Desperate for painless sleep. Female 5’1” 108Lbs, mostly side, but sometimes back sleeper

Mattress Talk 3) Needs & Personal Preferences
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Hello all - seeking out help, opinions, suggestions, and recommendations for a perfect mattress.

I’ve tried many mattress options and have at least decided that foam options are out. I am considering latex which I’ve had in the past and recall I liked it, but also recall off-gassing. That might have been due to the age?? Don’t know.

My issues are chronic lower back pain, minor scoliosis, healed but still achy older shoulder impingement in both shoulders. Looking to building a DIY mattress to target relief for the low back pain as this is the main issue.

I think firmer is better than softer, as anything soft with too much give does not support my lower back. I’m considering a 3” firm / extra firm Dunlop latex as a base layer, but unsure what to pick for a top layer. I don’t care for thick mattresses and think just two layers for a total of 6” would work. But, I’m here for input, so open to any/all ideas.

Thanks!

@DIYMattress
@Arizona_Premium

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There are quite a few foams. There’s latex, polyfoam, memory foam, hybrid, and different variations of polyfoams and memory foams. Low density polyfoam and memory foam are what im not a fan of so i get where youre coming from on that. Only in certain configurations, such as with the glacier apex i bought back when i did not know as much about beds. It did offgas for a little while, but i got lucky on that bed since it actually feels amazing. Somehow it’s memory foam but doesnt give the same sunk in feel of a typical foam bed and is still quite firm and supportive.

Anyway, you are correct in your thoughts about firmness being necessary. What’s important is the nature of the firmness and how far down into the mattress the stabilization point occurs between your body and the materials. Ive laid on firm beds and just felt “blegh” because i think somehow your body can feel when something is made cheaply.

My favorite base is a hybrid spring base, the quadcoil system by texas pocket springs specifically. The 15.5g should work perfect for you. It does compress, but because the coils are packed into pockets of 4 each, they dont fall over or distort like a typical coil system might. it’s very supportive, but not hard.

The spring layer is 8", and you definitely dont need anything more than a 12" mattress, which is considered a medium height. If you get a 12" encasement, that leaves you 4" of room for your transition layer and comfort layer. If your encasement is either a touch taller, or a small touch shorter than your total layer height, that is generally okay. Though i wouldnt recommend going any more than .5" over the encasement height.
If you go under, that’s more acceptable because the encasement is just for covering the mattress. Going over too much will firm up the whole bed because itll become too tight.

Latex is a good option, you could put a 2" layer of medium and then a 2" layer of soft on top of the springs

Or high density poly foam is actually good in my opinion. Foambymail sells HD36-HQ which is 35 ild. You could put a 2" layer of that and then either a 1.5" layer or a 2.5" layer of their convoluted HD36-HQ on top for the comfort layer, which comes out to about 20ild because its convoluted, so that gives you both the comfort layer and the transition layer with the same foam.

This is why DIY is great. You can replace layers and shift things around to find what’s perfect for you.

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Would love to offer advice but I need to know approx. how much you weigh and favorite sleeping position?

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Info is in the title of the post: Femail 5”1” 108Lbs, mostly side, but sometimes back sleeper.

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Thanks for the response. Again, don’t want anything to do with foam… with the exception of latex, which really isn’t foam. Would like to build layers of latex that make sense for my issues and size.

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Seems like you already know what you want, just keep in mind the firmness of latex translates differently than standard foam. It’s the most responsive type of thing you can get. Im 220 pounds and medium was too hard for me. If all you want is a 6" thick bed, the most firm you should go in my opinion is 3" of medium and 3" of firm

Arizona premium mattress above will likely have good thoughts on this

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I’m no expert, just a fellow latex customer/researcher but based on what you wrote I would pick soft for your top layer. Soft on latex is pretty firm compared to a “regular” bed.

I currently sleep on (soft on top) firm - firm - medium - soft - soft. If you can go for firm - medium - soft or even firm - soft - soft that might be ideal. But I really wouldn’t go any firmer than soft for the top layer especially since you have some bone pains.

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Thanks for the insight on the firmness feel of latex. Appreciate it!

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Sorry, I did not see that. Based on your info the 3" firm dunlop bottom followed by a Medium 3" Talalay should do the job quite well. Talalay & Dunlop Latex Toppers - Bare, Latex Mattress Toppers and Cores, All Products, We also make 6" zippered mattress covers to finish it off - Replacement Mattress Covers Talalay is better at pressure point relief which is why it would be better than dunlop on the top layer.

