165 lbs person who found the Ghostbed too soft - looking for suggestions

Mattress Talk General Mattresses Questions
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Hi all,

First, thanks so much for putting together this amazing resource. It’s fascinating how much of a positive difference a few people can make in a hobby, industry, etc.

I’m looking for any recommendations (for particular mattresses, different places, or ways to search!). I’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial and many of the surrounding links.

A little about me:
I’m Male 6’, 165 lbs (rather dense)
I’m slowly converting to back sleeping with a small pillow under me knees. My default sleeping position is stomach, with one arm extended under the pillow. This has been a long-term project, but I’m making headway!
I tend to sleep hot.
In Canada (N1G2M9)

I recently replaced a 10-year-old mattress (Sealy Posturepedic Camelot Pillowtop) because it was developing a sag in the middle and causing back pain. I opted for a Ghostbed, but was surprised to find that it had far too much sinking in for me: my back pain actually increased after the transition. In desperation, I flipped the Ghostbed over the “wrong” way, and found that this alleviated most of the back pain (I still wake up with some, but it’s minor). Being the scientist that I am (xkcd: The Difference), I tried flipping it the right direction up, and within 4 days the back pain returned in full force. I’ve been sleeping on the mattress upside down since then while searching for a replacement.

Are there any recommendations for medium-budget mattresses (queen, preferably $800ish, up to $1300 is possible) that ship and would fit me? Our lives are somewhat volatile at the moment, so we’re balancing budget with durability here.

Thankfully, my wife is far less of a sleeping diva than I am: she slept on a super cheapo mattress for years without any problems and doesn’t really care what we end up with.

I’m desperate enough to alleviate my back pain that I don’t have a preference between natural and synthetic mattresses. Any help is greatly appreciated!

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Hi artifaxiom.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile: Thank you for the kind words about our resources and forum. We work really hard to make sure this is a positive, transparent, educational space and, like you said, little by little maybe we’ll make a ripple in the industry itself.

Thank you for sharing your sleep statistics with us. It also sounds like you’ve been busy doing a bit of research on the site, which is great!

Sorry to hear that the GhostBed mattress hasn’t been working out for you. Your “scientific mind” came to the rescue …it was smart to flip the mattress the “wrong way” to test and compare. You are correct that this mattress the “right way” is too soft for your prone sleeping position. If you sleep truly prone, as you may be aware, this is the worst posture for your lumbar region, regardless of core strength. Everyone needs good deep support to assist with alignment. Your muscles relax a bit when sleeping at night, so maintenance of alignment falls mostly to the mattress itself. Stomach sleeping is a common source of back issues especially if their comfort layer is more than an inch (or at most two) or if their support layer is too soft.so you may wish to review the guidelines in this [url=Your sleeping style, preferences, and statistics - Your sleep positions - The Mattress Underground] Sleeping Positions Article [url] so that you avoid hyperextension in a swayback position that can cause back issues you’ve experienced.

Have you spoken to GhostBed about your current experience? If so, what have they suggested? They are one of our Trusted Members on the site and have excellent customer support.

Based on the GhostBed lineup you’ve chosen, here are a few options that may interest you within your budget range.

[indent]Flexus’ Posture Sense flippable mattress
Natural Latex HybridLuma Sleep’s – you have the option between plush, medium, and firm and I would suggest reaching out to them to discuss your sleeping profile and statistics to get the best recommendation for whether or not medium/firm would be a better option.
The Sleep EZ flippable Select Sleep Hybrid Latex (3" on one side, 2" on the “firm” side)[/indent]

Make sure to scan our Trusted Member directory and don’t forget to look for any active discount codes they may have, as well!

All of our Trusted Members are knowledgeable and transparent about what is in their mattress. If you share your experiences, sleeping profile, preferences, and needs with them they will certainly do their best to match you to the most appropriate and long-lasting mattress.

I hope I’ve given you adequate information to make a decision as you move forward in considering a new mattress.

Phoenix

1 Like
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Hi Phoenix,

Thanks for the response!

Oh, I know :frowning: I’ve been trying for years to switch to being a back sleeper. These days, about 20 % of the time I’m able to fall asleep on my back, and maybe half of those times I wake up on my back. It’s a reaaal work in progress, I’m afraid.

Them being a trusted member of this forum is what pushed me toward them vs all of the other BIAB companies. Thanks for assembling that list/community!
I hadn’t written to them, as AFAIK the original GhostBed is their firmest offering, so I didn’t think they’d be able to help me. But your point’s well taken, I’ve written to them now to see if they have any recommendations that would help.

I have a question about comfort layers: Is “high-density” foam considered a support layer? And is latex also considered a support layer? It feels like I’ve seen the both described as both and my head’s spinning.

I’m somewhat hesitant about ordering when there are somewhat expensive (seems like ~$100 is typical) return policies. I understand why that kind of practice could be necessary, but it sure puts me in a state of analysis paralysis.

Right now Flexus’ flippable mattress is in the lead, I think. Could you let me know what you think about this one? Based on the layer breakdown, it seems like it would fit the bill (though perhaps not last as long):
https://www.amazon.ca/Zinus-Performance-Extra-Spring-Mattress/dp/B0134FXZ40/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=mattress&qid=1603761343&refinements=p_n_feature_two_browse-bin%3A19633481011&rnid=19633480011&s=kitchen&sr=1-1&th=1

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I tried ordering Flexus’s mattress today, and was told that they don’t ship to Canada. Darn! Back on the hunt, I suppose!

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I’m sorry to hear that your felt our ghost was too soft for your needs.

We try to list beds on a firmness chart list and have a quiz on the site to help figure out which mattress is best for your needs.

We just launched in Canada and are a few weeks away from having all 4 mattresses available to purchase online. So I’m sorry if you had limited options to ship to Canada at the time of your purchase recently.