I Tested the Saatva Rx Mattress with Chronic Back Pain − Now I'm Sleeping Better Than Ever and Waking Pain-Free
It's a perfect pick for hot sleepers, too
The Saatva Rx is a great choice for people with chronic back pain and hot sleepers. However, these benefits come at a high price that may be out of reach for some consumers.
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Highly supportive
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Stays cool
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Excellent motion isolation
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High cost
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Very tall at 15"
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I had high hopes for the Saatva Rx mattress, having tested other products from their range in the past that I found to be well-made and comfortable.
After testing this offering for five weeks in my home, I'm so impressed that I am recommending it as one of the best mattresses out there. It worked to solve several persistent problems I have when sleeping, including overheating and back pain, and I will be keeping it for the long term.
Over the years, I have tested more than a dozen mattresses professionally, equating to hundreds of hours of scrutiny and learning. Some provide perfect support, but trap heat. Others keep me cool, but leave me with aches and pains when I wake up.
The Saatva Rx really delivers, though, it has a high price to match.
My One-Minute Verdict on the The Saatva Rx Mattress
The Saatva Rx Mattress, available at Saatva, was designed to help people with chronic back pain, and it delivers on that promise. Impressively, I have not woken up with back or hip pain once since I started using it. As a mom of four, I am useless without a good night's sleep, so this mattress has proven to be a fantastic addition to our household.
Additionally, its thermoregulation is impressive compared to similar mattresses I have tested, and I've found it keeps me much cooler throughout the night than any other mattress I have tried.
The Saatva Rx also performs admirably in both motion isolation and edge support. My husband and I go to bed and wake up at different times, and the mattress's stability helps me get a better night’s sleep.
Specifications
Price | $1,700 - $3,442 |
Firmness | Supportive Plush |
Type | Hybrid |
Sizes available | Twin, Twin XL, Queen, King, Split King, California King |
Sleep trial period | 365 Nights |
Warranty | During the first two years, Saatva will replace a defective mattress at no charge; from year three on, Saatva will repair and recover a defective mattress for a fee of $149. Saatva also offers a Fairness Replacement Option that provides additional coverage. |
Delivery options | Free white-glove delivery, with optional removal of your old mattress and box spring at no charge. |
Delivery, Unboxing, and Set-Up
The unboxed Saatva Rx, shown on my platform bed.
My Saatva Rx mattress arrived via complimentary white-glove delivery. Two delivery people carried the mattress up the stairs and into my bedroom. They removed the old mattress from my bed frame and put the new one in place.
There was no off-gassing smell (which indicates there are no volatile organic compounds in the materials) and no need to wait for the mattress to expand before sleeping on it.
I appreciated the included delivery and white-glove set-up because the mattress is very heavy.
What It's Like Sleeping On the Saatva Rx Mattress
Here, you can see how the Saatva Rx mattress looks once my bed is made up.
Pressure relief and comfort: The Saatva Rx is designed for people like me with chronic back pain. Additionally, I fall asleep on my side and often wake up with hip pain when testing mattresses. My hip pain has all but disappeared since I started sleeping on the Saatva Rx.
This mattress is highly responsive to movement and does an outstanding job of contouring to my body, keeping me comfortable all night long. I am a very active sleeper, usually changing my sleep position several times throughout the night. That makes it difficult to find a mattress that works well for me, but the Saatva Rx stands out among other mattresses I’ve tested. Thanks to its impressive pressure relief and support, it keeps me comfortable in any position, making it perfect for combination sleepers like me and couples who may sleep in different positions.
The mattress also strikes the right balance between firmness and plushness. It’s firm enough so that I no longer wake up with back pain, but don’t feel as though I am sleeping on a hard board. Other mattresses struggle to find this balance.
The Saatva Rx has excellent pressure relief.
Thermoregulation: A common complaint with memory foam mattresses is that they run hot. As a result, people often search for a way to cool them down. Fortunately, I didn’t have that problem with the Saatva Rx, and it kept me significantly cooler than any other mattress I’ve tested.
Although it’s not a specialty cooling mattress, the Saatva Rx is designed to promote cooling throughout the night, and includes a layer of cooling gel-infused foam that helps disperse body heat, and individually-wrapped coils to promote airflow. The mattress is also covered with an organic, breathable cotton cover that helps keep the mattress’s surface cool.
Motion isolation: To test the motion isolation of the Saatva Rx, I filled a glass almost to the top with water, then placed an 18.5-pound weight next to the glass. Although a few drops spilled out, the glass barely moved.
The water-glass test is consistent with my experience sharing the bed with my husband for more than a month and hardly feeling him toss and turn − his movements during the night haven’t disturbed me at all.
Additionally, my husband tends to get up earlier than me and his movements usually wake me. However, I’ve slept more soundly through his early starts, which is due, at least in part, to the Saatva Rx’s great motion isolation.
Pocket-sprung mattresses tend to perform better than memory foam or hybrid mattresses in motion-isolation tests, but the Saatva Rx held its own in this category.
