybrid9.325 or 79.59.0
Purple Restore Plus Hybrid 9.575 or 7109.5
Purple Restore Premier Hybrid9.474 or 69.99.5

For the best value, go with the Purple Restore Plus in the firmer feel. This mattress has a firmer feel, exceptional edge support, and excellent pressure relief as well.

For the best pressure relief, go with the Purple Restore Premier. The 4″ layer of Purple grid material really takes pressure relief to the next level on this mattress and is fantastic for relieving back pain.

I would not recommend the Purple Original for sleepers with back pain. This mattress is softer than the ideal range for back sleepers and has poor edge support.

Purple Original

Purple Original Back Sleeping Edge

Purple Restore Plus Hybrid

Purple Restore Plus Edge Support Back Sleeping

The photos above show the comparison between lying on the edge of the Purple Original (left) compared to the edge of the Purple Restore Plus (right).

As you can see, the spinal alignment on the Purple Original is just isn’t as good. Coil supports on the Purple hybrids do much better at preventing back pain and keeping that alignment.

Even for smaller budgets, there are other mattresses (non-Purple mattresses) that would be better suited for your needs.

About Derek Hales

Derek Hales

Derek Hales is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of NapLab.com. He has been featured in Fast Company, Reader's Digest, Business Insider, Realtor.com, Huffington Post, Washington Post, AskMen, and She Knows. Derek has personally tested over 320+ mattresses and hundreds of pillows, sheets, beds, and other sleep products.

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