Looking for the best mattress for heavy people? We've tried just about every mattress on the market (not even kidding) and found the solution, at long last.
Finally – we can both sleep! Praise Jesus, this has been a LONG time comin. I met my husband 15 years ago, when we lived on the same dorm floor at a college where he played O Line for our NCAA Division 1 Pac 12 football team. So he’s, uhhh, not a small guy. We’ve plowed through a dozen mattresses in our time together.
We've asked a lot of friends, family, and sales people for advice finding the best mattress for heavy people, and we've gotten a large variety of thoughts on high density foam, larger sleepers, and temperature regulation. Everything from fancy department store purchases to those “grid” ones, springs, you name it. He crushed them all flat as pancakes within months!
Our last attempt involved an all-foam situation that rapidly developed a giant crater in the middle which we’d both slide into, then kick and hiss at each other like deranged cats all night as we unsuccessfully attempted to wrestle our way to some semblance of sanity. It was taking a serious toll on our marriage.
Big Fig is Made Differently
Enter Big Fig. It’s a hybrid mattress with durable dense foam AND spring layers specifically built to support heavier people. The cover has a gel blend that dissipates heat and improves air flow, and the pocketed coil edge support means we can actually use the ENTIRE surface of the mattress (unheard of for us, previously!). That top layer is extra important, since heavier sleepers tend to sleep hot and have a lot of motion transfer issues. Ideal support and comfortable sleep surfaces can be a challenge for couples like us, with differing cushion needs – but Big Fig nailed it.
The steel coils provide enough support for the Big Fig to come with a weight limit of 1,100 pounds dispersed between two sleepers, or 550 pounds per individual. And while we're talking numbers, it's worth noting that this mattress comes with an impressive 120 night trial!
One thing you should be prepared for with delivery of the Big Fig, especially if you get the Adjustable Base: it’s heavy. Like, hubs is obviously a strong guy, but he still called his brother over to help man-handle this whole setup into our bedroom. Construction was easy, though, and I’m SO thrilled to know we finally have a sturdy, comfortable place to hang.
FYI: the sheet-looking thing tucked underneath the mattress is a mattress protector that I slid down, just so you guys could get a full look at the thickness of this thing. It should come as no shock that the best mattress for heavy people has some serious girth to it.
A Big Bed Needs a Big Base
Big Fig mattresses all come with specially made foundations to support their large-and-in-charge stature, and we upgraded to the electronic Adjustable Base, which you can see above. If Nate starts snoring, I can push a single button to raise his head up and get back to my own Zzzz’s, STAT.
Since Big Fig caters to heavy customers, I was a little bit concerned that the bed would work for my husband but would be too firm for me. I’m a solidly-average-sized woman who suffers from stiff neck + back pain attributed to a combination of scoliosis, an inherited joint condition, sports injuries, a couple car accidents and overall bad posture habits (writer life, y’all). NOPE.
I have never slept better in my life, and I have no pain in my usual pressure points. I’ve always waffled from back-to-side-to-stomach, and I’ve found that I generally wind up on my back nowadays. My chiropractor tells me that’s the best sleeping position for me, so I’m happy and I wake up feeling totally refreshed.
We've had multiple king and California king-sized beds during our hunt for a mattress that would suit us AND provide me with enough breathing room so I wouldn't slip down the little ramp created by the difference between Nate's heaviness and my lighter figure. Our Big Fig, on the other hand, is a queen! And that prior problem simply doesn't exist in the slightest, thanks to those individually wrapped coils which completely support every square inch.
All this time we've been going to such great lengths to provide the optimal space and cushion for both of us, thinking maybe we had no choice but to size up to disperse our weight. Turns out, we just needed to find people who understand the mechanics of our sleep issue and have created a mattress specifically designed to provide the ideal fit for us.
A Surprising Small Space Solution
Being able to fit comfortable sleep into a smaller footprint has been fantastic, since we're currently in a very small living space. As you can see above, I have a folding treadmill that gets tucked right alongside the bed, Nate has a very slim dresser on his side of the bed (my wardrobe is actually kept in the office), and we utilize under-bed storage boxes for seasonal accessories.
We live in a 1K square-foot city house with four kids. Every single square inch counts in this home, and every single piece of furniture pulls double-duty. Our bed is included in that!
Our master bedroom tends to wind up being the default hang out / reading area / movie-watching space for everyone. I actually really like that our whole family feels so welcome here. It’s also really nice to have our preschooler crawling into bed to chat about his dreams, without complaining that he’s falling into the pit of despair.
I often find my older kids just hanging out in there, reading school books together with the bed in “lounge” mode.
I should note that everybody knows shoes aren't allowed on beds around here, but you can see how well we follow directions.
Anyway, it's not uncommon for me to be teaching the kindergartener his letters in the living room, with the littlest dude taking a nap in the kids' room, and Nate working on a project in the garage. That leaves the big kids to choose to do their homework at the kitchen table (noisy), in my office (messy, most of the time), or on Nate and I's bed.
Turns out, the best mattress for heavy people is also the desired space for all of our kids to do their work. The boys are totally obsessed with the ability to pop the base up and turn the bed into a sit-up reading nook, or go into zero gravity mode for the best nap of their lives.
Nate and I have both lost weight, because we actually have enough energy to be mindful about exercise and diet, and we’re making huge strides in our to-do list for the business and renovations on this tiny home. I know that’s a lot to attribute to a mattress, but seriously. Life. Changing. I’m smitten.
Thanks for helping us finally get some sleep again, Big Fig – and allowing our whole family to maximize space in our minimalist home!
Are you on the hunt for the best mattress for heavy people? Give Big Fig a go!