Top 4 Best Mattress For Motion Isolation & Light Sleepers
- Best Memory Foam Mattress For Motion Isolation :LaylaStarting at $749 Shop Now
- Best Soft Foam Mattress For Light Sleepers :Tuft Needle MintStarting at $745 Shop Now
- Best Hybrid Mattress For Motion Isolation :Brentwood Home OceanoStarting at $999 Shop Now
- Best Natural Latex Mattress For Motion Isolation :WinkBeds EcoCloudStarting at $1299 Shop Now
Finding a mattress effective at limiting motion transfer is critical for couples and light sleepers. Once you fall asleep, the last thing you want is your partner waking you up every time they switch sleeping positions. By getting one of the best mattresses for motion isolation, you’re both more likely to sleep well.
Compare the Best Mattresses For Motion Isolation & Light Sleepers
Best Memory Foam Mattress For Motion Isolation
This bed is flippable with a soft and firm side. If you want a medium-soft mattress, you’ll like the soft side. If you want a bed somewhere between medium and medium-firm, check out the firm side. A queen size will cost around $850-$900 after discounts.
Why Layla is one of the best mattresses for light sleepers — Besides doing a good job with motion isolation, Layla has a comfortable feel and versatile design that works for a lot of people.
Best Soft Foam Mattress For Light Sleepers
Mint is Tuft & Needle’s premium mattress. The flagship Tuft & Needle mattress is incredibly popular, but it’s only 10” thick, which alienated certain heavier individuals. T&N Mint adds an extra layer and an additional 2” of support.
It also happens to be soft, and is therefore mostly ideal for side sleepers. Because it’s an all-foam bed with mostly softer poly foam, it does a good job of limiting motion transfer.
Why we chose Tuft and Needle Mint as a good motion transfer reducing mattress — This is a thicker all-foam mattress and provides more support than the average 10” bed like Layla, but it’s right around the same price. We think you’re getting a great value with this bed.
Best Hybrid Mattress For Motion Isolation
The Oceano mattress is one of those beds that you lay on and say “OMG this is comfortable.” It’s possibly too comfortable. You could easily sleep through your alarm clock on this bed.
The mattress uses coils, but they’re individually-wrapped—as opposed to typical interconnected innersprings—which allows the bed to isolate motion much better than you’d expect.
Why we chose Brentwood Home — Hybrid beds tend to be decent at motion isolation, but we think Brentwood Home Oceano does a great job. Even light sleepers should still feel rested. Overall, it’s a supremely comfortable bed at a fair price.
Best Natural Latex Mattress
If you’re in the market for a natural and organic mattress that’ll isolate movement on your bed, we think WinkBeds’ EcoCloud mattress is a great option. Usually, latex hybrid mattresses like this one are extra bouncy and responsive, but this is one of the softest latex beds we’ve tested.
We rated it a medium on the firmness scale, making it suitable for any sleeper type. It also has a supportive coil base, so any body type will also be accommodated on this bed.
Why we picked EcoCloud as one of our top mattress recommendations — It’s made with premium, eco-friendly materials like natural Talalay latex and organic cotton, and it’s one of the best latex mattresses for isolating motion. We also love how accommodating it is for any type of sleeper, regardless of body or sleeper type. The only real downside is that it retails higher than your average online mattress.
Best Mattresses For Reducing Motion Transfer Pricing
You can find cheap mattresses and luxury mattresses online that do a good job of limiting motion transfer. Here are the prices for our top-rated mattresses. Be sure to check the websites for any discounts or promotions.
| Twin | Twin XL | Full | Queen | King/California King | |
| Layla | $699 | $799 | $999 | $1,099 | $1,199 |
| T&N Mint | $745 | $845 | $995 | $1,195 | $1,395 |
| Brentwood Home Oceano | $999 | $1,199 | $1,299 | $1,499 | $1,999 |
| WinkBeds EcoCloud | $1,299 | $1,399 | $1,499 | $1,799 | $2,199 |
What Is Motion Isolation?
The motion isolation of a bed refers to how well it deadens movement, and it’s a measure of how well movement is absorbed by the mattress.
This is important for couples because a mattress with good motion isolation will keep you from bothering your partner when you get up in the middle of the night or move positions. The potential downside to this motion isolation for couples is that mattresses with good motion isolation properties tend to have little bounciness. Some people feel this makes the mattress less suitable for sex.
What Is Motion Transfer?
Motion transfer is the opposite of motion isolation. It is motion energy spreading across a mattress and often leads to a disturbance if more than one person is lying on the mattress. This can be especially troubling for light sleepers, and in some cases, a light sleeper could even disturb themselves when moving in a bed where the motion transfer properties are high.
