Confused, Tired, and in Seek of Guidance - Mattress Saga

[phoenix]

Hi postal7,

Post #2 here will give you some insights into some of the things to look for when you are considering any fine tuning but I think that it’s far to early in the process to even begin to consider or speculate about any changes or the “cause” of any symptoms when you have only had a few nights on the mattress.

First, I notice that sometimes my shoulders (especially the pointy part of my blades in contact with the top of the mattress, where the rotator cuff is) appear to get pressure points or pressure builds up there. I feel sometimes they are a bit sore.

The pointy parts of the shoulder blades are not typically a “pressure point” and could be more related to a pillow issue or alignment issue (or in your case just a matter of adjusting to a new sleeping surface). Although anything is possible of course … pressure points on the back are not nearly as common as they are on the side. There would normally be plenty of “softness” to relieve pressure on the shoulder blades and pain or discomfort in this area is more likely to be about lateral or vertical alignment (see post #6 here and post #7 here).

Second, another slightly concerning thing to me is that I’m getting some pain in my mid-lower back, near the lumbar region, when I wake up. I sit in the bed and listen to my body, and definitely notice that there’s something alignment related that is wrong. Some of the pain is from the previous beds I’ve been on, but I’m afraid that somehow my alignment is off. What would cause my lumbar to not get enough support? The Quail mattress uses a zoned coil system (www.nestbedding.com/products/nest-organi...ail-organic-mattress) with a 3" dunlop latex topper.

I would suspect that this could also be about adjusting to a new surface and possibly your “learned” alignment and the difference between your current mattresses and what you were sleeping on previously. As to the specific cause … I don’t know because I can’t see you on the mattress and don’t have the ability to have a longer more detailed conversation on the phone but the previous links should provide some insights that may be helpful … although I would not put too much emphasis on what you experience in the early stages when the mattress is just beginning to break in and you are in the early stages of adjusting to a new mattress.

The first place to go for guidance though is always the manufacturer or retailer of the mattress (assuming they are experienced and knowledgeable which is the case with Joe) because they will have far more experience with the mattresses they make, sell, or design than I do and more detailed conversations with them than is possible on a forum would lead to more specific suggestions than mine which is always more limited to “theory” and “general suggestions” and helping people understand the variables involved in more general terms.

I notice that with this bed, for some reason, there’s a slight slope to either end and the sides of the bed at the edges (maybe where the latex layer is being packed in on the edges)? When I sleep on the bed, the lower part of my legs happen to hit this slight slope and go downwards - I wonder if this is causing my lumbar not to get enough support. Depending on the position, I notice I can barely pass a hard through the curve between the base of my back to the middle of my back in the lumbar - there’s a (very) slight gap there. Is this another indication that my comfort layer is too firm?

Again … I don’t have nearly as much knowledge about the specific design of the mattress as Joe would so he would be the best person to ask these types of questions. This would involve much more “fine detail” than I could possibly deal with on a forum without knowing much more both about the mattress itself and about how you interact with it. I doubt that any “slight slope” or what is called “crowning” would have the effect you are describing but again I would have no way of knowing for sure.

Phoenix