Back sleeper aches with new Leesa mattress

[phoenix]

Hi Hyla.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum!

Yes…. education is key and I am glad that you started with reading the mattress shopping tutorial and all the links provided in it. Good thing that this time around you did not decide to dispose of your old mattress and sleep on the sofa before you find something suitable.

Because of my height (or rather, lack of it), I do not want a mattress deeper than 11"

I certainly don’t think that at your height and BMI you would be needing anything higher than 11" and depending on your preferences you could do well even with a 7" mattress thickness.

When I went to look at mattresses this past Saturday (before I came upon this site), several salespeople told me that because of my back issues, I should not look for a firm mattress (even though I believe I have been most comfortable on them), but rather a medium or soft mattress so it can relieve the pressure more. Is this true??? What I seem to get from the info on this site is that comfort is entirely subjective. Does this hold true, even for people with back pain like me?

You seem to be on the right track and have good understanding of what your needs and of course … while it is not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues via an online forum, your back pains (lower, middle, and sometimes between your shoulders), especially if the pains appear to be more morning related, coupled with your dip in your 6 years old Boreas mattress … all seem to point to a lack of proper alignment which usually is due to improper deep down support. A surface comfort issue, too firm or too soft, would tend to appear earlier in the night and be centered around pressure points and “surface support” but of course this is a generalization and you are correct that you would be the only one that can assess this with certainty through your careful testing of all the factors that may contribute to the back pain you are experiencing. One thing that I would add in the mix is that you may also need to assess your pillow in combination with your sleeping position as if this is too high and if your neck is bent forward towards your stomach then the upper body ends up in a forward hunched position which can bend the upper spine and create tension and pain in the mid and upper back. This can also happen if the upper layers are too thick and too soft.

In general, you want firm enough deep support and then comfort layers that are “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness to “fill in” and support the more recessed parts of your sleeping profile and relieve pressure (usually side sleeping) so that there is less risk to alignment in your other sleeping positions, but again as you have an unique weight distribution and different surface area in each part of the body that contacts the mattress it is only you that with personal testing will be able to tell if a mattress as the support needed for proper alignment in all the sleeping position.

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. There is only one local manufacturer, Restmore (on your approved list), that I haven’t yet checked out. I would prefer to purchase either locally, or Canadian online or Canadian manufacturer. I cannot afford much more than @ $1200 Cdn. Perhaps you can advise me?

Restmore bedding would certainly have good value/quality products that would fall in your budget range. They have a wide range of mattresses Memory foam, Latex, Pocket coil, Gel foam, High density foam that you can try side by side and see if you like the feel of them. As you noticed they are a vetted member of our site and they are extremely knowledgeable about all types of mattresses and different configurations, and I would not hesitate to recommend them for your consideration. I just checked and their site seems to be off line for some reason but in case you are planning to visit them soon here is their phone number and email address so that you can contact them directly. (204) 942-4701 info (at) restmorewinnipeg (dot) com.

So far, I really like the online Novosbed mattress, which is on your approved list, and I really love that they have a “comfort adjustment” layer they send for free if the firmness/softness doesn’t meet my needs. Since I cannot test it out beforehand, would it be safer to get the firm? I believe I’ve read here that it is easier to make a firm bed softer with a layer than vice versa…

Your understanding is correct that it is easier to make a mattress more comfortable by adding some surface plushness than to make a mattress meet your alignment needs once it is too soft. This is part of the reason why choosing a mattress based on the cushy kind of “comfort” that people are attracted to in a showroom can often lead to back issues over time.

• [li]Comfort is what you feel when you first lie on a mattress … and is mostly about pressure relief. [/li]
• [li]Support is what you feel when you wake up in the morning … either with or without back pain or discomfort … and is mostly about alignment. [/li]
• [li]Durability is what you will feel over the years as the foams and other components begin to soften and degrade and this is all about how long a mattress maintains the comfort and support qualities that you need. [/li][/ul]
• Novosbed is another Trusted Member of our site with good quality choice for a memory foam mattress that would fall right into your budget range. The comfort kit is certainly appealing in making sure this would be a good fit for you and also returning the mattress is it is not as good as you hoped for is another advantage as you can give it an in-home trial for this matters

Two other online mattresses I am considering (their sites don’t have more specs: I’d have to phone) are the
Chirofoam Memory Foam with 8" high-density bio-foam, 2" foam, 2" gel 4 lbs/ft memory foam or the
Springwall “Whisper” with 8" support bio-foam, 1" gel latex, 1" visco gel memory foam.

