The Helix Midnight is a popular choice in Helix’s mattress lineup, offering medium-firm support and a hybrid construction that features inner coils and memory foam. It’s designed specifically for side sleepers, with foam layers that help to cushion and support pressure points like the shoulders and hips.
The Helix Midnight is designed for side sleepers, but I found it catered to a wide variety of ... [+]
I recently tested this mattress for 30 nights for this Helix Midnight Mattress review. It’s a bit firmer than I expected, but overall I think it’s an excellent choice for all sleeping positions. It also offers outstanding edge support, a high degree of motion isolation and good temperature regulation for both hot and cool sleepers. Here’s my comprehensive breakdown of the Helix Midnight mattress after rigorous testing.
Helix Midnight Construction, Firmness And Feel
More Firm Than Medium
The Helix Midnight is a hybrid mattress with innerspring coils and several layers of memory foam:
- Cover: Breathe Knit (standard) cover, or optional upgrade to cooling GlacioTex cover or GlacioTex Cooling Pillow Top.
- Comfort layers: Helix Memory Plus Foam, which provides pressure relief plus an additional layer of medium-support responsive foam.
- Transition layer: Medium-firm responsive foam.
- Support layer: Hundreds of individually wrapped coils that provide structure and support to the mattress, along with helping limit motion transfer. They’re reinforced around the long sides to provide stability while sitting or sleeping near the edge of the bed.
- Base layer: Dense memory foam to provide extra support and durability.
A closer look at the Helix Midnight's layers.
I found this mattress to be a little firmer than advertised. While Helix rates it at a 5 or 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale, I’d rate it closer to a 6.5 or 7. It just skirts the line between medium-firm and firm, in my opinion. Granted, the mattress I was using before the Helix Midnight was a fully foam mattress with an “extra soft” rating—so my perception could be a little skewed.
Coming from a significantly softer mattress, it took me several days to adjust to sleeping on the Helix Midnight. I sunk deeply into my previous mattress, but the Midnight offers very little give in comparison. Rather than sinking into the mattress, my body rests on top of it.
For the most part, I’m a side sleeper—especially since I’m pregnant right now. However, I also woke up on my back a few times while testing this mattress. After the initial few days of adjustment, I found the Helix Midnight extremely comfortable for both side sleeping and back sleeping.
I also toss and turn frequently, and I found it very easy to change positions in this bed since I wasn’t fighting against a softer sleeping surface. Without a hugely pregnant belly, I also think this bed would be great for stomach sleeping.
Helix Midnight Mattress Features
Easy To Move Around On, With Limited Motion Transfer
Setting up the Helix Midnight was extremely easy. It arrived at my doorstep in a large, heavy box, and my husband had to carry it into our bedroom for setup. After removing the packaging, though, the bed sprang easily and quickly to its full size. It had a very slight new bed odor that dissipated fully within just an hour or two.
Overall, the Helix Midnight seems like a solid choice for all types of sleepers. My husband and I both enjoy this mattress and plan to continue using it. With its medium-firm feel and high degree of support, I’m able to toss, turn and get up to use the bathroom several times each night without waking up my husband. It’s also easy to get on and off of this bed, even at nine months pregnant. Here’s a little bit more about my experience testing this mattress.
Pressure Relief
According to Helix, this mattress was made specifically for side sleepers. I feel very supported while lying on my side on this mattress. Despite the bed not conforming to my body like a softer foam would, it’s comfortable and my shoulders and spine stay aligned. I find side sleeping on this mattress slightly more comfortable with a thin pillow between my legs to help support my hips.
However, I’ve realized that I need a taller and firmer pillow for this bed. Since I don’t sink into it as much, I’ve noticed my go-to pillow doesn’t provide quite the right amount of support for my neck and head anymore.
On my back, this bed is also surprisingly comfortable. I don’t feel any excessive pressure on my lower back, hips or shoulder blades.
I didn’t try this bed on my stomach because of the pregnancy, but I had my husband give it a try. He said it was comfortable—that he didn’t feel any added pressure anywhere and that his neck, shoulders and hips were all adequately supported.
The Helix Midnight in my bedroom.
Cooling
The Helix Midnight is fairly neutral for temperature regulation. I’m a cool sleeper and my husband is a hot sleeper, and we both find the bed comfortable. He doesn’t sweat on this mattress, and I don’t wake up freezing.
For hot sleepers, Helix offers premium covers made of GlacioTex material—which the brand says stays cool to the touch and offers added moisture-wicking benefits compared to the standard mattress cover. In fact, the upgraded Helix Midnight Luxe Mattress with the GlacioTex cover is a Forbes Vetted top pick for the best cooling mattress.
Motion Transfer
This mattress does a great job of minimizing motion transfer. I’m usually in bed by 10 p.m., while my husband is a night owl who stays up a bit later, and I haven’t noticed when he gets in bed since we started using this mattress. My nighttime bathroom visits haven’t interrupted him, either.
Naturally, when we’re awake we can feel some movement on the other side of the bed—it doesn’t completely isolate the motion. However, it does a great job of minimizing it so it’s less of a sleep interruption.
The Helix Midnight's cover has a soft feel to it.
