Hello! Hoping for Help!

Hello!
I am currently shopping for a new mattress and stumbled upon your mattress forum. I have to say that I’m finding this research a little overwhelming. I am in a hurry to buy a new mattress as I am having a lot of back pain. I have had problems for many years but it’s gotten much worse in the last six months. I traveled for a month this summer, and my back was better when I was on vacation. I’m wondering if it’s our old mattress which is definitely become uncomfortable. We thought about replacing it for years as it’s very old probably 15 to 20 years old. Now I’m really noticing how bad it is .
I started shopping this week and have looked at Simmons Beauty rest Legend Preston (it’s $3,600)nd also Stearns and Foster Oak Terrace. I started reading reviews and getting myself more and more confused. I’m hoping if I tell you a little bit about myself, perhaps you could point me in the right direction. I live in a very broad area there’s not a ton of shopping choices other than mattress fi started reading reviews and getting myself more and more confused. I’m hoping if I tell you a little bit about myself, perhaps you could point me in the right direction. I live in a very rural area so there’s not a ton of shopping choices other than Mattress Firm and perhaps some others.
So, my husband and are both about 5’8 and 210 and 250. I have disc issues and sleep apnea. We really like the plush mattresses, but I’m not sure if I should be on something firmer. I’m also confused and associate firm with uncomfortable. My son has a Kingston mattress and I love it. It’s like climbing onto a cloud.
Is it possible for you to give me some suggestions to get me started? Any opinions about the mattresses that I mentioned?
Thank you for any help!
Cara

Hi CaraMacy.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing a great deal of pain which worsened lately.
While I understand that the pain you are experiencing is catalyzer for getting a new mattress and while I also understand that the amount of detail offered here can be a little overwhelming at first (with having to go through a learning curve and understanding a bit about mattresses, materials and about your own needs and preferences) and may delay things a bit for you, I would recommend that you take just a bit of time to learn how to find a suitable mattress. This means I would advise that the first place to start your research is reading the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read arepost #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).

While again nobody can speak to how any specific mattress will “feel” for someone else or whether it will be a good “match” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress … outside of PPP (which is the most important part of “value”), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new so I would always make sure that you find out the information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.

Aside from this if you are in a “hurry”… in its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …

  1. Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.

  2. Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.

  3. Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.

You are correct that reading product reviews can lead to even more confusion. Buying a product based upon someone else’s opinion, satisfaction, or “review”, no matter how well intentioned, is the least reliable way to determine the quality and potential appropriateness of a product for your particular needs. And while other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be very helpful, I would always keep in mind that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and I would be cautious about using anyone else’s suggestions, experiences or reviews on a specific mattress (either positive or negative) or review sites in general as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you.

Without your careful testing and understanding or your needs and preferences, unfortunately neither I or anyone else has a crystal ball that can predict which specific mattress or combination of materials and components you will like best or that you will sleep best on with any certainty based on specs or “theory at a distance” and I would be very skeptical of anyone who claims that they do. In the end it really comes down to learning about the componentry within a mattress and then making sure to find something that suits your comfort preferences but uses these good quality materials. Nothing can replace your own personal testing.

I am sorry to hear about your disc and sleep apnea issues. As you do have some very specific health considerations, nothing can replace your own personal testing. You’d obviously want to consider something that allows for enough surface comfort, and also assists with pressure point relief, while still overall being resilient enough and provide enough support while sleeping. Overall, the two basic functions of a mattress are to support and to provide comfort (you can read more about the basic functions of a mattress here ), with posture and alignment being the first priority and then comfort/ pressure relief “plushness” coming second.

Once you had a chance to go through these readings and perhaps do some local testing to understand a bit more about mattresses in context to your own needs and preferences and if you have more specific questions on a product I will do my best to help out

Phoenix