Chirofoam is another new bed in a box 12" memory foam mattress introduced in 2016 This is higher than your 11" maximum criteria for the height of your mattress. I am also not familiar with this mattress and I would consider risky anything without knowing the foam densities. Note that: Initially this mattress was advertised as having Natural Organic Latex but this is not any longer clearly stated on their site and it may be the case that the design was modified, but I cannot say this for sure.
• 2″ Cool Gel Infused 4lb Visco Memory Foam
• 2″ Firm Support Chirofoam (density unknown)
• 8″ High Density Bio-Foam (density unknown)
Springwall “Whisper” (total height 10") last time I spoke with them confirmed that they would disclose the specifics of their mattresses and components which means that you can make meaningful quality/value comparisons with other mattresses. Their specs listed on their site at the moment are.
1" Natural Gel infused Latex (ILD unknown)
1" PE Visco Gel (density unknown)
8" Bio Foam core (density unknown)

There is more information about post #2 here where I describe in more detail the use plant-based polyols in polyfoam. If you are considering any of these two mattresses I would strongly advise that you find out specifics of the mattress as outlines in this this article before any purchase that you may consider.

I am hoping to lose 15 to 20 pounds. Should I lose that weight, would the mattress I choose still work for me?

Losing weight would also make a difference in how firm a mattress feels as well (foam mattresses will feel softer for those that are in higher weight ranges than the same mattress will feel for those that are lighter).

It’s certainly possible that if you lose a significant amount of weight that your needs and preferences in a mattress could change but you can always add a topper if you need some additional softness and pressure relief and there are also component mattresses available with replaceable layers and components that allow you to adjust the comfort and support of a mattress after a purchase by rearranging or replacing layers without having to replace your entire mattress if your needs and preferences change after a purchase.

Considering that I cannot afford much more than $1200, is latex generally more expensive than memory foam? So far, I’ve only tested memory foam and memory foam/hybrids with the coils. I’m not aware of any latex mattresses that I could test locally, to see which I would prefer…

Latex foam would be generally more expensive than any other types of foams of the same ILD/IFD. But that does not mean that you cannot find a latex mattress that would be within your budget range. The price point would obviously be another part of your personal value equation. While durability may be for a shorter time, you’ll still want to make sure that whatever you choose uses good quality and durable materials. The guidelines I would suggest to make sure there are no lower quality materials or “weak links” in a mattress you are considering are in this article and there is more detailed information yet about the many factors that can affect durability and the useful life of a mattress relative to different people in post #4 here and the posts it links to., This is because you’ll want as consistent of a comfortable life during the time you’ll be using the mattress, and there are many lower-quality materials that can initially feel good but only have a comfortable life of just a few years.

It may be a worthwhile idea to try the feel of latex and go to Restmore Bedding and try side by side different types of mattresses. They have latex mattresses that would meet your price range and you would be able to have a detail conversation with them about all your options.

Deepening on your level of comfort with purchasing an online mattress and the return or exchange policies they have which can lower the risk and provide you with options if you make a less than suitable choice, there are other Trusted Members our site that carry latex and Memory foam mattresses that you may wish to consider. At a quick glance …
Memory Foam Comfort Canadian retailer that carries value/quality Latex and Memory foam products with free shipping across Canada.
They are based in Calgary, Alberta but you can place an order over the phone.
Nest Bedding US based manufacturer that ships to Canada(free shipping).
Sleep EZ US based manufacturer who ships to Canada, shipping charges may apply

I hope that after doing some testing you’ll be able to narrow things down and get a clearer idea of what option is more desirable for you. I would be interested great to hear back from you to learn what you decided and I or any other Expert Member of the site would be glad assist you with any questions that you may have.

Phoenix