Best Mattresses for Sleep Apnea UK 2026

Your GP and sleep clinic come before a new bed

Your GP is the first stop for suspected sleep apnoea, with a referral and sleep study used to diagnose it. The airway narrows or closes repeatedly during sleep. The NHS says to see a GP if you have any of the main symptoms and warns: "Sleep apnoea can be serious if it's not diagnosed and treated."

The NHS lists these symptoms during sleep:

• breathing stopping and starting
• making gasping, snorting or choking noises
• waking up a lot
• loud snoring

During the day, its list is:

• feeling very tired
• finding it hard to concentrate
• having mood swings
• having a headache when you wake up

The NHS names a CPAP machine as the main treatment.² Its other treatments are a mandibular advancement device, surgery, mouth and facial exercises, and hypoglossal nerve stimulation. Your sleep clinic handles the treatment discussion and the set-up you need.

Once that appointment is in hand, you can deal with the bed as a comfort purchase. Honestly, the mattress industry's fondness for medical-sounding names is exhausting enough without taking them as shopping instructions. Focus on whether you can lie comfortably on your side and whether your bed leaves space for any equipment your clinic prescribes.

Keep an otherwise comfortable mattress while you work that out. A new diagnosis doesn't automatically require a new bed, despite the shopping opportunity some of us could make of it. Replace yours if it leaves you uncomfortable, has a lasting dip or won't work with a clinician-agreed change to your set-up.

Side sleeping needs room for your shoulder and hip

A yielding comfort layer over a supportive core is the useful mattress feature when you're trying to sleep on your side. Your shoulder and hip need to sink a little while the rest of you stays supported. Extra firmness for its own sake is a miserable buying strategy; I think the showroom paving slab has had quite enough publicity.

The NHS suggests sleeping on your side. Its practical suggestions include taping a tennis ball to the back of your sleepwear or buying a special pillow. That is the NHS's advice, and it gives you something to discuss with your clinic alongside your treatment.

In a 2013 literature review, Ravesloot and colleagues reported that, on average, 56 per cent of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea had position-dependent disease, defined as events at least halving off the back.³ In plain terms, about half had it worse on their back. Sixteen studies of positional therapy showed a lower apnoea-hypopnoea index, the number of breathing interruptions or reductions per hour. The review was mostly small case series, and long-term compliance remained a problem.

That's why I care about whether your side actually feels comfortable. Buying something you can tolerate for a quick showroom photograph is easy; spending the night on it is the relevant bit. Lie on each candidate in your usual side-sleeping position for a full ten minutes, long enough to notice pressure at your shoulder or hip.

Start with your weight, then adjust for your sleeping position. These are shopping rules of thumb, not clinical thresholds or standardised firmness grades; brands use firmness labels differently.

Pocket springs with foam or latex above them are a sensible place to start. The top provides the give; the core supports your weight. If you sleep hot, favour springs with breathable fillings over deep memory foam, which feels warmer. Use our mattresses for side sleepers selection to compare those comfort options, and choose for the position you actually sleep in.

Raise your upper body only with your clinician's agreement

Ask your clinician whether a gentle upper-body incline belongs in your set-up before you buy an adjustable base. I think adjustable beds are overpriced for most people, but a clinician-agreed need for elevation is one of the few reasons I would seriously consider one. Paying for useful movement is easier to justify than paying for another remote to lose.

In Souza and colleagues' 2017 study, 52 sleep-clinic patients had sleep studies flat and then with a 7.5-degree head-of-bed elevation. Their apnoea-hypopnoea index fell from about 16 to about 11 events an hour, without changing sleep structure.¹ This was one clinic, with no long-term follow-up. It does not establish a treatment recommendation or a benefit from any particular product.

If your clinician agrees, discuss the intended angle and how to achieve it. The study involved a gentle bed-head tilt; propping yourself up on a heap of ordinary pillows is a different arrangement. A wedge is the cheaper option to discuss before committing to a powered base.

