Help with mattress options

[phoenix]

Hi Michael90,

Many of your questions about whether a specific mattress or a mattress/topper combination would be a good match for you can only be answered based on your own actual testing and/or sleeping experience rather than by theory.

If you do decide to start over again with a new mattress … and just in case you haven’t read it already … I would make sure you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and hopefully avoid the major brands such as Stearns & Foster for your next purchase.

A lot of my problem comes from liking something in the showroom after testing for 15 mins a side, and then still not knowing how that translates to the overnight back pain results.

I’ll begin with stats: 158 lbs… 6’0 tall… back and side/stomach positions (blend of side and stomach, legs in figure four position).
Now on to the experiments.

Unfortunately there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to predict which mattress is the best match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or theory at a distance (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

While nothing is 100% perfect or guaranteed … in most cases and for most people the most reliable way to choose a mattress is based on your own careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post which will usually come closest to predicting your actual sleeping experience than anything else (see post #4 here).

There is also more about the different ways to choose a mattress and the risks involved in each of them in post #2 here.

If you aren’t confident that your testing would be a reliable way to predict your actual sleeping experience in “real life” though then the options you have after a purchase to either make changes to the mattress or to exchange or return it and the costs involved (just in case your sleeping experience indicates that your choice wasn’t as suitable for your body type and sleeping positions as you hoped for) would probably need to be a much more important part of your personal value equation and the “value” of a mattress purchase.

Tried a 3" 3 lb memory foam topper and that improved things even more, though I was still upset that I was paying luxury prices for a bed that had a plush comfort layer and still required a topper just to wake up only a little stiff (not perfect). This was 90 days into it, plenty of time to “break in” if that’s even a thing for mattresses.

All mattresses will go through an initial break in period and there is also an initial adjustment period for any new mattress as well but this will generally be a month or less although in some cases it can take longer or shorter (see post #2 here)

Without testing the combination together in person before a purchase … choosing a topper that is a good match for both you and the mattress you are using it on can be almost as uncertain as choosing a mattress in the first place because the mattress under the topper can have a significant effect on the thickness and firmness of topper which would be the best match for you and there are hundreds of toppers that can be very different from each other even if they use the same material. Once again … if you aren’t confident that a specific topper will work well for you in combination with your specific mattress then the return or exchange options would become a much more important part of the value" of a topper purchase. Post #2 here and the topper guidelines it links to have more information about choosing a topper that can help you use your sleeping experience as a reference point and guideline to choose the type, thickness, and firmness of a topper that has the best chance of success and links to a list of the better topper sources I’m aware of as well.

Consumer Reports led me to the Costco/Novaform Serafina memory foam mattress bc of very good side and back and longevity characteristics. The first night, it was almost unbearably firm. After 20 days, it’s become a bit softer, but there are times when I wake up and my arms are numb due to pressure points. And I wake up pretty stiff (back pain). I feel I’m conforming to the bed more than I should - my shoulders feel pushed up too much instead of sinking in when on my side. I don’t know if the 3lb on 5lb layers are just too low density or what to do there.

You can see my thoughts about Consumer Reports in post #2 here and this topic. I would consider them to be a very unreliable source of good mattress advice.

There is also more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that can help you make more meaningful comparisons between mattresses.

My next plan was to scrap the perfect comfort idea and just get an innerspring that was firm enough to support my spine and add a topper for comfort. The topper I would try would be a 3" 4lb (I assume an improvement over my decent experience with the 3lb). The mattress would be from The Original Mattress Factory. They were a pleasant experience for shopping. I felt the associate was pushing me toward proper spinal alignment and not the super expensive models.

You can see my thoughts about buying a mattress/topper combination in post #2 here. If you can test the combination in person then this can be a good strategy because the upper layers of a sleeping system are usually the weakest link and if this is a separate topper then when it softens or breaks down sooner than the mattress underneath it then you can just replace the topper without having to replace the entire mattress or sleeping system. When you can’t test the combination in person though then this can be a much more risky approach because there would be more variables and uncertainty involved than just buying a mattress that doesn’t need a topper.

My plan was to get the Serenity Latex bc I’ve been reading so many great things about latex. This was the first latex I’d come across, but in store I did not like the feel of it and it didn’t seem to support spinal alignment properly. I was hoping you could recommend a latex that I could try in the Atlanta area or an online store that has a good return policy in case it doesn’t work out.

The choice of materials in a mattress is always a personal preference and with each type of material you will find people who prefer it over anything else and you will find others that don’t like it at all. There is no better or worse here as long as you make sure that your mattress uses good quality and durable versions of any materials that you tend to prefer.

The tutorial post includes a link to a list of the members here that sell mattresses online (in the optional online step) and many of them make or sell latex mattresses that use different types and blends of latex and with a wide range of designs, firmness levels, options, price ranges, and return or exchange policies.

While I can’t recommend any specific mattresses (for all the reasons that were in the earlier post I linked) … the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Atlanta area (subject to the “value” guidelines I linked earlier) are listed in post #2 here. There are certainly enough latex options in the area that you would have the chance to test a wide variety of latex mattresses to see which ones you prefer … assuming that you like any of them at all.

But aside from that, their Orthopedic Adjustable mattress felt pretty good in store and seemed to give great spinal support on the side, though after return visits the associate said my spine looked straighter on the Orthopedic Extra Firm, and that Extra Firm model has less PU foam to wear out. Do you have experience with either of those two? They seem to be the best value innerspring options, though I’m terrified of going with them due to a no return policy.

Again … only your own testing or experience can know whether any mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP but I can certainly make some comments about the quality and durability of the materials. If you can provide the information in this article about any of their mattresses (or any mattress) you are considering there then I’d be happy to make some comments about the quality of the materials inside it and let you know if I can see any obvious weak links in their design.

Phoenix