The Best Mattress Toppers for Every Kind of Sleeper

If you’re anything like us, your wallet and your cup runneth dry this month, which is filled with a slow return to the grind, a fresh can of Ghia’s N/A spritz, and a determination to make some resolutions that are actually realistic. This year, we’re wearing sunscreen daily, buying an over-the-door sex swing, and finally upgrading our mattress. We spend a third of our lives sleeping, so yit’s worth asking ourselves some basic sleep quality questions, such as: Should I dump my partner, and just get a side sleeper pillow? Did I buy my mattress while ‘Inception’ was still in theaters? If either one elicits a yes, then it’s time for an upgrade. You don’t even have to get an entirely new mattress, although we will always support that investment. You just need a new mattress topper. 

Mattress toppers are to beds what beanies are to bad hair days: easy, affordable solutions for seemingly expensive problems. There are affordable cooling mattress toppers, memory foam mattress toppers, and mattress toppers on sale from some of our favorite luxury and budget sleep brands, including Tuft & Needle, Avocado, Tempur-Pedic, and more. Although anything would be an upgrade from ye old orange foam IKEA slab, let’s top off the new year together by navigating these various options with the goal of helping you sleep easy. 

As a former rock-hard mattress loyalist, let me assure you: There is a foam mattress for every kind of sleeper. I now prefer a medium-firm mattress for back support, and have reviewed (and loved) both the Casper Element Pro and the classic Purple mattress for VICE as great options that don’t cost thousands of dollars. Then there are the memory foam toppers, which get the job done for only a couple hundred bucks. If that piques your interest, consider this high-rated model from Tempur-Pedic, which is made with three inches of the brand’s signature adaptive pressure-relieving technology to hug and support your body’s curves.  

Meanwhile, this high-rated memory foam topper from Bear is 35% off with the code NEWYEAR, and has glowing reviews from folks who praise everything from the speedy delivery to the comfort of the mattress. As one fan writes, “[I] got this topper for my mom [...] Her hips bother her so she needed a little more softness, and this was perfect.” Mother’s Day is only four months away, after all.  

If you’re looking for a memory foam topper that’s under $100, this baby has more than 21,500 reviewers and a 4.4-star average rating. The two-inch topper is made out of gel memory foam to have an extra cooling effect, too (an entire category we’ll get into in a moment). Bring it home while it’s 15% off.

This Tuft & Needle mattress topper is made out of the brand’s signature T&N Adaptive foam, which is designed to gradually adapt to your body’s weight and curves without giving you a heavy sinking sensation. It’s the perfect foam mattress topper for medium-squish sleepers. 

Avocado’s organic, luxury mattresses are definitely on the pricier side—but, again, you’ll be investing in a product that you’re going to use every day of your life. The brand’s all-natural, ethically-sourced alpaca wool mattress topper not only makes us feel like a Skyrim laird, but it won’t have that plastic-y new mattress smell that usually takes a week or two to air out. As one reviewer writes, “[It’s the] perfect fit, [has] no chemical smell, and [supports] my back, shoulders and neck!!”

It’s pretty standard for mattresses to come with some kind of cooling technology these days (unless they’re designed for folks living in, say, Svalbard), and many of the aforementioned toppers have high ratings for their cooling effects. You can basically level up your Tempur-Pedic topper, for example, to include what the brand calls its “cooling topper” for an extra $80. Alternatively, you could cop this graphite memory foam topper from Saatva, another VICE editor-loved luxury sleep brand that really knows its way around high-tech mattresses. This particular foam topper reduces motion transfer, uses graphite to keep you cool, and is made from a moisture-wicking organic cotton with a botanical antimicrobial treatment to inhibit the growth of bacteria. In other words, you sleep au natural, and unbothered.  

This Amazon bestseller is not only a solid budget pick at about $50, but it has more than  5,000 ratings from reviewers who say it keeps them cool at night and has a buttery-soft feel thanks to its bamboo fabric (another favorite bedding material of VICE editors). As one reviewer wrote, “IT SAVED THE HOLIDAYS!! It is so comfortable and adds a great amount of padding to the bed.” 

Don’t forget to upgrade your sheets, too. 

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.