Elastic jersey type wool mattress cover/pad

[phoenix]

Hi burntsienna,

I’m sorry you’re having a rough time adjusting to your new mattress, but it’s only been four nights, so hopefully things will get better for you.

I think the mattress does feel pretty nice and supportive from the waist down, but my upper body is in a world of pain all night. I have tried a dozen different pillows and none of them make it tolerable.

The pillows wouldn’t necessarily be the best way make your comfort in your upper body feel better, although they can certainly have an effect. It would have the most dramatic impact in your lower thoracic/upper cervical region. What you’re describing “sounds” like something that has a bit too firm of a surface comfort.

On my back (my most preferred sleep position) I used to sleep without a pillow, but I feel like I need one on this mattress. No matter how flat though, every pillow feels like it’s pushing my head too far forward and my neck aches

Not knowing what type of pillows you have available, it sounds as if all of them ae too thick or too resilient for your preference. You would have “sunk in” more in your Tempurpedic, and since you’ll be “on” this mattress more than “in” it, needing some type of support for your head makes sense.

My thoracic spine also aches from the pressure of the mattress. On my side (my second most preferred sleeping position), my shoulders and neck ache, no matter how thick a pillow I use.

Again, these sound more like pressure issues, especially coming from memory foam to latex.

I think the mattress is too firm, but when I tried the softer model in the store (which has two layers of the 2" soft talalay instead of one) it felt too bouncy. Like the whole bed was just bouncing around under me.

You seem to be describing something that might be “too firm”, and you also will have a bit of a “learned alignment” from sleeping upon a memory foam product, so these two things combined certainly could be contributing to your discomfort. My first course of action would be to phone Seattle Natural Mattress or stop by in person and speak to them of your concerns. They may have other options for adding plushness to your mattress besides what you tried in their showroom.

The other (even more perplexing) issue I am having is with temperature regulation. After sleeping on a tempurpedic mattress for 10 years, I figured latex would feel cool and breezy in comparison. To the contrary, I am constantly overheating now. I go through a never-ending cycle of throwing the covers off in a sweat and then shivering and covering back up. I thought latex was supposed to have less heat retention than memory foam, so I am perplexed. I should say that the st dormier wool cover might help a tiny bit with the heat regulation, but not enough to get me out of the overheating/cold sweat cycle. Also, I have tried the mattress with and without the cover and both ways are supremely uncomfortable for me in terms of posture and pressure.

Talalay latex is the most breathable of all foams, that is true. But every layer you change will have an impact upon your temperature regulation. There is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here. Have you tried going back to the same mattress pad/sheet combination that you used to use and see if that makes a difference in your temperature? And I wouldn’t expect your new mattress pad to have much of an impact upon your comfort based upon your comments.

Last night, in desperation, I went scouring the internet for information and came upon “the old bed guy” website. He seems to think a latex/coil hybrid is the only way to go.

You can see my comments about the Old Bed Guy and his website (and some of the very strange comments he makes) in this topic . There is “some” good information on his site and some information that is questionable at best, and misleading, inaccurate, or deceptive at worst. You can find sites that say coils are the only way to go, memory foam is the only way to go, natural beds are the only way to go, polyfoam beds are the only way to go, etc. None of them would be able to predict what is best for you, as that can only be accomplished through your own testing and personal results.

My best suggestion to you is to have a detailed conversation with your retailer and see what suggestions that they may offer up to help you with your situation, as they would be most knowledgeable about their product and have the experience to work through common “issues” that people have experienced with them. After just a few nights, I’d personally try to work with what I had and give that a longer chance before looking at other options and starting anew, which is certainly an option with the product you chose.

Phoenix