Hi- New to the forum, and the basic information section has been really helpful. I’m wondering if there are any general guidelines for what works for smaller vs bigger people. I am 5’, sleep alone, and weigh about 115 lbs. I have some neck issues that affect my sleep as well, and usually need to sleep on my back with only a folded towel as a pillow, even though I preferred to sleep on my side before the neck problems. I live in Baltimore, so unfortunately, unless I want to drive 1.5 hrs to DC or 2 hrs to Northern VA (yeah traffic!), my options seem to be limited in my area. Can anyone suggest any guidelines I should follow as far as what types of beds to start looking at? At this point, almost any bed feels better than mine initially, so it’s hard to be critical.
My current bed (and the bed before it) are not particularly comfortable, for different reasons (mattress began sagging / waking up in pain due to body falling asleep because of pressure points). Fortunately, they were hand me downs from family members, so at least I didn’t pay for the discomfort! I am really dreading shopping for a bed, and spending a lot of money for something that is not going to be good. I have only experienced 2 mattresses in my life that I would call truly comfortable, but one was an antique and probably nothing modern will be like it, and the other was at a cabin I rented for a week in VA, but the mattress wasn’t being made any more. (think it was a Sealy from 1999)
I would follow the same guidelines as anyone else using the mattress testing suggestions in the tutorial post which will “bypass” theory which can become much too complex for practical use. Nobody else can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to make suggestions for someone else based on either specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). Having said that … in many cases lighter body types will lean towards softer materials than heavier body types because they won’t sink into a mattress as easily but what may be true “in general” isn’t always the case when it comes to any specific person.
If you follow the steps in the tutorial post one at a time you will have the highest chance of making a successful purchase.
The better options and possibilities I’m aware of in the Baltimore area (subject to following the steps in the tutorial of course) are listed in post #2 here.