Support
The Helix Midnight has reinforced edges on the two long sides of the bed. I feel very secure laying down even on the very edge of my side. This was a welcome change from the last mattress I tried, which provided almost no edge support and left me constantly feeling like I was going to roll right off.
The center is just as supportive, as well. The bed doesn’t dip if you sleep in the middle rather than on the sides.
According to Helix, its mattresses can support up to 1,000 pounds (500 pounds per sleeper). However, larger people or people who want edge support on all four sides of the mattress may want to consider upgrading to the Helix Midnight Luxe or the Helix Midnight Elite. Both of these models are taller and more supportive than the standard Helix Midnight and provide additional edge support.
Ease Of Movement
Being late in my pregnancy, I’ve been waking up several times throughout the night to adjust my sleep position or use the bathroom. It’s extremely easy to move around on this bed (even with a watermelon strapped to my abdomen), whether it’s to flip over or climb out. I think this is due in large part to the bed’s support and the presence of coils. For comparison, it was fairly difficult to maneuver around my extra-soft all-foam mattress.
The bed also has a little bit of springiness to it. As I mentioned above, I don’t sink into this bed at all—and that’s not a bad thing, either. This mattress has made me realize I definitely prefer a bed that’s not super soft.
I found the Helix Midnight to be quite supportive.
About The Company
Helix Sleep offers a fairly comprehensive assortment of mattresses, along with furniture and accessories like bed frames, adjustable bases, pillows and bedding.
The Helix Midnight is the brand’s medium-support mattress made specifically for side sleepers, but there are several other mattresses in its lineup designed with different firmness levels and types of sleepers in mind.
Shipping And Delivery
Helix offers free shipping on their mattresses in the contiguous United States through FedEx Ground. They usually ship out within three to eight days of your order, and FedEx Ground shipping can take up to five business days.
The brand doesn’t currently offer white glove delivery or setup for the Helix Midnight, but the mattress is pretty easy to set up as long as you’ve got one strong person or two average folks who can lift about 100 pounds combined.
Trial Period And Returns
Helix offers a 100-night sleep trial on its mattresses, which begins on the day of delivery. Before you’re eligible for a return, you need to sleep on the mattress for at least 30 nights. After that, it’s eligible for a full refund through the 100th night.
Helix partners with third-party companies to coordinate a pickup after you start your return, so you don’t have to worry about trying to ship the mattress back to them.
Warranty
The Helix Midnight has a 10-year limited warranty that covers manufacturer defects. For accidental damage coverage, everyone who purchases a mattress from Helix is eligible to purchase a 10-year add-on policy from Mulberry. This covers damages like stains, rips and punctures.
Other Mattresses From The Brand
The brand offers six mattresses of different firmnesses in a standard, Luxe and Elite version, along with a mattress designed for plus-size sleepers and a mattress made for kids. Here’s a closer look at some of those beds.
Final Thoughts
The Helix Midnight is a great mattress for side sleepers and anyone who appreciates a medium-firm feel. It’s very supportive without being uncomfortably firm, and it maintains an even temperature throughout the night. The mattress also provides plenty of edge support and minimizes motion transfer very well.
However, although I’m pleased with how comfortable it is, the bed is firmer than I expected—especially since it’s rated as a medium on Helix’s website. For that reason, you may want to choose a different mattress if you prefer a really soft or even a true medium feel.
How I Tested The Helix Midnight
I’ve slept on the Helix Midnight for 30 nights. In that time, my husband and I have gauged its comfort while side sleeping, stomach sleeping and back sleeping. We also conducted some motion tests to assess motion transfer. These essentially consisted of one of us moving around on the bed as much as possible while the other sat still. I also laid as close to the edge of the bed as possible to see how stable I felt, which helped me determine the level of edge support the mattress provides.
Throughout testing, I kept notes about our night-to-night experience as well. This helped me accurately summarize my thoughts about the overall comfort and temperature of the bed, as well as my husband’s thoughts. For reference, he is a medium-build heavy sleeper who tends to sweat at night and prefers light blankets, and I am a plus-size average sleeper who stays cold at night and needs to bundle up under a weighted blanket.
My Expertise
I’ve been reviewing and writing about sleep products with Forbes Vetted for over a year, and doing more general lifestyle product reviews for several years. In my time working with Vetted, I’ve written several mattress and bedding review stories—including a hands-on review of the Amerisleep AS5 Mattress as well as a comprehensive roundup of the best mattress toppers for side sleepers.
Is The Helix Midnight Too Firm?
Helix describes the Midnight as a “medium feel” mattress and assigns it a firmness rating of 5 or 6 out of 10. I disagree slightly and believe it’s closer to a medium-firm or even slightly firmer mattress with a firmness level of 6.5 or 7 of 10. It’s difficult to say that the mattress is “too firm,” though, because that’s very subjective (as is the firmness scale). Despite my thinking the mattress is firmer than Helix claims, I still really like the level of firmness it provides for all sleeping positions.
How Long Does The Helix Midnight Last?
According to Helix, its hybrid mattresses typically last about 10 years before they need to be replaced. It may be time to replace your mattress if it’s sagging, ripped or torn, or if you’re experiencing more aches and pains than usual, diminished sleep quality or worsening allergies.
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