Memory foam, hybrid, and cooling options

Upgrading to a king-size mattress can be a good move for a number of reasons. Maybe you sleep with a partner and need some extra space, or maybe you just want more room to sprawl out at night. (No shame in being a bed hog.) You might even, due to necessity or preference, work from bed. If so, a king-size mattress can provide more real estate for your home office setup.

Assembling the “ideal” work-from-home configuration during the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drive plenty of consumer trends. People are investing in at-home standing desks, ergonomic office chairs, and even permanent home improvements to make working remotely more comfortable — especially since many people won’t be returning to the office full-time. Perhaps you’ve realized, however, that working from bed can be great, whether you’re sliding under the covers for part of the workday or for the whole nine-to-five. That’s where a bigger mattress can come in handy.

Is it OK to work from bed?

If you’re asking yourself whether you should be working from bed, the answer is unsatisfying: It depends. In fact, the question isn’t a good one to begin with.

Working from bed isn’t really a matter of “good” versus “bad,” or “lazy” versus “productive.” Instead, it’s often a matter of accessibility. As several writers noted at the outset of the pandemic, plenty of people with disabilities or chronic illnesses worked from bed before the pandemic out of necessity — and often without much accommodation from employers. One piece from Heathline cited a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which states that “disabled people are almost twice as likely to be self-employed than non-disabled people” — in part, presumably, because full-time employers are unwilling to make accommodations for working from home.

Or were unwilling. When more people started to work from home during the pandemic, many employers made adjustments to help their full-time employees work remotely while sheltering in place. With that transition came plenty of debate about the “best” work from home setup or the “best” way to be productive remotely — debate that often ignored the people who have been making do and advocating for themselves in an inequitable work culture for years.

So ignore the people who say working from bed is “lazy.” If you and your doctor decide that it’s the best option for you, know that there are plenty of ways you can improve and optimize the experience.

How do I work from bed?

If you determine that bed is the place you’ll work best, you’ll ideally want to prioritize two things: Keeping yourself comfortable and making sure your spine is supported. (If working from bed is not a necessity, the best way to support your spine is to sit in an ergonomic chair.)

To support the spine, Dr. Pietro Luca Ratti, a neurologist and sleep expert at the Australian sleep website WhatASleep, recommends sitting up as straight as you can in bed. “Sit up so it’s like you’re sitting in a chair, with your legs pointed straight,” he told Mashable via email.

Dr. Ratti also noted that working from bed can blur the lines between “work” and “play” — that is, spending work time, leisure time, and sleep time in the same location can limit your ability to do all three.

To combat this, you may want to consider slightly different setups for different activities. Perhaps you use a back rest pillow during the workday, but remove it when it’s time for bed. An adjustable bed may work well here. (Several of our mattress picks below offer bundling options.) Or maybe you create boundaries between work and leisure by simply changing your outfit between activities. With a king-size bed, you could even designate “work” and a “not work” halves of your mattress. The point is: Get creative! Live your life! Your bed is a very personal place, and it’s also a real investment, so use it however it serves you best.

Dr. Brad Weiss, a chiropractor at Performance Health Center in Natick, MA, “recommends against” working from bed if you can avoid it. However, for people who are working from their laptops in bed, he recommends avoiding positions that put the neck into flexion (i.e. lowering the chin down to the chest). To the same end, he recommends placing pillows underneath the legs, so that the laptop is closer to eye height.

“An alternative is the McKenzie Prone Extension posture, which involves lying on your stomach, and then propping up your body — either with pillows or your elbows,” he told Mashable in an email. (Note: I used this posture for several months while recovering from an injury and found it quite comfortable.)

If you don’t have to work using a laptop, the Cleveland Clinic recommends working “on your back and with a tablet.” Might be hard if you’re typing frequently, but something to consider nonetheless.

As for the type of mattress you should use for working from bed? You’ll likely want to prioritize support and avoid sinkage, so a supportive, fairly firm mattress is a good bet. A lot of memory foam mattresses fit that bill, but we’ve included other types below as well.

I just want a king-size mattress to sleep on.

That is totally fine. Regardless of what else you’ll be doing in bed, you should make sure that your mattress is a good fit for your sleep style and preferences.

First, consider your most frequent sleeping position. Side sleepers, for instance, may want to prioritize pressure relief. They’ll want to make sure their spine is aligned while they’re sleeping, so a memory foam mattress might be best. Stomach sleepers may want to prioritize support and an “above the bed” feel, so a firmer mattress — maybe even an innerspring mattress — may work best for them. And back sleepers will likely want a mattress that’s both supportive and slightly plush.

Of course, everyone sleeps differently, so your needs and preferences might be slightly or wildly different than conventional wisdom. The best approach? Decide what, in an ideal world, you’d change about your current mattress, then search for the mattress that best fits that vision.

Another factor to consider: whether you tend to sleep hot or cold. If you tend to sleep hot, you may want to seek a mattress with features like cooling gel. Also, the conventional wisdom is that innerspring mattresses sleep cooler than memory foam, though every sleeper’s mileage varies.

What’s the difference between a king mattress and a California king mattress?

The most important difference between a king mattress and a California king mattress is that there’s a Rihanna song about the latter, but not the former. They’re also slightly different sizes. A king-size mattress is 76 inches wide and 80 inches long, while a California king mattress is 72 inches wide and 84 inches long. (The California king is the longest mattress available — even a twin XL bed is only 80 inches long.) A California king may be appropriate for people who are quite tall and want to stretch out, or for people whose bedrooms are longer than they are wide.

We’ve selected regular king-size mattresses for this piece, but we’ve noted which are available in a California king size as well.

How much bigger is a king mattress than a queen or a full mattress?

A king-sized mattress is definitely an investment, so you’ll want to make sure the amount of space you gain is worth the price. For reference, a queen mattress is 60 inches wide and 80 inches long — 16 inches less wide than a king-size mattress. A full mattress is 53 inches wide and 75 inches long — 23 inches less wide and five inches shorter than a king mattress.

If you have a full mattress and find its length to be the main issue (i.e. it’s too short), a queen-sized mattress could work for you. However, if you want significantly more width, a king mattress may be the best option for you.

Here are our picks for the best king-size mattresses.