Heavy stomach/side sleeper than can't seem to find a good decent mattress

Discussions General Mattresses Questions
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Hello everyone, I found this forum whilst trying to find a mattress topper in hopes that it can solve my problems. I have insomnia, lower back pain, and I am fairly heavy (5’9" and 270 pounds). I move a lot when I sleep I tend to sleep on my stomach, but many times switch to my side, and I know I flip many times at night. Usually, if I sleep long enough to not be tired, my back hurts. Most of the time, my back pain wakes me up and then I’m tired.

I have slept in innersprung mattress my whole life and I sleep best on an older sealy I think, which I don’t have any information on the construction other than I know it is an innerspring and has the normal top (Not pillow or any padding, euro, etc.). I’d continue to use that sealy, but that is too small now, so I need a bigger bed.

I have went through 3 mattresses thus far. I got a firm Innersprung, which was too firm for my likes. Then I went to one rated soft, and it was far too soft. I now have a Sleep on Latex 9" version rated at firm. It was too firm, so I added a medium 3" topper. That was still too firm, so I put another 3" soft topper on top of the 3" medium topper. That was too soft - I had a hard time moving around (Sunk in/“stuck” feeling). I tried the soft only and still had that stuck in feeling. Now, I have the too soft innersprung mattress on top of the 9" sleep on latex mattress (The collective mattress is something like 2 feet tall) and of course it is still too soft.

I have slept in a memory foam mattress in a hotel, and by far it was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever slept in.

I’m thinking perhaps since I like the older sealy I have (It’s got to be at least 15 years old) perhaps I like the feeling of the regular old foam they use to make the top layer. So I have been thinking of trying to find a good regular-not-memory-foam topper. I don’t know how thick I should get and what ILD I should get. I did read that you can’t compare the ILD from latex to regular foam. If I were to guess, I’d need something in between the soft and medium sleep-on-latex toppers, but perhaps 3" is too deep? I greatly appreciate any advice! Thank you

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hi h8insomnia.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum. :slight_smile:

Thank you for sharing your sleep stats and some history with us.

I would first say that the mattress upon mattress set up is definitely not doing you any favors in terms of support. While there can be benefits to a thicker mattress, 24"of assorted layers isn’t a mattress anyone needs. Soft on soft is only going to create more of that stuck in the sand feeling, and can also be detrimental to your comfort and support on the mattress, taking your spine out of alignment as you move through the sleeping positions. As a sleeper with a higher weight, you could certainly benefit from a thicker mattress but only should you need it. 9" - 12" is standard, and then going up (or down, in some cases) from there as necessary is the recommendation.

First, we know that you sleep well on a traditional innerspring mattress, but that the one you have is too soft. Do you know the brand/model of that mattress?
Second, we know that you have the 9" SOL firm mattress, plus a 3" medium topper and a 3" soft topper.
Third, we know you have these two things one atop the other.

My suggestion would first be to separate the the mega mattress.
Then, I’d turn my attention to the SOL. The innerspring is feeling too soft for you, and there’s not much that can be done to “firm up” a too soft mattress.However, softening a too firm mattress isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

My first recommendation would be to place the 3" soft topper directly on top of your SOL bed and see how that feels for a few nights. Is this bed on any sort of frame or base, out of curiosity?

Also - with regards to non memory foam, non latex foam toppers, you would be looking at something like egg crate 1 - 3" polyfoam, which I personally wouldn’t recommend in terms of durability and support relative to your weight. Innerspring mattresses do tend to have foam or fibers quilted in the cover. My Green Mattress shows the breakdown of what their innerspring looks like, so you can get a visual idea of what I am talking about. (Scroll down a bit, beneath the price).

Toppers made from natural fibers are a realistic option, though! You may find this post on the topic and how natural toppers compare to foam toppers useful.

I hope I’ve given you a starting point to help move you towards supportive and comfortable sleep!
NikkiTMU