Couples also need to consider the edge support of the mattress, which can be particularly important in smaller mattresses, as it keeps you feeling supported and safe from rolling off the edge because it gives in easily to pressure.
Best Materials For Motion Isolation
There are many types of mattresses available. Here is what we’ve determined to be the best mattress materials for motion isolation:
- Memory foam — Memory foam molds to the sleeper’s body to varying degrees, then slowly springs back to shape once you remove the pressure. Memory foam mattresses tend to have good motion isolation properties because they’re so viscous and good at absorbing motion energy.
- Pocketed coils — Many traditional spring-based mattresses will have some degree of motion transfer, but that can be minimized through the use of pocketed spring coils. This way, the springs move independently from one another as opposed to moving all together as one system.
- Polyurethane foam — While it’s not as viscous and slow-responding as memory foam, it’s still a good mattress material for motion isolation. Polyurethane foam, also known as neutral-foam here at the Slumber Yard, absorbs movement while still being responsive to pressure.
- Air mattress — Many people recognize these as the sleep number mattresses. This mattress has internal air bladders and electric pumps that fill and drain air from sections of the mattress to adjust it to different levels of firmness. Another feature of the adjustable air mattress is its ability to effectively isolate motion, at least as good as memory foam, and even better in some models.
Common Mattress Materials And Constructions
Below you will find a table illustrating the different types of mattress materials, their weight limits, if they’re good for motion isolation and what kind of person they’re best for. For weight limit, the numbers represent the highest weight you can be before the mattress is unsupportive for you.
| Mattress | Material | Weight Limit | Good For motion isolation? | Best For |
| All-Foam | Memory Foam Poly Foam Latex Foam | ~250 lbs | Yes | Motion Isolation Budget Buyers |
| Innerspring | Steel coils or innersprings | ~800 lbs | No | Traditional feel DurabilityCool |
| Hybrid | Memory foam, latex, or polyfoam in addition to coils/innersprings. | ~800 lbs | Better than innerspring alone. | Supportive Good bounce Durable More breathable than all-foam |
Material Preferences To Help A Restless Partner
When it comes to motion transfer specifically, all-foam beds are usually the best. Having said that, some hybrid mattresses with pocketed coils or micro-coils do a great job of limiting motion transfer because the coils are individually-wrapped rather than being part of a larger innerspring system. Pocketed coils tend to do a much better job (than innersprings) of localizing pressure relief and support, while also isolating motion.
Therefore, if you see that a bed has coils, don’t run for the hills. If it has pocketed coils, it will still likely be very good in terms of deadening motion.
Creating Minimal Partner Disturbance
Typically motion isolation is something you only worry about (or think of) if you sleep with a partner. Otherwise, why would you care if the bed allows motion transfer?
But what if the partners have a difference of opinion in terms of firmness and feel of the mattress? In this case, we would say there are two potential fixes:
- Split mattress down the center — First, you could get a bed like Nest Alexander Hybrid or the Helix mattress that allows you to split the bed down the center with one side being firmer and the other, softer.
- Split king or split California king — In this option, you essentially have a twin-sized mattress on each side.
Few brands are offering split options, but if you search around you can find a few. Some of our top picks for motion isolating mattresses offer a spit option.
Top 6 Mattresses For Reducing Motion Transfer
| Mattress | Highlights | Firmness Levels |
| Layla Mattress | Best Memory Foam Mattress For Motion Isolation | Medium-soft or medium |
| T&N Mint | Best Soft Foam Mattress For Light Sleepers | Medium-soft to medium |
| Brentwood Home Oceano | Best Hybrid Mattress For Motion Isolation | Medium-soft to medium |
| Brooklyn Bowery | Best Budget Bed For Motion Isolation | Medium |
| WinkBeds EcoCloud | Best Natural Latex Mattress For Motion Isolation | Medium |
Usually the softer beds will absorb motion better, so all things being equal, if you’re worried about partner disturbance, a softer bed is better.
The longevity of your bed depends on the type of mattress you get. An all-foam mattress may last around 7-8 years, while a hybrid or innerspring bed can last around 10 years or more.
If you purchase your bed online, you will receive a risk-free trial period. Depending on the brand, it can range from around 90 days to a full year.
You will get free shipping right to your doorstep, and your mattress will show up in a box about the size of a set of golf clubs. Some brands, however, offer free while glove delivery and will also complete the set-up process for you.
Often, and we mean very often — not just holidays. Check the Slumber Yard’s Deal Page for all the up-to-date online mattress promotions.
Why Trust Us
Get the kind of sleep you’ve only dreamed of with some help from our team of mattress experts. We personally test more than 175 of the best sleep solutions from over 60 leading brands on site, so you can be sure you’re getting unbiased reviews, fair comparisons and personalized recommendations.
