Evaluating new latex mattress/pillows with back pain

Mattress Talk Needs & Personal Preferences
, , ,
1

Firstly I’d like to say a big thank you for all the information provided on this website! It was indispensible as I was shopping for a new mattress.

I ended up buying a SleepEZ 9" queen mattress with 3" soft talalay, 3" medium dunlop, and 2" firm dunlop. I am 5’6"/115lb, and so far the bed seems to be much better than my previous mattress. Notably, I have zero pressure points when sleeping on my side. However, I am still waking up with some degree of back pain in the morning, and I’m having trouble figuring out if this is related to my new mattress. A little background: I have had back pain for years to differing degrees. I’ve recently been seeing a chiropractor and have been seeing a lot of improvements with my back, but it is in such a state of transition that I’m unsure how to determine whether or not my mattress is a contributing factor. Is there any way to test this? I have had a few days where I’ve woken up with zero pain after seeing my chiropractor, which leads me to believe that it’s not the mattress causing problems. But I still will often toss and turn the last few hours of sleeping to try and find a comfortable position due to lower back pain.

I’m also second-guessing my decision to go with the 3"/3"/2" configuration. I decided to go this way because it was a few hundred dollars cheaper, and the SleepEZ rep I talked to suggested this as a way to still have a robust comfort layer. I’m wondering though if I should have spent the extra money for the 3"/3"/3". Would this be a problem down the line if, for example, there were someone heavier than me sharing the bed? Could the missing inch of firm dunlop possibly be contributing to my morning back pain? I am still within the return window, so I can exchange a layer if need be.

Finally, I received two shredded latex pillows along with my mattress, and I’m surprisingly not loving them. I’ve seen only good things about shredded latex pillows, so I was expecting to enjoy them, but I find them lumpy and difficult to get the right amount of fill. Any suggestions? I’m willing to give it some time to ‘break in’, but I’m also considering contacting SleepEZ and seeing if I could exchange one of them for a poured latex pillow. This is what I’ve been sleeping on, and I have never loved a pillow so much as my poured latex one. It was a soft talalay, though, and it’s flattened out in only a couple of years.

I appreciate any guidance as I continue my journey to a perfect night’s sleep!

2

Hi Dreamiest.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum and thank you for your kind words :slight_smile:

Congratulations on your new SleepEZ mattress! Great to hear that you have 0(zero) pressure points
You are most likely aware that SleepEZ is one of the Trusted members of our site and also aTMU mattress expert with their own dedicated forum and that you can run by them some of the questions you have.

[quote] A little background: I have had back pain for years to differing degrees. I’ve recently been seeing a chiropractor and have been seeing a lot of improvements with my back, but it is in such a state of transition that I’m unsure how to determine whether or not my mattress is a contributing factor. Is there any way to test this? I have had a few days where I’ve woken up with zero pain after seeing my chiropractor, which leads me to believe that it’s not the mattress causing problems. But I still will often toss and turn the last few hours of sleeping to try and find a comfortable position due to lower back pain.
[/quote]

Thanks for sharing your stats and some of the background with us. Your pains in the morning can be an indicator that either a) your body is still readjusting to a new sleeping environment or … b) that the mattress is not supportive enough for your alignment needs.

This said, your pain-free nights after visiting the chiropractor are good news. The history of constant back pains that you experienced on your old mattress is a red flag indicating that it may be a matter of your body having “bad” habits in order to compensate and give you a chance to rest. While it may be the case that with a new mattress your body would have to “unlearn the old sleeping habits” and relearn new ways to adjust to a more suitable sleeping environment …. unfortunately, there’s really no way for me to tell for sure if the mattress also is a contributing factor to your back issue. You’d need a bit more time and more visits to the chiropractor to determine this. I am not sure how much time you still have to do any exchanges but it may be worthwhile contacting Sleep EZ to see if they would consider extending this period in your case.

The fact that you “have zero pressure points” when sleeping on your side is a good indicator that you have the right comfort and I wouldn’t rush to replace the 2" layer with a 3" layer. Thickness and softens are related and assuming that the cover can easily accommodate the extra thickness, adding one- extra inch to the bottom layer (that is furthest away from your body) will result in the overall mattress feeling a tad softer. (I’d also note that a taut cover can have the effect of firming up the sleeping surface) This said, In some cases, the differences are so minor that they do not play a significant role. While “a tad softer” would still be OK for your pressure points, it may detract a bit from the support you need for your posture and neutral alignment which should be your point of focus. You also have a lower BMI which does well with less mattress thickness and firm deep support.

Well, this is a bit of a caveat as I am guessing this was a free gift. You can try contacting SleepEZ on this but I would not raise your hopes up. Pillows are a very personal choice so I understand why you’d like the poured latex pillow. I understand that budget is tight but I would not cut corners here.
Maybe you can keep a shredded latex pillow for your guests or …if they are too tall and lumpy you can also open the pillows and try removing some of the shredded latex and shredding the remaining filling even more. Either way, I’d definitely recommend that you get a suitable pillow.

Another thing to keep in mind is that quite often when receiving a new mattress and sleeping on your side it is necessary to adjust your pillow, and this can be the cause of quite a bit of lower cervical / upper thoracic and shoulder pain, so you’d want to make sure that your pillow is providing you with a relatively neutral alignment.

I look forward to hearing about your progress. We’ll be here if you need us
Phoenix