What Is Edge Support?
Important if you sit or lay right on the edge
Good edge support maximizes the usable surface area of the bed, and prevents 'roll-off' when you sit or sleep near the edge of the bed.
Edge support is a feature that may or may not matter to you depending on your sleep style, and how you tend to use your bed.
A solid and stable mattress edge maximizes the usable sleeping area on a bed. It's help for those who like to sit on the edge to put on socks and shoes. It can be helpful for those who have trouble getting in and out of bed, giving them a stable edge to push against when rising.
Those with kids or pets might find themselves pushed to the edge in the night, and edge stability can keep you from feeling like you are are sliding or melting off the bed.
Generally, beds made of all foam have the worst reputation when it comes to edge support. Memory foam can be particularly problematic; as your body heats the foam, you may feel yourself melting right off the bed.
The best edge support typically comes from innerspring or hybrid mattresses that have a pocket spring unit. But among all these types of beds, there are better or worse performers.
Many brands have begun adding features to improve edge support, such as a firmer foam perimeter around the bed.
How GoodBed Tests Edge Support
In our GoodBed Expert Reviews, our 200-lb. tester sits on the edge. Here, we are looking for how much the mattress "dips" and whether our tester feels unstable.
Next, our tester lays right on the edge with his shoulder blade right on the side of the mattress. He holds this position for several seconds to see whether he feels more or less stable as the mattress materials warm up under his body. The best performers will feel as supportive on the edge as they do in the center of the bed.
We rate edge support on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being excellent.
Here's an example of a foam mattress that isn't holding its edge so well. Note how much of our tester's body is sliding right off, especially when laying on the side.
In this next example, the mattress below is doing an excellent job supporting our tester right on the side. Note how his body is completely level and not leaning off in any way, and contrast with the example above.
Does Sitting on a Mattress Ruin It?
By design, mattresses are made to support weight across the whole surface. Sitting on the edge of your mattress to put on shoes or socks (for example) will not damage or ruin your mattress. If, however, you tend to use your mattress as a chair to watch TV for hours every night, the concentration of your weight in that one area for a sustained period could result in a depression over time that doesn't spring back.
In short, sitting on the edge or your mattress for a few minutes at a time will not ruin, but sustained use in this way might cause the materials to compress permanently over time.
What Mattresses Have the Best Edge Support?
In our evaluations, here's a sampling of mattresses that scored best in terms of edge support. We looked for mattresses that felt stable, where our tester did not feel he was sliding off the bed. When sitting, we also looked for a stable edge, where our tester did not feel like he was being ejected from the bed.
