Finished my latex mattress

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

Hello all - I’ve participated in these forums a year ago. I went with arizona latex mattress (found it recommended on this site) and bought a topper last year, and have built it in pieces. I finally finished the mattress and it looks and feels great laying on it first thing. I just finished putting it together a half hour ago and haven’t slept on it yet. The the topper I got a year ago has been comfortable since I got it. Looking forward to sleeping on the completed bed tonight.

They have great quality product and have been helpful from day one. The individual toppers and core arrived within a week of ordering them. The bambo cover took a couple weeks. I guess because they custom make them. Ken and Greg have been my go to for help making discussions. If you contact them, please tell them Luke referred you. Just trying to help them out. >https://www.mattresses.net<

I weigh 150, 5’8" tall, and pretty skinny. Mostly a side sleeper. Sometimes stomach. And I try to fall asleep on my back. I have a lot of back pain and hope this mattress helps.

My components are -

6’ extra firm natural talaley core
3" medium density natural talaley middle section (this was the first component I got last year and was very comfortable just on my cheap spring mattress)
3" plush natural talaley top layer
Bambo casing
Medium density natural talaley pillow

Looking forward to trying it tonight.

I hope this post helps you guys. Let me know if you have any questions. And thanks to all you guys for the help last year. Great site.

Best,
Luke

2

Hi Supravista,

Thanks for the update and for letting us know about your final design … and congratulations on finishing your new DIY mattress :).

I’m looking forward to finding out how you sleep on it.

Phoenix

3

Just throwing out a quick update -

The first two nights I had insomnia unrelated to the mattress. But I laid on it all night reading and doing guided meditation. It was extremely comfortable just laying there. An exceptional reading spot. Since those nights I’ve gotten full nights sleep - not necessarily because of the mattress, because my insomnia just comes and goes. But I was able to actually see what sleeping on it was like.

I have back problems and when I wake up I usually have to crack the hell out of my back and stretch it out big time. When I wake up from sleeping on this mattress I don’t have that problem at all. I still have back pain a little during the day, but I think because I wakeup without pain it will ultimately help altogether.

Good stuff.

Do you know anything else I could add on top if it? Like mattress pads or something.

4

Hi Supravista,

Thanks for the update … I appreciate it.

There will be a break in and adjustment period for any new mattress or sleeping system as the foam layers lose any of their “false firmness” and the cover stretches and loosens a little and your body gets used to a sleeping surface that is different from what it is used to (see post #3 here). This would typically be a few weeks but it can be shorter or longer depending on the specifics of the person and the mattress.

It can be quite surprising to some people how much their sleeping experience can change over the first few weeks of sleeping on a new mattress and I would tend to give any new mattress about a month or so if possible before considering any changes.

If after 30 days or so your sleeping experience shows a clear and consistent pattern that isn’t changing then that would be the best time to decide on the types of changes that will have the best chance of resolving any “symptoms” or discomfort you are experiencing.

There are thousands of mattress pads or toppers that can be added to a mattress and used to change the “feel” or to add some additional softness or pressure relief but I don’t know what you are hoping to change about your mattress and your question is much too general to be able to make any meaningful suggestions.

The type of mattress pad or topper that you may wish to add would would be a preference choice rather than a “better/worse” choice and would depend on how much additional softness and pressure relief you would need and on the types of materials and the “feel” that you tend to prefer. You can read a little more about fiberbeds and mattress pads (which use polyester fibers) in post #10 here and in post #2 here.

If you decide to make more significant changes to your mattress and add a topper then there is more information about choosing a topper in post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to which along with a conversation with a reliable supplier that can provide you with good information about how their toppers compare to each other or to other toppers they are familiar with that are available on the market can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to help you choose the type, thickness, and firmness for a topper that has the least possible risk and the best chance for success.

Phoenix

5

Thanks for the reply

A couple points I learned from your post:

Break in period of the mattress material
Body adjustment to the new sleeping surface
The term “fine tuning” with regards to designing a mattress. Fine tuning is very much what I was trying to get at with my vague question about pads. My question wasn’t raised out of necessity just yet, I was looking for a new bracket of customization.

This is all good. Over the next few weeks I’ll assess material changes and how my body adjusts and be back with questions of fine tuning.

A couple things about breaking in new material and body adjustment to sleeping on new surfaces -

Years ago I did a DIY memory foam mattress. I got the material from the Foam Factory (horrible product and service). My point though is in the next month or so the memory foam lost its memory quite a bit. Of course the degree by which this happens largely depends on the quality of the material. BUT I’m hoping, in general, that latex material isn’t as susceptible to such changes (that leads to the dreaded dipping in the center where you sleep).

As for changing surfaces that I have been using - Before I finished this three layer latex mattress, I had just the 3" medium on the 6" extra firm core. Of course this was far firmer than my finished three layers, and I could feel the 3" bottom out to the extra firm core where my hips would be. Adding the third soft layer is, so far, enough where no sections bottom out to the core layer. This is all blah blah blah but my point is my body adjusted to that specific arrangement for about a month, now its adjusting to this added 3" softer layer. Those are just points of reference.

I put together a daily journal to assess in both morning and night

Night:
Lower back –
Mid-back –
Upper back –
Neck –
Subjective comfort –

Morning:
Feeling of restfulness –
Toss and turn -
Lower back –
Mid-back –
Upper back –
Neck –

I put a final assessment on my calendar in a month.

Thanks again for the new information and links to threads and articles regarding these things.

Oh, side note - do you have articles or any thoughts on leg positioner pillows?

6

Hi Supravista,

Latex in general is the most durable of all the foam materials (polyfoam, memory foam, latex foam) and foam softening (virtual impressions) or sagging (visible impressions) are less likely to happen or will happen over a longer period of time than with other types of foam materials and if a latex mattress is inside a suitable range in terms of comfort and support (and isn’t “on the edge” of being too soft) then it would be reasonable to expect that it will last for many years.

Pillows are mentioned in a number of replies about various “symptoms” people may experience on a mattress (such as post #45 here) and using a pillow under the knees (for back sleepers) or in between the knees (for side sleepers) or using a body pillow to support the upper leg for some side sleepers can certainly help maintain neutral spine and joint alignment for those who need it but I don’t have any specific articles or replies just about using pillows for positioning no.

Phoenix

7

I’ll give this another few weeks to break in. Thanks for all the help.

btw I just ordered this

amazon.com/gp/product/B00U7Q0LFQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: Amazon.com

8

Hi Supravista,

ADMIN NOTE:Removed 404 page link | Archived Footprint: Amazon.com

I hope it helps you and I’m looking forward to your feedback when you receive it.

Phoenix