Thanks for clarifying this. It makes more sense to me now. :cheer:
It is common for people who sleep upon their stomach to be more susceptible to low back issues and pains, as they are placing their body in a position that can accentuate the forward (lordotic) curve of their low back, and this would be the weakest posture where just a bit of excess curvature can cause discomfort. How much so would depend upon oneās level of strength, flexibility and sensitivity to this forward flexion.
It could be possible that your current mattress is too plush on the surface for your sleeping posture. While I wasnāt a part of your conversation when selecting your mattress, you were complaining about your old Leesa mattress causing your arms to fall asleep, so a recommendation for something that is softer on top would have made sense. Youād also want to make sure that the pillow youāre using (if any) isnāt very thick as to cause discomfort in your neck/shoulder area. Too thick of a pillow when sleeping on your stomach can also accentuate the forward curvature of your low back and cause pain in that area as well.
While the mattress has worked out well for you for about a year, I wouldnāt be able to determine if the issue with you having pains in your back just this past month are caused by a change in your physical strength or flexibility, or the mattress feeling a bit softer, a pre-existing condition, acute trauma, or a combination of all of the above. Regardless of the āculprit(s)ā, I wouldnāt expect a manufacturer to replace or exchange a mattress over a year after the purchase because of what might be a comfort preference issue.
One thing that you may wish to do, just as a test that would be longer than the one day you slept on an innerspring mattress, would be to flip your mattress over and sleep upon the bottom side of the mattress. This would be the polyfoam core part of the mattress and it would have a hard comfort than your upper latex comfort layers. If you felt better sleeping upon your stomach on this firmer surface, this would be an indication that something using firmer comfort layers could be in order for you, whether that product used an innerspring support core or a polyfoam support core.
Speaking in general terms, this would be the best information I could provide. I hope itās helpful. Iāll be interested to learn if you try my āexperimentā and the results of that.
Iām looking into the BME rather seriously and may pull the trigger soon. Iām curious - has anyone found the medium to be too soft? Alternatively has anyone actually tried the firm?
I spoke with BME over chat and since I sleep on my side, they suggested I go with medium despite my love of firm beds/harder surfaces with no give. One on hand I guess they are the experts and I should listen to them, but on the other hand every mattress store I go to I just prefer the hardest bed (the one with the least sinking) I can lay on.
Iāve found that āleast sinkingā and āhardestā donāt necessarily go together. How much you sink and how firm the mattress is can be two separate attributes. I had the Brooklyn medium and Luxi firm side by side. I sink further into the Luxi, yet it feels just as firm, maybe even a bit firmer, because once you hit the point of resistance, the Brooklyn still has āgiveā and the Luxi pretty much doesnāt. You may sink more into the Luxi, but youāre sinking into something that is ultimately slightly harder. At least thatās how it felt to me. In the end, even though the mattresses donāt feel alike, they felt roughly equally firm to me.
Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like āmediumā for someone else or even āsoftā for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they ārateā a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around.
Ultimately, your own experiences and perception are the most important, and if you have an affinity for something with a surface comfort that is harder feeling, you may wish to try the firm comfort of the BME and see if it meets with your needs. While the recommendations that a manufacturer makes are based on what āusuallyā is most popular with certain somatotypes and BMIs and sleeping styles, itās not always the case, and you should certainly trust you own personal experiences and testing and not discount those. Youāll also want to make sure to be completely familiar with any potential return/exchange policies of any other manufacturer you might be considering, just in case things donāt turn out as well as you had expected and the product does not meet the firmness expectations that you need.
Here is an update. I flipped my BB mattress over and the bottom surface feels like my old Simmons bed, ie, a wrestling mat. Iāve been on it for 4 days now and still am getting the pains around my stomach/rib cage area. I also still feel like Iām tossing and turning all night from pressure points.
At this point I feel I am going to go back to trying an inner spring mattress. I donāt want to take a huge risk as Iām already out $1300+ on two beds so I am going to purchase one from Costco. The only one they sell with an inner spring is a Sealy. Yep I know itās not the greatest but the one I had prior to these two was also a Sealy. Worst case is I have to return it and take advantage of their generous return policy. Iām not one to abuse this policy but feel itās a great option for my situation.
Unfortunately you didnāt find any relief with a very firm product, but it does let you know that something that has a very hard surface comfort is not your preference.
While I donāt know that specifically an āinnerspringā product will be to your liking (there are many different types of innerspring units available with different ranges of resistance combined with different comfort layers atop those spring units), I do understand your thought process. You are correct that I wouldnāt agree with choosing the product youāre considering for your switch to an innerspring mattress (Iād suggest something using higher density foams so that in case you liked it the product would be more durable), but hopefully youāll be able to find something that better suits your needs and one which provides you better comfort.
If the mattress only lasts 5 years and is a complete change Iām ok with that. Will post down the road on this. I have some other health issues too such as GI and fatigue. I donāt know if my really mild sleep apnea is causing this, work, my deviated septum or a combination of all things. I just and trying things out that I can physically see as issues first.
