How To Find A “Just Right” Mattress

Enjoy more sleep and less pain with a mattress that fits your needs.

- Emily Delzell

Waking up with stiff, achy joints may be due to more than arthritis; it may be a sign you need a different mattress.

There are no one-size-fits-all recommendations, says Bert Jacobson, an exercise physiologist and professor at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater who has studied the effects of mattresses on pain, stiffness and sleep quality. “What works best varies with body weight, dominant sleep position and other individual factors,” he says.