Hello,
I’m new to the site after luckily stumbling upon it while looking for mattresses information. I’ve spent the past week reading as much as I can. What an amazing wealth of knowledge! Thank you to all that contribute to this site! I have learnt a lot, although not quite enough, so I would continue reading and learning, but giving the nature of my specific situation, I thought that it could be more hopefully getting some answers from the experts members of this forum.
My previous experience with coil mattresses with low quality components and with memory foam mattresses together with what I’ve learnt so far, led me to explore all latex mattresses. And since getting the right PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) takes some time and some trial and error, I feel that maybe going the DIY rout will not only be the best immediate solution but also the best for long term satisfaction.
For some background information, I’m 52, 5’ 9", 182 lbs, average built, shoulders somewhat wither then hips, mostly side sleeper, occasionally on my stomach, almost never on my back.
From 2016 to 2020 I slept on a Zinus 10" mattress, componentry top-bottom, 2" Viscoflex, 1"memory foam, 2" high density foam, 5" high density base support foam. It was not the best sleep ever, but not a bad one either, especially in comparison to my previous coil mattress (can’t remember brand/model, but it was a high end model for which we paid a lot of money) in which I experience the hammock effect in any sleep position for the longest time.
During the first 3 years the Zinus mattress did not feel as hot as I thought it would (based on what I had read about memory foam mattresses) and it was comfortable, I can’t say for sure if it provided proper spinal alignment, but I did not have any pains or big discomfort. Eventually by the 4th year of usage, I started to sink in to the mattress more than I would like to. Coincidentally, by then I needed to change my king size bed for a queen. Not having the time to research about mattresses, I thought that the safest bet would be to buy the same Zinus mattress model which would at least serve me well for 3 or 4 years, which it was not that bad for the price. Unfortunately they did not have that mattress on a queen size.
I started looking at other Zinus’s models, but nothing seemed to be a good option, so I looked for other brands and I found a mattress that seemed to have reviews that were similar to the ones written for my Zinus mattress. So I took the risk and I purchase a Novilla Bliss 10" Gel Memory, componentry top-bottom, 2" gel-infused memory foam, 2" air flow comfort foam, 3" air circulation foam, 3" supportive high density memory foam. Unfortunately, in a matter of month the Novilla started to sag, and it was very uncomfortable to sleep on it, still not having the time to get knowledge to make an informed mattress purchase, I decided to put a band aid on it and use a 3" Tempurpedic topper that I have in the guestroom, this make things slighter better, but I was still sinking into the mattress and the topper felt hot.
Because it felt like I was thinking through the topper, to test the topper by itself, one night I slept on the topper placed on the floor, which confirmed that I was indeed thinking through the topper.
So then I thought, OK the floor is too hard and the top layers of the mattress are too soft, how about if I flip the mattress and put the topper on top? That way I would have the topper as my comfort layer and the high density foam right under it as my support layer. So I set it up and since the topper didn’t seem to offer sufficient cushioning and it was hot, I also added a Wamsutta Dream Zone mattress pad on top.
While this set up is definitely and improvement, it is also far from the ideal mattress for my PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). It still hot to sleep on it, I toss and turn frequently during the night, and although I don’t have any specific aches, I woke up unrested and with a general muscles discomfort/pain in my upper body.
Since I did not want to purchase a DIY latex mattress solely based on information learnt on the forum, to test how latex feels, I visited City Mattress to take a look at the PranaSleep models, I did not lay on any of them for too long because I saw samples of the componentry and even on the most expensive models like the OM, the quilted top is not made with latex, so I’m concern about the durability of that component.
Then I found Mattress Xperts that sells Pure Talalay Bliss, and based on my research I thought that the Beautiful could be too soft for me and hammock, and the Pamper would be too hard, so I went straight to try the Nutrition and the Nature, I laid for 15 minutes on each of them, one on my right side and the other one on my left side, and unfortunately to my surprise and disappointment both of them caused shoulder pain like I’ve never experienced before in any mattress. I roam around the store for a while hopping that the shoulder pain would go away so I could try the Beautiful or something else, but after ½ an hour the pain and discomfort in my shoulder and neck was still there, so I laid on the Beautiful in my back for 5 minutes, and although I wouldn’t say it hammocks, I definitely felt my butt sinking.
I would appreciated if anyone can let me know if there are other places to go to try a latex mattress near me, my zip code is 33432.
Based on research, reviews and comments regarding the Pure Talalay Bliss Beautiful, Nature and Nutrition, I thought I was on the right track and I was hopeful that any of this mattresses would be a match for my PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences), so then I could purchase “similar” components to DIY a mattress that would feel “similar” to the one in the store. But after my experience at the mattress store I’m very frustrated and confuse.
The sales associate gave me the specs for each mattress, but I think they may be for older models, this is based on the fact that the paper says Pure Latex Bliss instead of Pure Talalay Bliss and also instead of ActiveFusion Fast Natural Talalay for the confort layer it just says Natural Talalay Latex. As an example for the Pamper it says:
PBL- Pamper
450-480 Gram Weight Fabric
LatexBliss Milliken Paladin Fire Resistant Barrier
1" Natural Talalay Latex 19 ILD
6" Natural Talalay Latex Support Core 40 ILD
1" Support Stabilization Base Extra Firm Talalay Latex
8" Mattress Height
In contrast here if what I found on this forum https://mattressunderground.com/talk-to-the-experts/sleep-ez/22711-latex-layering-strategy
It would be great if a MUF expert can post the current specs for all the Pure Talalay Bliss models, so it is available for the lucky ones that find that any of this mattresses matches their PPP and would like to go the DIY rout.
On a site note, I emailed Pure Talalay Bliss inquiring about the specs for each models, and they reply “Thank you for contacting us. We do not provide the ILD’s of the mattresses listed below, but you can go to the Pure Talalay Bliss products page and click on each mattress to see what the layers are in each mattress without the ILD.”
Back to my mattress hunt, I would also consider a hybrid rather than an all latex mattress, but based on all that I have read so far, I’m not sure if one vs the other will have any significant impact in achieving a match for my PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences). It seems that it is all about getting the “right” layers combination regardless of whether the support layer is made out of coils or latex. If my assumption correct?
Assuming that my assumption is right, I would rather go with an all latex mattress based on the fact that it would be easier to maneuver the mattress components by myself. Handling the coil layer of a queen size matters will be a hustle. However, it’s easier to deal with split latex layers that are manageable in both weight and size.
I’m trying to stay positive and hopeful that I can find the right components combination that matches my PPP, but so far this seems to be one of those tricky ones in which a mattress either feels too soft or too hard for me. Given that, should I be considering trying to train myself to sleep on my back? It seems to be the best position to sleep in, except that I snore, so I don’t know if sleeping on my back could make this worse. I tried last night using pillows by my side to elevate my arms so that I would let me shoulders and my neck rest (I was still feeling discomfort from the mattresses testing yesterday morning) , I slept through the night and my shoulders were fine this morning, but my upper back muscles hurt a lot. But I’m thinking that maybe a different mattress for back sleepers could be the answer to my dilemma. Although with the luck I’ve had so far, finding a mattress for back sleepers that matches my PPP may turn out difficult as well.
Thank you in advance for any help and advice.
! Thanks for your question.
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