Got mattress from sleepEZ, some issues after three nights

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
1

So I got the 8" special in from sleepEZ, with 3" firm + 3" medium + 2" soft. After three nights, I realize I’m tossing and turning a lot more, and not as comfortable as with my old mattress. My main reason for getting a new mattress was that latex is resistant to dustmites, etc.

Anyway, I thought for sure I wanted a more firm mattress due to the fact that I usually sleep better and am more comfortable in hotels, and hotels usually have firm mattresses. However, the above mattress seems to be even more firm except for perhaps the first 2".

Since I still have my old mattress, I started doing more comparisons and note the following:

My old mattress has a thick pillowtop, and I can practice sleep on it without a pillow, since my entire body sinks into it quite far.
My old mattress sags a bit and doesn’t have a lot of support, so my hips sink a bit too much.
When I first lie on it, my old mattress feels extremely comfortable due to the soft pillowtop.

The new mattress is only 8" thick and doesn’t have a pillowtop, so obviously it doesn’t have a cushiony feeling.
The new mattress feels really firm, and my hips actually don’t sink enough into it – they should be sinking about 1cm more (it’s pretty close).
The new mattress definitely requires a pillow since my body lies on the mattress and not in the mattress (I thought I would like this, but now I’m not so sure)
I don’t yet have a bed frame (still shopping around). I didn’t have a bed frame for my old 14" thick mattress either.

I’m not entirely sure what to do at this point.

It seems like firm + soft-medium + soft might work better with my mattress, but I don’t want to send a layer back since I threw out the boxes, and there’s no way I would be able to compress the layer back down for it to fit, anyway. I could get an additional 2" soft layer and put that on top for 10". Thoughts?

Another idea would be to get a 1" thick wool SnugFleece topper from Amazon, or one of their foam toppers although I don’t like the idea of using polyurethane.

Or maybe I shouldn’t do anything at all until I actually buy a bed frame and slats?

2

Hi samssf,

22-24 ILD latex is firmer than the very soft and lower density foam that you would find in most hotel mattresses which typically use thicker layers of softer polyfoam on top. Latex itself is also a firmer foam because it gets firmer faster than polyfoam as you sink more deeply into the mattress. A “firm” hotel mattress usually means the support layers are firmer not so much that the comfort layer are firmer (which they usually aren’t).

Every mattress including a firm mattress needs to be both soft and firm and a single description can be more misleading than helpful. For example … your mattress with the pillowtop likely uses much thicker and softer layers on top and the lack of support is likely either because the comfort layers are too thick (meaning that they are isolating you from the support layers too much) or the support layers themselves are too soft or a combination of the two.

The ideal thickness and firmness/softness of the layers either on top or deeper in the mattress would depend on your height/weight and body shape and on your sleeping positions. The mattress you purchased would be more typical for a back sleeper. The added firmness of 22-24 ILD latex would also be much more noticeable for someone who was coming from a mattress which had much thicker layers of soft and low density polyfoam and there would almost certainly be an adjustment period as well.

To “approximate” the feeling you are more used to would require thicker and softer latex on the top of the mattress.

You are quite tall and slim and also a side sleeper so it seems that you may both like and need a mattresses that was a little softer/thicker on top (based on the feedback that you like sinking in a bit more) and the 2" of latex may be a little on the firm and thin side for you. A softer middle layer could also “help” the 2" layer more than the medium that you currently have (which I’m assuming is Dunlop?) which may be a little too firm to “help” your 2" comfort layer as much as you need and make up for its relative thinness. This is normally the reason for a layer exchange as well (so it can be tested at home) but a topper is also a good option.

So overall it seems to me that the comfort layer of the mattress may be a little too firm/thin for your side sleeping needs and tall slim body profile. Because you are also sinking in to the mattress less … it would normally need a thicker pillow as well. Latex is definitely an “on the mattress” material rather than an “in the mattress” material like memory foam or thicker soft layers of polyfoam to a lesser degree.

The good news is that it’s much easier to “fix” a mattress that is too firm than one that is too soft. I would probably tend to add an inch or two of softer latex on top although a thicker wool topper would also be a good choice (although not as pressure relieving overall as soft latex). The softer latex topper would allow your heavier and “pointier” body parts to sink in more deeply and spread your weight out over a larger surface area while the wool would be more “cushioning” and provide more localized “softness” rather than spread your overall weight out over a larger surface area.

Trying to estimate the effect of sinking in 1 cm more or less as can be very misleading and I probably wouldn’t try to get quite this accurate when it’s difficult to tell at best if 1cm in a particular area is what is contributing to your “symptoms”.

If you are planning to buy tension adjustable slats … then this will also make a difference (they can be softened in pressure areas and with an 8" mattress this would be felt) but if your plan is to buy a rigid slatted frame then I would consider first going through a “normal” adjustment period to see if it’s just a matter of getting used to a firmer foam surface and adapting to a firmer feel and if this doesn’t go in the right direction then adding to it with a topper.

Phoenix

3

Thanks for the info. Given that, is there a good place to order 1" of 15-19 ILD latex for a decent price? sleepEZ only shows 1.5" latex, and at 20-22 ILD. I’m hoping 1" will fit into my existing ticking, but if not I suppose I can lay it on top.

After that, I might buy a 36oz/sq yard wool Natura quilted topper if I want more softness.

4

Hi samssf,

1" talalay toppers are not very common. They mostly start at about 2" (which I also think could work).

I would try Sleepez to see if they had any because they may well have some latex layers besides what they’ve listed. For example I don’t know if this is current (it’s not part of their regular site but still comes up on searches) https://www.sleepez.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/27/sort/2a/page/8/osCsid/bh3tiseig3rpbch6r76p1rb772

I’d probably also call Arizona Premium to see if they have any because they too often have products that aren’t on their site.

The most complete selection of any type of latex toppers including 1" thickness is at Sleep Like A Bear (or SLAB for short) but they are a little more.

I would also put it in a separate cover rather than inside a ticking that was already fairly tight which might compress the latex and make it firmer. Without a cover (or inside an existing cover) it will degrade more quickly.

Phoenix