I just bought a new mattress with a 6" extra firm polyfoam core and 2" N3 latex topper and couldn’t sleep at all last night. I am male, 140lbs and about 5’7. I have fairly lean build and most of my weight is on bottom part of my body.
My problem is that I feel like all my weight is on my hip/thigh area and that my upper back does not push into the mattress enough to get proper spinal alignment. I get a pulling sensation on the front side of my rib cage when lying on my back so I think my hips are sinking in too far relative to my torso.
I’m not sure if the problem is that topper is too firm or too soft. If I go softer, my upperback might be able to sink further in, but then my hips would go even further. Firmer would probably be too firm as I’m not sinking tremendously deep at my hips, it’s just that I feel like I’m not getting any ‘push’ from my upperback.
I think the best solution is a zoned latex topper, but I would rather not have to buy a new latex topper as they are quite expensive. How well do think placing a piece of zoned convoluted foam on the bottom would help?
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for a combination of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress. There are just too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see post #2 here).
While I don’t have the exact specifics on your mattress (ILD and density of the core), an N3 topper (if it’s the Natural Vita Talalay) is very plush, so going softer wouldn’t be an option. From a distance there could be quite a few different things coming into play. Your level of the flexibility of your hip flexors immediately comes to mind. Have you tried sleeping with something under your knees to see if this makes a difference? Additionally, it may be a case where only 2" of the very plush latex doesn’t provide you enough cushioning, allowing your hips to sink through to the polyurethane core. A zoned latex topper will allow for more sinking in your shoulder area, but it will also allow for more sinking in your hip area, which you said was an issue. But how much would depend upon the firmness and thickness of the zoned topper you choose.
As you’ve only had the mattress for a short period of time, see if you can make it through a few more weeks to see if you adjust to the mattress and the mattress “adjusts” to you.
The farther a layer is from your body, the less you will notice the difference. I don’t think placing a layer of poly foam at the bottom of your mattress will do much.
I never considered anything like hip flexibility. I just tried putting a small pillow underneath, it wasn’t uncomfortable, I think it might have helped a bit, I’ll have to try tonight to see. I’m not familiar with the concept of how flexibility would affect mattress comfort. Could you direct me to where I could find more info on this point? How does putting a pillow underneath my knees help with it?
Additionally, as I am not sure even if alignment is the problem, how would I go about checking or what would I be feeling if that were the case?
About the convoluted foam, I was thinking of putting it in the middle rather than the very bottom. It would only be 2" from the top, does that make a difference?
Take a look at this video and this page for a description of the hip flexor group.
If a hip flexor is too tight (very common), it will “pull” on your low back and can cause some of the phenomena that you are experiencing in your hips. A pillow under your knees slightly “shortens” the hip flexor group, allowing your back to round just a bit, and it might not feel like you’re sinking in as much. As I mentioned in my previous reply, there are many variables involved in what you stated you were feeling, but you were describing a few things common to this condition.
Yes, you could notice more of a difference with the foam placed in that manner. While it wouldn’t be the same quality of foam as the latex you currently have on top, it would help you to tell if you simply need a bit more of a “comfort layering” in the upper layers of your mattress.