Iāve found that āleast sinkingā and āhardestā donāt necessarily go together. How much you sink and how firm the mattress is can be two separate attributes. I had the Brooklyn medium and Luxi firm side by side. I sink further into the Luxi, yet it feels just as firm, maybe even a bit firmer, because once you hit the point of resistance, the Brooklyn still has āgiveā and the Luxi pretty much doesnāt. You may sink more into the Luxi, but youāre sinking into something that is ultimately slightly harder. At least thatās how it felt to me. In the end, even though the mattresses donāt feel alike, they felt roughly equally firm to me.[/quote]
Thanks for the feedback and update. I do hope that you find something that works better for you, and itās good that you are realistic with you expectations. I also hope that you are able to āsort outā the physical issues that you mentioned. It very well can be a combination of all of these issues that is leading to your compromised sleep and restoration. I wish you luck in finding a solution, and hope that you report back with a positive result in the future.
Hereās an update to my exchange of the BME Medium for the BME Soft, after sleeping on it for roughly a month:
I really love the feel of this mattress. It softened up marginally in the first couple of weeks and hasnāt changed much since. If I had to rate it out of 10 with 10 being extremely firm and the BME medium being a solid 6.5, I would say the soft version began around a 6 and has softened to something like a 5.5. It still provides more than adequate support for my build and sleeping preferences (5ā8", 155 lbs, broad-ish shoulders, side sleeper).
Moreover, the mattress lives up to its claims about the coolness. I havenāt slept hot yet, which is remarkable for me. Overall, Iām very happy with the exchange and will happily give my full-throated endorsement to the mattress and the company behind it.
Thank for taking the time to update us as to how the BME exchange worked for you.
I am very glad that the soft BME turned so well and that it is such a good match for your needs and preferences. Brooklyn Bedding is indeed great at taking care of all its customers.
I hope that youāll find some time to post again and I am looking forward to any updates you might have sometimes down the road.
Iāve been reading this thread over the past day and am trying to figure out what i want to do myself. I currently sleep on a Kingsdown Tiara pillow top that feels like a cloud which I love. The mattress was given to me after much use and itās def lived up to itās sagging and body indents. I love it, but itās at the end of itās life for sure! I donāt want to pay the price of what it goes for, just for it to do this all over again.
Iāve also tried to research what is inside the pillow top and canāt find any information yet. Iāll call the company Tuesday.
Iāve slept on a Bob-O-Pedic firm and absolutely hated every second of it. It felt like I was sleeping on a board.
Iām very interested in these new beds, but fear Iāll be getting just that. I like Soft cloud like feel - Iām a pure stomach sleeper.
I see on Wal-Mart I can get the BME 1.0 with 90 day return policy sold by Dreamfoam (Sister company right?). Or I can try the 2.0 from BB itself. Iāve read people add the down toppers to make it softer, which Iām okay with.
ETA - I decided to make a purchase on the Dreamfoam Eurotop King Size with 10% Columbus Day promotion. Iām waiting on them to contact me to go over Level of soft/firm.
Having a very plush surface comfort isnāt the norm for someone sleeping upon their stomach, but if that is what you respond best to, the Best Mattress Ever does come in three different comfort options ā soft, medium and firm.
Iād tell you to become completely familiar with the return/exchange options of the Wal-Mart web site before placing an order with them, or better yet I would recommend that you phone Brooklyn Bedding directly and explain to them you are considering the plush BME in the older version using latex in the upper comfort layers versus the newer version using the TitanFlex foam, and see if they have a suggestion for which they think might work best for you based upon the specific needs that you relay to them.
Both of these mattresses you are considering will use higher quality upper comfort materials and are constructed differently than your old Kingsdown mattress, so regardless of what you choose the comfort will be different.
Congratulations on your new Dreamfoam mattress purchase! :cheer: You certainly chose something using good quality and durable materials. After youāve confirmed your plushness level with Dreamfoam and have received your mattress, I hope that youāll be able to provide some feedback once youāve had a chance to sleep upon it for a while.
So I went ahead about purchased the Medium mattress from BME. Iāve only slept on it 3 nights so far, but this thing is rather firm. My initial thoughts are too firm for me to be honest. And this is someone who thought he liked firm mattressesā¦
Iām a slide sleeper and Iām tossing and turning quite often in the night because there is not enough sink for my shoulder to sleep normally, I feel like I am at a slight angle on my side. I also have some soreness/pain in my shoulder joint because of the pressure. Iāve never experienced this before. Finally Iām not sure if this is related but my trapezes muscle on the same shoulder side seems inflamed and it is hard for me to turn my head in that direction without pain.
My girlfriend loves the bed on the other hand. I will say for my back the bed is good too, in terms of I do not wake up with any back pain. I just donāt know what to do about this shoulder issue, which is something I can nail down to being the firmness of the bed.
Should I walk on it to loosen it up just in the shoulder area? Ask BME for the topper? Exchange for soft? Iām a bit confused right nowā¦ At least I did not end up getting the firm, I cannot imagine that works for any side sleeper.