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Why don’t you try the Hybrid mattress that is medium Firmness？

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I have been in the exact situation as yourself for years! Same weight, just a few inches taller, herniated disc in low back, and pretty significant scoliosis, unfortunately. It makes finding (or building) a mattress very tricky in our situation. I spent a lot of money, time, and sleepless nights on my DIY build and I will try my best to help prevent you from doing the same!

I always thought I needed overall firm because of my low back needing support, but only a few months ago, to my surprise, I realized that is not quite the case. I need firm on the bottom as a proper support, the right transition layer, and a soft talalay top layer. Never in a million years would I have thought that would work for me. I went to a local mattress store that sells all latex high quality mattresses and they confirmed that I need more of a medium soft build, but that the layering and firmness/softness has to be right for my body and specific conditions. Since we are lighter in weight, we don’t compress all the layers as much.

If I were to suggest something to try after all my experimenting, it would be:
Talalay soft comfort layer (19 IDL)
Talalay medium transition layer (24 ILD)
Dunlop firm core for support (around 34-36 ILD)

I hope this helps!!!

All 3" layers

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Wow, thank you! This helps a lot as I have been puzzling over whether to build 2 or 3 layers. I was considering an X-firm Dunlop as the base, then Med Dunlop as mid layer, then a Dunlop or Talalay soft as top for three layers, or just X-firm base, and Med top for two layers.

What were the configurations that didn’t work for you (and why if you can remember), just as a measure to help me finally make a decision.

Thanks again!

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Oh girl, I have tried them all lol I slept on two layers on the floor for a long time while I tried to figure it all out.. like almost a year! Tons of swapping and lots of stressing haha (was definitely not funny at the time). I am actually making a mattress series on YouTube to try to help others.. that’s how much this consumed my life! But as you know, sleep is SO important.

So I had 3" extra firm dunlop with 3" medium/soft dunlop on top as my “this will work for now” on my living room floor when everything else was failing in the bedroom. It seemed great at first, but definitely had hip and shoulder pressure points, especially with side sleeping, that had me waking up every morning feeling like I needed a chiropractic adjustment.

The soft dunlop on top also feels good at first, especially for back sleeping, but then pressure points arise for us lighter weight gals, for side sleeping in particular. It should be its own science, I swear.

Firm dunlop, medium dunlop, soft talalay might work as well.. but the medium dunlop I got was from Sleep on Latex and there was something very off about it. Their customer service is extraordinary though! Keep in mind that their firm dunlop is extra firm.

It takes a little dialing in and some patience for sure, but once you get it right your body and sleep will thank you!

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I wanted to add, all talalay may work for you as well. And a 6 inch build is also possible for lighter weight people, but it can be a bit tricky for a long term super comfortable solution. Let me know what you decide and if you have any other questions! I know it can be overwhelming at times :melting_face:

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Thanks so much for sharing your experience and insight. It is really helping me finally make a decision. I’m probably going to buy from Latex Mattress Factory as they seem to have more options.

One additional question is about off-gassing. Once, a long time ago, I had a 3” latex topper that developed a (to me) very strong, unpleasant odor. I think it was Talalay. I recall that it was comfortable, but couldn’t stand the odor so had to get rid of it. Ever since then it’s been a struggle to find a comfortable mattress. So, full circle back to latex.

Any thoughts on off-gassing?

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I am 117 lbs and have a weak lower back. I have a latex mattress, S-M-F. I recommend a soft layer on top, anything firmer than that could hurt your hips and/or shoulders, The soft top layer supports my back just fine.

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I second this :grinning_face: Do you have all dunlop or talalay or a mix of both?

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So there is actually no “off gassing” if you buy all organic for dunlop or all natural for talalay (there is no such thing as organic certification for talalay) BUT latex does have a vanilla type smell to it that fades with time and breaking in. I actually don’t mind it at all! And I am very sensitive to chemicals and strong smells.

I would just make sure to stick to organic and all natural latex only, no blended materials. If you are bothered by the vanilla smell, you can always let it air out with open windows and an air purifier nearby if you have one. My mattress shop also suggested walking across the entire surface of the mattress for a few minutes each day for the first couple weeks are so, to help break in the material and release any of that smell.

Hope that helps!

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OK, thanks! I’m getting so close to hitting buy :grimacing:

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I believe my top soft layer is Talalay and the other 2 are Dunlop

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