While testing the motion isolation of the Saatva Rx, you can see that the glass of water hardly tipped at all right next to a sizeable weight, revealing its excellent motion isolation.
Edge support: The edge support on the Saatva Rx is also excellent. When I sat on the edge of the mattress, I did not feel as though I would slip or fall off. When I get out of bed in the middle of the night, I feel secure when I sit on the edge of the mattress for a moment before standing up.
As an additional test, I placed a full glass of water on the edge of the mattress and set an 18.5-pound weight next to it. The glass noticeably tipped more here than it did when it was in the center of the mattress.
Nevertheless, the edge support on the Saatva Rx is significantly better than that of other mattresses I have tested, where the glass of water nearly tips over when performing the same test.
A weight rests on the edge of the Saatva mattress to demonstrate edge support.
Weight bearing: Along with the other areas tested, seeing how well a mattress bears weight is an important part of how we test mattresses here at Homes & Gardens. To see how well the Saatva Rx bears weight, I placed an 18.5-pound weight in the center of the mattress. The weight barely sank into the mattress at all. Even more impressive is that the mattress rebounded very quickly, in about 2.5 seconds.
When I tested the weight-bearing qualities of the Saatva Rx mattress, I was impressed by the way it rebounded so quickly.
Materials: How comfortable a mattress is depends heavily on how the mattress is made and the materials used. The Saatva Rx has seven layers, which help address different needs. The sleep surface is a breathable, organic cotton cover with lumbar zone quilting.
Under the cover is a layer of gel-infused memory foam that helps relieve pressure. Next is a layer of micro-coils surrounded by a memory-foam-like layer of proprietary Rx Weave-Tech foam. Together, these layers help the mattress cradle the body, provide additional pressure relief, and keep the mattress cool.
Finally, hundreds of individually wrapped coils help improve the mattress’s durability and assist with pressure relief and motion isolation. The final layer is a high-density foam base that provides stability. The premium materials used in the Saatva Rx result in one of the best mattresses I have ever tested for comfort and functionality.
The Saatva Rx mattress is filled with seven layers of supportive materials.
Price: The Saatva Rx is not the most inexpensive mattress on the market. However, I think the premium materials, combined with outstanding performance across all areas, make the mattress well worth the price.
Who Would The Saatva Rx Mattress Suit?
- Those with back problems: In my experience, the mattress delivered on its claims of relieving back pain. It also helped with other aches and pains, including persistent hip pain. Anyone with back pain or who wakes with aches and pains elsewhere should consider this mattress if they have the budget. Although the Saavta Rx is not a budget mattress, waking up pain-free may be worth the high price tag for those suffering from chronic pain.
- Hot sleepers: Although the Saavta Rx is not marketed as a cooling mattress, it has cooling properties that help prevent heat from being trapped. Cooler mattresses also come at a higher price, but anyone with a sizable budget who is tired of waking up hot may find that splurging on Saavta Rx is money well spent.
- Combination sleepers and couples: Thanks to multiple layers that help with pressure relief, responsiveness, and cradling, the Saavta Rx is a rare find that is comfortable for nearly everyone, no matter which position (or positions) they prefer to sleep in.
My Verdict after Sleeping on the Saatva Rx for Five Weeks
After sleeping on the Saavta Rx for more than a month, I highly recommend it to those who can stomach the high price tag. Anyone seeking an orthopedic-type mattress for back pain and those who tend to sleep hot, but want the comfort of a hybrid mattress made with memory foam, should consider investing in this mattress.
For me, waking pain-free and cool is well worth the price. The Saavta Rx is also a good investment for combo-sleepers and couples who have different sleep styles or patterns.
What to Shop
Below, you can shop our Sleep Editor's selection of accessories to protect and make the most of your mattress purchase, from cooling toppers to lightweight linens.
All prices were correct at the time of publication.
As detailed in our Nolah AirFoam Luxe mattress topper review, this topper is soft, supportive, and cool to the touch. It also boasts impressive motion isolation, handy if you share your bed with a partner.
The IKEA Grusnarv waterproof mattress protector is affordable, crinkle-free, and impressively waterproof. The breathable finish feels surprisingly premium for the low price point.
Lightweight, lived-in linens are perfect for spring and summer. This set from Quince is airy, casual, and slightly textured, and woven from one hundred percent European flax.
If you're a hot sleeper, this crisp percale sheet will see you through warmer weather. It's ideal for people who still want a little weight on them as they sleep, but need something lightweight and breathable.
Since we reviewed this Saatva Classic mattress, it has long sat at the top of our best mattress buying guide. It's luxurious, breathable, durable, and, like the Rx model, works to relieve backache.
This organic, OEKO-TEX certified sheet set will fit on deeper mattresses, and deliver a crisp, breathable, and cooling feel that's ideal for comfortable sleep all year round. The premium embellished detail adds a touch of color.
Next, delve into our best cooling mattress toppers and bed linens for the ultimate night's sleep.
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