Foam mattresses & sex... Almost found the perfect mattress.

To my surprise, the most comforting and supportive mattress for me & my wife is a memory foam. Going out scouting mattress stores I was sure I wouldn’t like the memory foam. Now this find was an S brand (Sealy Optimum Elation to be exact) and I know the benefits of going with a local manufacturer, which I will be looking into tomorrow.

So the mattress feels great for sleeping, but I’m concerned about sex and the lack of bounce a spring core mattress provides. I’m wondering if others have had an issue with this or if a custom spring core and foam or latex support would help in this area while still being as comfortable and supportive for sleep.

From what I’ve been reading it seems latex may be the way to go. It’s hard to tell though because none of the showrooms had mattress with more than a thin layer of latex along with other foams and materials. Any thoughts, comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi JD2K,

The topic of memory foam and sex is a “hot” one but I think it would be fair to say that there is general agreement that it certainly is different from lovemaking on more resilient materials and that memory foam doesn’t provide any of the bounce or “energy” return that most people are used to and that contributes to the “rhythm” they are familiar with. Sex on memory foam takes more “effort”. It’s also more difficult to use certain positions because there is less “traction” or support for knees, elbows, and hands pressing into the material.

Some people don’t ever get used to it, others learn to experiment and adapt with different positions or styles, and others yet may even come to prefer it. Like almost everything else, there is no general consensus but I think that a majority of people would say that more resilient materials such as innersprings, latex, or polyfoam are more “sex friendly” than memory foam with a smaller but vocal minority disagreeing :slight_smile:

There is also some information about mattresses and sex in this topic as well.

If you let me know your city or zip I’d be happy to let you know of any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of that may carry latex mattresses in your area.

Phoenix

I’m in 33460.

On anothet mote: We were offered a floor model at two different retailers… The Elation (king size) was a significant discount at 1700 (before taxes). There were no obvious signs of wear; for a mattres that retails at 3400, I’m left wondering if such a purchase would be wise or not. The other floor model was an Serta Savant (king) at the same price: 1700. Not as big of a discount off retail.

I asked both sales people if the manufacturer warranty was good for floor models and both said yes. When I got home I read each companies warranty to discover that this was not true. Now I know warranty is mainly a sales tool but I’m left wondering if the sales people were misinformed (one did call a superior because he said he didn’t know, but that could have been a gimmic in itself) of if they were intentionally lying. I don’t care how good a deal is, I try to avoid sleazy sales people regardless.

I’m curios to hear if others have experienced the same thing regarding floor models - are they always trying to move them? And the warranty issue - are other sales people as ignorant or misleading? I mean, this is their job, they should know that as-is purchases are excluded from the warranty…

Hi JD2K,

Welcome to the “reality” of the mattress industry … unfortunately :slight_smile: The lack of meaningful knowledge and factual information (and sometimes integrity) and the willingness to sell a mattress at any “cost” for the sake of a commission or a profit has become more of the “norm” than the exception in the mainstream part of the mattress industry.

In most cases a couple of hours of reading on this site will give you more important and meaningful information about mattresses than the majority of salespeople in mass market outlets who actually sell the mattresses.

As you can see in the information in post #1 here including these mattress shopping guidelines … I wouldn’t suggest buying any mattress unless I was able to make meaningful comparisons with other similar mattresses based on the materials that were inside it. Even a 50% discount on a mattress that is significantly overpriced in the first place doesn’t mean good value … especially if you have to purchase a used floor model and give up a warranty to get it.

Some of the better options and possibilities in the southeast Florida area I’m aware of are listed in post #2 here and in post #2 here (which is mostly duplicate but has a few more detailed descriptions).

Post #245 here and the links inside it may also be of interest regarding your “other” question (which I know you deleted but I did see :))

Phoenix