Hands falling asleep on softer mattress?

Talk To The Experts Arizona Premium Mattress
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Hi,
I’ve read through a lot of the posts on hand/arm numbness, and generally it seems like firmness is the culprit. (I’m a stomach/side sleeper.) But I’ve had a strange experience over the last year or so, which seems to indicate firmness might actually be the solution!

I was having issues with my hands falling asleep on my old mattress, so about a year ago, I bought a new one. Latex with a memory foam top. (I’m pretty bony, so a firm surface is uncomfortable.)
It seemed (on paper) to be a good combination of support plus comfort. But the hands falling asleep continued, at least from time to time.

Then I spent 5 months staying with friends, sleeping on their pull-out (granted, a REALLY nice $3000 comfort sleeper gel pull-out), and lo and behold, no issues! It feels quite a bit firmer than my mattress at home, and is gel vs. latex. I can’t think of any other differences. (I used the same pillow and sleeping position in both places.)

I also recently took a trip which had me in a different bed every night for 12 days, some of which were not great mattresses. And in 11 out of 12 beds, I had no problems with numb hands. I got back, and they were asleep again the first night.

The place I got the mattress is willing to do an exchange (for a nominal fee), but I don’t know what to try! Allegedly, latex is one of the best options for circulation. I don’t like the feel of a firm mattress, but that’s the most obvious difference between mine and the others, so I’m tempted to go that route. But this is my last shot (one exchange only), so I really want to make a good decision!

Any thoughts? Does anyone else have issues with numbness on softer mattresses? What would be the logical reason for that? It often happens very quickly, so I don’t think the problem is being “too comfortable” and not moving enough. But I’m at a loss as to why softer would be the problem. Could I be sinking in too much and having my heart fall below my hands? (I liked that theory for a bit, but even when I sleep on my right side (heart elevated somewhat), my hands still go numb.) I’m out of ideas.

Any help/advice appreciated!
Thanks!

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Thanks for the question. You said you have memory foam over the latex so in my opinion your issue is not with the latex but with the memory which makes sense to me. Memory foam uses your body heat to soften it up and causes that sinking in feeling. There is no resistance (support) with memory foam so I believe you are sinking right through the memory foam onto the firmer latex base. Replacing the memory foam with soft latex which is still supportive should take care of your issue. I too am a side sleeper and I have the opposite experience when I travel. Hotel beds are too firm which is why I take 2" of soft latex with me to put over the hotel bed. It’s gives me the extra cush I need so my arm does not fall asleep and also provides the air flow that I am used to.