An adjustable base needs a mattress made to bend with it. Foam and latex are options, as are pocket-sprung mattresses specifically built for adjustable use. Check the exact mattress and base combination before ordering, because the word "hybrid" alone tells you very little about bending compatibility.

Avoid open coil and rigid rod edges on an adjustable base. Moderate mattress depth makes more sense than a very thick build, and the base needs a retaining bar to help keep the mattress in place. This is where the unglamorous details become bloody useful: confirm compatibility and the retaining arrangement before choosing upholstery colours.

Give your CPAP set-up and your partner enough room

Plan the space around your prescribed CPAP equipment before choosing the bed size or headboard. You need a bedside surface at bed height and enough hose reach across your pillow when you turn onto your side. The bedside table may have to surrender some decorative space; check the machine's placement with your clinic's instructions before filling the remaining gap with a lamp.

Measure the space beside the mattress as well as the room itself. A broad headboard wing or bulky base can crowd the machine surface and hose route. Check the arrangement from your sleeping position, because a hose that reaches when you're sitting on the edge may leave less freedom when you're settled across the pillow.

A pillow shaped to leave space for a CPAP mask is an option if an ordinary pillow presses against it. CPAP pillows exist, but the fit depends on your mask and sleeping position, so ask your clinic for help if the mask shifts or feels uncomfortable. Pair that space at your face with a comfort layer that lets your shoulder sink when you lie on your side.

For a partner, choose pocket springs, foam or a hybrid to limit movement travelling across the bed. Memory foam is good at absorbing movement, though hot sleepers should be cautious about deep layers. Many partners find the CPAP hum easier to sleep beside than the snoring it replaces; movement isolation is still useful when either of you turns over.

A king gives the hose and both sleepers more room than a standard double. To my mind, a king is the sensible double for two adults if the room allows it. There's enough negotiation over duvet ownership without negotiating every inch of mattress too, so measure for the larger size while keeping usable space beside the bed.

Our mattresses for snoring guide covers the separate comfort question around sharing with a snorer. Where CPAP is part of your treatment, arrange the bed around the clinic's instructions and raise mask or hose difficulties with the clinic.

The NHS also advises: do not smoke; do not drink too much alcohol, especially shortly before going to sleep; and do not take sleeping pills unless recommended by a doctor. Its other self-help advice includes trying to lose weight if you're overweight, exercising regularly and having good sleep habits.

Avoid beds and gadgets that get in the way of proper care

Skip any purchase that delays your GP appointment or makes your agreed sleeping set-up harder to use. Internet shopping at midnight is remarkably good at producing parcels; medical judgement is another matter. These are the concrete things to leave out of the basket:

• A bed bought instead of seeing your GP. Breathing that stops and starts needs medical assessment.
• Open coil or a rod-edge mattress for an adjustable base. You need a mattress specifically compatible with the base's movement.
• A mattress too firm for comfortable side sleeping. If your shoulder and hip can't sink, staying on your side becomes harder.
• Mouth tape, strips, sprays or internet breathing gadgets. Don't experiment with these for sleep apnoea; follow NHS advice and your clinic's guidance.
• A standard double where a king will fit. For a couple sharing with a mask and hose, the extra room is a practical advantage.

A topper can soften a mattress that's otherwise supportive, but it won't repair a dip. The bargain becomes considerably less charming when you still need a replacement underneath it. Check the mattress and base for sagging or damage before spending on an extra comfort layer.

Sleep apnoea is a GP matter first

NHS guidance on sleep apnoea says to see a GP if you have any of the main symptoms of sleep apnoea, such as your breathing stopping and starting while you sleep, making gasping, snorting or choking noises while you sleep, or always feeling very tired during the day. Sleep apnoea can be serious if it's not diagnosed and treated.

The main treatment is a CPAP machine, prescribed after a sleep study. The NHS self-help advice is to try to lose weight if you're overweight, exercise regularly, have good sleep habits and sleep on your side; not to smoke; not to drink too much alcohol, especially shortly before going to sleep; and not to take sleeping pills unless recommended by a doctor.