Hi TMU! I am on the hunt for a new mattress and I have learned so much from this website and all of your posts. Bravo for all the work you put in, Phoenix, and for all of the knowledge that exists here. I don’t know where I would be without it! (Well, I do, actually - in more back pain probably but a couple thousand dollars poorer with a large mattress-shaped paperweight in my house).
This post is long with details, so I’ll just sum up my question here.
QUESTION 1: is there any pattern you see in the feels of the mattresses I like vs. alignment I need? I can’t see the pattern yet. I’m also wondering if sometimes you just have to give up the soft comfort your body likes in the name of alignment?
QUESTION 2: I assume that given my body type and needs, I’ll most likely need a mattress with a thick, soft comfort layer, a middle transition layer (like a medium latex), and a firm support on the bottom to keep strong alignment but also get the “cushy” feel as a multi-position sleeper. Is this right?
I could really use some help / guidance. I’m 5’6, 125 pounds and I am a (trying to be reformed) stomach sleeper, but also back and side. Most days I believe I wake up on my side, but when I have a firmer mattress, I usually wake up on my stomach. I read the materials and it said that when there are multiple sleeping positions, it’s good to have a middle transition layer, which makes sense to me.
I have an old pillowtop mattress that actually was so comfortable (15+ years with it), but I’m now getting back pain from it. My neck hurts too, but I think that’s a separate issue. What’s interesting is that I can fall asleep beautifully and stay asleep, but I wake up and my back hurts. I think it’s because the mattress has worn out - there are definitely grooves in it) and my back is cradling into the dip. I tried an experiment: sleeping on the floor on a cushy 1" thick foam yoga mat. I cannot even sleep on my side with the mat, because I have an 11" difference between my bust/hips and my waist. My hips dig into the floor way too much so the only option is back sleeping. When I wake in the morning, no back / neck pain! However, I don’t sleep well on the floor because I keep waking up at night, I assume because of pressure points on my hips. LOL.
I am looking for a mattress that is either all latex, latex + spring hybrid, or minicoil + springs. I’ve mostly tried mattresses in the first and category, but am getting confused. One of the things that’s hard is that I can’t really tell much of a difference between some mattresses (ie, “plush coil” vs. “firm coil”), and the salesperson said that was because of my weight (not sinking in enough).
I am also having trouble understanding if I am “in alignment” or not. My BF came with me and brought a straight edge to look at whether my spine was in a straight line when I’m side sleeping but didn’t seem to see much of a difference with most brands. Some he did point out were misaligned. (One question I did have: I read the tutorial on how to figure out support, but how do you figure out alignment when you’re on your back or stomach if generally your body takes time to build up pain? Ie, it wouldn’t be observable in a short time in store?)
Back to mattresses: I think I need a good support layer because of the back pain I have now, but I LOVE a cushy, soft feel. I’ve been to a couple stores so far, and my top mattresses are:
Best Mattress (good alignment, comfy)
Naturepedic Halcyon Arcadia (quilt with alpaca wool + cashmere, 3" Dunlop latex, 3" Dunlop latex, 6" coils) - I sank into this one and my body immediately relaxed, it is a cloud of luxury. This one was by far my favorite. BF looked at my spine and said there was back alignment. I was worried that this one would give me back pain somehow though bc it was so soft. I also know the top part is made out of natural fibers (alpaca wool, cashmere, etc) which I read pack down and don’t conform as well with time - the saleslady confirmed there is a 30% compaction. So it probably is better to have this layer as not a part of the mattress, but separate, right? So you can replace it when it packs down? Also, I think there might be something different about the coils in this version vs. the EOS versions below because the Halcyon coils only come in one firmness and are shorter.
Naturepedic EOS pillowtop (quilt with cotton+wool+PLA, 3" Dunlop latex, 3" Dunlop latex, 8" pocket coils) - I tried soft latex, medium coils and soft latex, plush coils and couldn’t really tell a difference (both felt nice). BF said there was definitely misalignment with soft latex, plush coils, and a bit of misalignment with soft latex, medium coils (but not much).
Naturepedic EOS classic (3" Dunlop latex, 8" pocket coils) - I tried medium latex, firm coil, which was too firm and uncomfy. I liked soft latex, firm coil, BF said I was aligned. The salesperson then put a wool topper on it, which I really liked. It made me feel like maybe what I like about the $10k Halcyon Arcadia is the wool / cashmere top, but I don’t know.
Runners up (either I liked the feel but the alignment wasn’t good, or the alignment was good but I didn’t love the feel)
Diamond mattress, Ethos natural in plush feel. I think I was told this one was 100% talalay latex, but I looked it up and it is a hybrid with Talalay latex + coils. I liked this bed in terms of feel, was very springy and easy to roll around to different positions. But BF said I was really out of alignment on my side.
Churchill & Smith, natural euro in plush. 1″ wool, 3″ medium Talalay latex, coils. Liked this one too, but again, BF said I was out of alignment (slightly this time).
Saatva innerspring classic, plush soft. Memory foam, mini coils for comfort layer, coils for support layer. Liked this one (springy). Didn’t love the memory foam top though in terms of materials (would rather avoid this material if possible) - felt good though! Alignment was fine.
Saatva latex hybrid (one firmness). Dunlop latex + coils. Liked this one ok too, but wasn’t overjoyed with it. Alignment was fine.
Worst (did not like the feel)
Naturepedic all Dunlop latex mattress - didn’t like the “dead” feeling on this one.
Saatva Zenhaven. Didn’t like the all Dunlop latex mattress, too firm on both sides and also “dead” feeling.
To re-iterate the questions:
QUESTION 1: is there any pattern you see in the feels of the mattresses I like vs. alignment I need? I can’t see the pattern yet. I’m also wondering if sometimes you just have to give up the soft comfort your body likes in the name of alignment?
QUESTION 2: I assume that I’ll most likely need a mattress with a thick, soft comfort layer, a middle transition layer (like a medium latex), and a firm support on the bottom to keep strong alignment but also get the “cushy” feel as a multi-position sleeper. Is this right? Or is it not that black and white?
(As an aside: I’m going through the list of LA manufacturers one by one that Phoenix posted as well. If I get organized enough, I’ll try to update with my findings of who is still in business and can allow people to try mattresses in person.)
Although at your weight, sinking in is harder than it may be for a heavier sleeper, so you may be facing sort of a “reverse” problem in that you’re not sinking into your comfort layers enough.