bereley ergonomics advice

[phoenix]

Hi Spira-Cohen,

You have a classic dilemma where a mattress is either good for one position and not the other and that hasn’t been able to find a happy medium between them. Sometimes this can take some careful fine tuning for people who are more sensitive because for some people small changes can make a difference. It may help when you are on your back to have a pillow under your knees (this rotates the pelvis and flattens the spine and can add support under the lumbar curve). A pillow between the knees can also help joint alignment and help prevent “twisting” for side sleepers.

I can’t sleep on my back on this current mattress because my back doesn’t feel supported (I think this is the issue anyway, my hips sink way down and my torso stays up.

I would keep in mind that if your back isn’t supported that you will feel discomfort or pain and it’s not unusual to “feel like” part of you is sinking in too far even when it isn’t. In some cases this is just the difference between what you were used to sleeping on and what you sleep on now and if they are different it can feel “odd”. If you don’t have actual symptoms then it’s probably OK.

Also, I have to use a thicker pillow for side sleeping because of the shoulder issue, so this also makes it uncomfortable to sleep on my back (and I can’t keep switching pillow thickness every time I toss and turn).

Pillows that can be scrunched and fluffed up for one position and then can be a little flatter for another can be a good option for combination sleepers where a single pillow fits one position more than another. Shredded latex or a feather pillow are a couple of examples and there may be some helpful ideas in the pillow thread here.

When I explained the issue to the salesperson in the store, and he looked at my alignment on the other mattress combinations I tried, he said my shoulders weren’t sinking in very well, and that was probably what was causing the uncomfortable feeling in my shoulder. For reference, I’m 5’3", 145lbs, and I have relatively narrow shoulders and wide hips. My conclusion after trying all of the combinations is that my hips are heavy, so they sink in too far, and my shoulders don’t sink in at all. On other types of surfaces, futons, for example, even though I feel pressure on my hips, I can still sleep on my back, and my hips are high enough that my shoulders are totally comfortable. What I don’t understand is that my husband has a completely different body type. He is 5’9" approx 170-180lbs. very flat and muscular frame, and he also complains of shoulder problems. If this mattress isn’t right for either of our body types, I don’t really understand who it might be good for!

Don’t forget you are both sleeping on two different mattresses so you may each have completely separate issues. It’s also not an uncommon phenomenon that a husband and wife will often have the same “symptoms” on a mattress even though they have different body types and the underlying causes may be different. This is sometimes one of those “couples” things. I suspect though that you both need a little bit of extra softness for your shoulders on top of the mattress to allow your shoulders to sink in more (yours because they are lighter and his because they are wider). Your experiment with the topper seems to confirm this. Because of your weight distribution you may also benefit from a form of zoning under the pelvis along the lines of some of the suggestions in post #11 here and post #4 here. Together these may “allow” your shoulders to sink in more and “hold up” your hips and pelvis as well. He may also benefit from softer microcoils but if you try a topper anyway then it would be worth testing this first for both of you.

It may also be helpful to know what type of mattress protector or any other type of bedding on top on the mattress you are using (to make sure it’s not interfering with how much your shoulders are sinking in) and the type of foundation you have under your mattress (their adjustable foundation or the firm non flexing one).

It didn’t last…we ended up with two “holes” since it wasn’t double sided and they seemed to cheapen the materials - it was comfortable for the first few months and that was it. That was how I came across natural mattresses and BE, since I was also interested in something durable and long-lasting as well as free of all of the crazy chemicals, particularly the flame retardants.

Unfortunately this is fairly typical because of the lower density of much of the foams they use.

All of this is based on speculation of course and it can take some detective work and some trial and error but you have a good “base mattress” and the effort is well worth it because once you have the right “fit” then the result and better sleep is well worth it.

Phoenix