I should clarify my statement a bit. I’ve only ever tried a foam mattress in mattress stores, and overall, I like the way they feel. When I say it feels like a typical foam mattress, that’s what I’d prefer, as if it felt like something else, then I really wouldn’t know what I would be getting myself into in terms of how it feels. I’ve had mattresses that feel super comfortable cause me a ton of pain in the morning. Also, I shouldn’t say back pain so much as upper T-spine and C-spine, and when I say slightly worse, that’s actually how I’ve woken up every morning on every mattress for the last month. Some make me feel much worse than last night, some less so. The really bad mattresses (like the one I just replaced) also make my shoulder muscles feel like they’re burning in the morning. My hope is that with a combination of this, and the right pillow, I no longer run into that problem.
For future purchases and for other consumers reading this, we always tell people the first place to start is the mattress shopping tutorial, which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice.
Because each person is different in terms of their physiology, weight distribution, and body shape as well as the positions they sleep in, their individual preferences, and the specifics of any back issues they may experience, there is no such thing as a mattress that is “better for backs” in general because a mattress that is good for one person’s back (or back issues) may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on … even if their body type, sleeping positions, or back issues appear to be fairly similar. There is only a mattress that keeps you in good alignment which would be best for YOUR back.
In general … what you would be looking for is a mattress with firm enough deep support and then comfort layers that are “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness to “fill in” and support the more recessed parts of your sleeping profile and relieve pressure in your most pressure prone sleeping position (usually side sleeping for those who sleep in this position) so that there is less risk to alignment in your other sleeping positions.[/quote]
That’s where things get tough for me; I really have no idea what position I’m more prone to sleeping in. The best I can say is that I’m less prone to sleeping on my stomach, and I think my preferred way to fall asleep is somewhere between my side and my back, with my back rested on some pillows, though I don’t do this that often. When I wake up in the morning, sometimes I’m on my stomach, sometimes I’m on my side, sometimes I’m on my back.
Anyways, I noticed that I tend to have the least amount of pain from relatively firm mattresses, even though I prefer to fall asleep on soft ones. This is why I ultimately chose the ghostbed. I was going to do sleep number as they talked up a storm about how the newer 360 variants adjust to you throughout the night, which sounds ideal. But, I just don’t have that kind of money right now, and people keep telling me to stay away from them, so here I am.
Oh and as far as personal preferences go – I way prefer the feel of foam mattresses to spring mattresses, just so long as they don’t sink in too much. Again, ghostbed is the winner here. A runner up was Casper, but consumer reports, who gives pretty good apples-to-apples numbers, gave it a much softer number.
But anyways, thanks for the tips 
As for all things ergonomics, I’ve always found it’s quite normal for me to feel less comfortable at first when I make a change for the better in the long term. I don’t expect the Ghostbed to be any different.
Perhaps. I think I was just the most off-put by the way the rep spoke to me. Kind of like a “I don’t really care” type attitude from the start. I could understand if it was early morning, but the same person called me back later in the day for what I presume was to follow a potential sales lead and still spoke in basically the same manner. I got a pit in my stomach once she started telling me “how it is”, even though I didn’t say a word about returning the mattress. I really didn’t want to say much more or call back after that, because when people do that, I’m immediately left with a feeling of “what else might I say that they’re going to hold against me?”