The first thing I would check is your foundation to see if it could be the cause of your ādipā.
Itās also possible that when you put the mattress together that the layers arenāt resting evenly or completely flat inside the cover and could be bunched or stretched. Latex is very stretchy and tacky and itās usually best to āwaveā the layers into position so that they are evenly distributed inside the cover.
You can also put the individual layers on the floor and then use a string or straight edge across the layer to confirm that none of them have any impressions.
Did you happen to notice any mattress dips or depressions with your Flexus mattress?
I also ordered one about 2 weeks ago and mine had a noticeable dip in it right out of the box. Itās right in the middle of the mattress. Also, the layers are not cut the same size it seems - when they are stacked, their widths seems off and makes the sides look lopsided. Just wondering if you noticed the same with your mattress?[/quote]
Youāre welcome, Gfurio. No dips whatsoever. As Phoenix has indicated, a dip in the middle is unlikely due to the mattress. It is more likely due to a lack of support in the middle section underneath the mattress.
If you bought the Flexus foundation also, you notice there is a center rail which supports the slats. My bed frame has a center cross member that lines up exactly with the center support on the foundation. This cross member has 3 legs (end, middle, head) which support that center rail. The legs are adjustable in height, and I have them adjusted so that they nominally lift the foundation just a bit and everything flattens out under the weight of the mattress and people. The result is a flat mattress.
If you didnāt buy the Flexus foundation, then whatever youāre using might be inadequate. These foundations should be rigid (not box springs) and should be very well supported.
So, I suspect youāre got a bed frame support issue, so look there first.
Update - I can feel the mattress is softening up on the top layer and forming zones. In other words when I push down on the mattress, the area where by butt goes is less resistant now than the area where, say, my feet go. Iām starting to think itās softening up a bit more than I want.
Phoenix, from top to bottom right now I have Medium Talalay ā Medium Dunlop ā Firm Dunlop. If I were to rearrange this to Medium Talalay ā Firm Dunlop ā Medium Dunlop would I notice much of a difference? I think Iām going to want to firm it up just a bit soon. But will give it a week or so more before changing anything.
Itās probably a little early yet to consider making any changes (30 days would be better) unless you are experiencing actual āsymptomsā of discomfort or pain that are getting worse and not just making changes based on a more subjective āfeelā (see post #3 here) but most people would notice a difference if the medium and firm layers were switched yes.
Youāre probably right, of course. And Iām not waking up in pain. Iāve just still got what Iād describe as lower back stiffness where immediately upon waking up I need to stretch out my lumbar region. And I can definitely notice more āsinkageā into the mattress now than on day 1. Also, when laying flat, if I sort of lift my pelvis into the air, that does relieve the stiffness. Thus my thinking that a firmer surface would be a bit more comfortable over the course of 6-7 hours. See, I really need to sleep on my back due to CPAP usage. Laying on my side just causes leakage. But itās only now in my middle years that staying on my back the entire night is becoming more difficult.
But hey only two short weeks ago I was waking up in agony each morning - so weāre miles ahead already!!!
If it does turn out that you need firmer support I would probably start with exchanging the firm and medium layers rather than changing the top layer which is more related to pressure relief than to the primary support of your mattress. There is also more about primary or ādeepā support and secondary or āsurfaceā support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the ārolesā of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between āsupportā and āpressure reliefā and āfeelā.
Once step at a time but if there is such a big improvement already then the rest is normally just āfine tuningā
Someone had asked about the Flexus Comfort mattress cover. So I took a picture and here it is. You can see that what they ship is quilted on top and on the sides. It does not have the grey fabric on the sides as shown on their website.
Well I had ordered a Z pillow knockoff, but there was some sort of shipping snafu and then they sold out. So the vendor emailed me today saying he was shipping a Z to me instead at no extra charge, and that the Z was definitely higher quality. Soā¦ hey, itās taking a little while but I guess Iāll be getting a pretty decent deal on a Z.
I received a Malouf Z Pillow yesterday and used it last night. I had previously been using a Tempurpedic memory foam pillow and as a back sleeper it had too much loft and not enough give. I was also sweating on it. So I now have a low loft firm Z. Initial observations: Itās bouncy. This is often mentioned and I agree. However I donāt see this is a problem at all. I donāt bounce around when sleeping and didnāt notice this at night once. The low loft firm latex results in an improved neck posture for me on my back. This was the goal. Iām now in a position where Iām looking straight up at the ceiling instead of slightly cocked forward as before. And this pillow is supportive. Though it is low loft, it doesnāt ābottom outā with my head on it, and I can feel the support under my neck. I also woke up without a sweaty head, so this is good. Lastly, the smell is pretty strong. Iām sure it will subside, and itās not a chemical smell - just a latex smell, but I find it a bit odd that the pillowās latex smell fills a room where my brand new natural latex mattress did not. Any thoughts on that? Anyhow, overall, it seems to have been a good purchase.
One more update - I think my lower back stiffness is starting to improve on the new mattress. Itās still there, but I am sleeping longer at night now before waking up with stiffness and the urge to roll over to get off my backā¦ This is a slow process indeed. Still being patientā¦
There is more about the typical smell of latex in post #2 here. Some batches of natural latex can be stronger than others and the smell can also be more noticeable to some people than others. It can also depend on the specifics of the latex foam formulations used by different manufacturers and on how long it has been wrapped (which prevents the material from airing out and can concentrate the smell). My Malouf pillow for example had very little smell when it was new but it should subside fairly rapidly.
Well Iām at just about the 45 day point with the new mattress. I can say that the latex has indeed softened since day 1, however it seems to have reached a point now where it is no longer softening. Further, my lower back stiffness has improved but is still there. Iāve recently started using a new set of sheets that are bamboo viscose and I actually think theyāve made a difference. Iām not sure, but they do seem a bit more stretchy and conforming than my previous cotton sheets. I think this makes them a better match for a latex mattress and I donāt notice the sheets getting taut underneath my back and I think this makes them more comfortable. Not to mention softā¦ Itās not exaggeration that bamboo viscose is softer than 1000-thread cotton sheets.
So anyhow, in another week or two I am going to re-evaluate my posture on this mattress and be sure itās still where it should be while Iām still within the layer swap 90-day window at Flexus. Will report back around the 60-day point.
The pillow still smells. The smell has subsided such that when you walk in the room, you donāt get the immediate latex smell. But on the bed, the smell is still there. I was thinking I should wash the cover and try to air out the latex for a bit. But I havenāt tried that yet.
Thatās probably a good idea because the smell may have permeated the cover and it would give the inner pillow a chance to air out. Itās odd that your pillow seems to smell so much stronger than ours did.
I just ordered a 10ā inch (soft/medium/firm) mattress and foundation from Flexus today, canāt wait to get it!
Thanks Phoenix for this site, without your help I wouldāve likely spent way too much money on an inferior product. You really helped me down the path of making a strong informed decision. Cheers!
