Helix Midnight Mattress Review

About the Helix Midnight mattress

Designed for side sleepers and those who toss and turn during the night, the Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress made with up to 1,000 coils for support and four layers of foam to cushion your shoulders and hips. In terms of firmness, it has a medium feel—not too soft and not too firm.

It comes in the usual six sizes, from twin to California king. A twin starts at $936, and a California king at $1,749. The Queen we tested starts at $1,374, falling somewhere middle of the road in terms of prices of mattresses we’ve tested.

The Helix Midnight comes with a knit cover on top, though you can add a cooling cover or a cooling cover plus pillow top for an additional $200 or $300, respectively.

How we tested the Helix Midnight

We test mattresses for various important attributes, such as cooling abilities, pressure relief, edge support, and motion transfer. In addition to lab testing for quantitative results, we evaluate how much our tester actually enjoyed laying on the mattress. After testing, we calculate the results and rank each mattress to determine which are worth investing in.

What we like about the Helix Midnight

It’s comfortable for a variety of sleeping positions

Pressure relief is crucial for a restful night’s sleep as it helps you avoid achy joints or a sore back. While the base layer coils provide support, three top layers of foam cradle your body and add cushioning, which we found greatly reduced the amount of pressure put on our joints.

While the mattress is designed for side sleepers, Helix says it’s also great for those who toss and turn throughout the night or who like to change up their sleep position. Based on our own subjective tests the Midnight’s multiple foam layers made it comfortable for almost any sleep position. Our only hesitation is that strict back sleepers may want more support than the Midnight provides.

It offers excellent edge support

Edge support, or the stability of the perimeter of your mattress, is important for anyone who sleeps toward the side of the mattress to avoid feeling like you’re going to roll off. Additionally, good edge support prolongs the lifetime of your mattress, no matter your positioning on the bed.

The Helix Midnight provides some of the best edge support out of all the mattresses we’ve tested. Our tester felt supported and secure when lying on this mattress, and the Midnight was one of the top-performing mattresses in our lab tests. When we dropped a heavy bag on the edge of the mattress, it allowed for five inches of overhang before rolling off, placing the Midnight toward the top of our list.

It has low motion transfer

The Helix Midnight performed well in our motion transfer tests which determine how much movement “transfers” from one part of the mattress to another. We test motion transfer by dropping a heavy bag on one end of the mattress and measuring how much other areas of the mattress move via mobile app.

As we moved on one part of the mattress, the rest of the surface area remained relatively still. This makes the Helix Midnight a great choice for anyone prone to waking in the middle of the night due to a restless sleep partner.

What we don’t like about the Helix Midnight

It may have a strong odor upon unboxing

We noticed a moderate smell when unboxing the mattress that took a few days to dissipate. Eventually, the odor disappeared, but if you have a sensitive nose, you may want to give your mattress a few days before sleeping on it.

It may not keep you cool at night

The Helix Midnight didn’t do a particularly good job of dispersing heat. If you don’t run hot at night, this may not be an issue for you. But if you have trouble keeping cool throughout the night and need a mattress with superior ventilation, you may spring for the cooling cover.

What other people are saying

The Helix Midnight has a 4.5-star rating from more than 6,000 reviews. Many reviewers praise this mattress’s comfort, especially for side sleepers.

“Some of the best sleep I’ve had in a while,” one reviewer says. “The softness of the mattress is great while having some firmness as well. Just a great combination for someone who tosses and turns or sleeps on their stomach.”

However, the main complaint with the Helix Midnight is that it’s not supportive enough, so back sleepers or anyone who likes a firmer mattress may want to take note.

“The bed is very comfortable but almost immediately the mattress starts to dip where you and your partner sleep,” one reviewer says. “The sinking created back and hip issues for us that we did not have prior to trying this mattress. That being said, customer service was great when I contacted them with our problem and we have started the return process which has also been a breeze.”

Warranty

Helix offers a 100-night sleep trial during which you can return your mattress for a full refund. That being said, Helix requires you give your mattress 30 days before requesting a refund—standard for an online mattress retailer—as it takes time to adjust to any new mattress.

The Helix Midnight has a 10-year limited warranty that covers splits or cracks in the materials, defects in the cover of the mattress, and sagging and indentations greater than one inch, assuming your mattress was used on a proper bed frame. Helix defines a proper bed base as a foundation with slats no greater than 5 inches.

Should you buy the Helix Midnight?

Yes, especially if you’re a side sleeper

Side sleepers are sure to love the Helix Midnight. It provides an excellent balance between support and cushioning, and relieves pressure to avoid aches and pains. Additionally, its low motion transfer makes it a great option for anyone whose sleep partner tosses and turns throughout the night.

However, strict back sleepers may find the Midnight too cushy. Instead, we recommend checking out the Helix Dusk, which is designed for back sleepers and features body contouring foam to provide the right level of support.

Some other brands to consider: DreamCloud and Saatva. We named the DreamCloud the best hybrid mattress available. It distributes weight to relieve pressure and its firmness provides excellent support for back and stomach sleepers. Our best firm mattress, the Saatva Classic is another great option for back sleepers. It comes in multiple firmness options, and the Luxury Firm option that we tested struck a balance between plushness and support that back and stomach sleepers are sure to enjoy. Additionally, a firmer option is available for those who want more rigidity.