Hi vkolli,
While 10sChick’s suggestions are definitely worth trying … I would also keep in mind that the Tuft & Needle mattress isn’t memory foam so it may have a slightly different effect on materials that aren’t temperature sensitive.
There are also some suggestions in post #4 here that may be helpful as well.
Phoenix
When I look at the mat I bought from IKEA, it’s not particularly thick (2mm?). Remember it has to be p[iable enough to easily wrap around the bed edges, so check that it bends easily. You wouldn’t want it to be rubber car floor mat stiff, for instance. This mat of mine is really 1mm of flexible rubber backing behind 1-2mm of dense flat woven wool. It still provides a lot of lower back support because it doesn’t give much when tightly wrapped around the bed (compared to the mattress)…
I looked on the Ikea website and could not find anything to resemble what you describe as a mat that goes across the bed for support. Can you provide a link to this product? Thanks!
It’s a floor mat. Here’s the link to the item we bought:
Been having some of the same problems as other people on this forum. Just switch to a tempurpedic mattress about two months ago, and since then I’ve been having major back issues. I’ve also woken up with a stiff neck twice. Two questions:
If you go with the runner, as was suggested in previous posts here, what’s the best type of mattress pad to get to go with it?
Also, would a bed board work to firm up the bed?
Thanks!
Hi yaron,
While you haven’t provided much in the way of specific “symptoms” you are experiencing or the location of your back pain or any specifics about you or which mattress you are sleeping on … it’s not really possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because there are too many unique unknowns and variables involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, PRessure relief, or your Personal preferences) or any “symptoms” they experience … there is more about the most common symptoms that people may experience when they sleep on a mattress and the most likely (although not the only) reasons for them in post #2 here.
There is also more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”.
These posts are the “tools” that can help with the analysis, detective work, or trial and error that may be necessary to help you learn your body’s language and “translate” what your body is trying to tell you so you can make the types of changes that have the best chance of reducing or eliminating any “symptoms” you are experiencing.
The type of mattress pad or topper that you may wish to add would would be a preference choice rather than a “better/worse” choice so there isn’t a “best” choice … only a choice that is “best for you”. It would depend on how much additional softness and pressure relief you would need and on the types of materials that you tend to prefer. You can read a little more about fiberbeds or down alternative mattress pads (which use polyester fibers) in post #2 here and post #10 here but the only way to know whether any potential solution will work well for you in combination with your mattress will be based on your own personal experience.
I’m not sure what you are referring to by a “bed board” … could you provide a link?
If you are referring to something like this then it would depend on how the bed board compares to the current support system you are using under the mattress. If you are using a Tempurpedic foundation then it would probably make no difference since your foundation would already be a solid surface non flexing support system that doesn’t need anything else to prevent any flexing or sagging under the mattress.
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The issues you are having with a stiff neck could also be a pillow issue and you may need a thicker or thinner pillow to keep your head and neck in good alignment.
Phoenix
Yaron,
So sorry you are in pain. Reading your post reminds me of the struggle we had. My suggestion would be to do some low cost trial and error. Put the runner on by itself first with just the fitted sheet over it. (Even Home Depot sells runner mats by the foot, so make sure it’s long enough to wrap around the bed and tuck underneath). Play around with the position of the runner on the bed until you find it supports the area that is sinking. Try a short nap on it and see how it feels. One of the other people on this thread didn’t need to do anything more. If you do feel it’s too firm lying straight on top of the runner, then buy a couple of thin toppers to try. You are just trying to not feel the runner, not add another soft spongy layer that will cause it’s own back pain. Most of them are sold in plastic, so you can lay on them carefully to see if they work for you. If not, reroll in the plastic and return the pad. Hopefully one of these combinations will put you in “the Goldilocks zone”!!!
PS: I’m not familiar with a bed board or how that works. If it’s something that goes under the mattress, I doubt it will help.
Good morning, everyone. I just awoke from the first full night’s sleep I’ve had in months, thanks to this The Mattress Underground! As yet another person who bought a too-soft memory foam mattress, a year or so ago, I’d suffered many nights of fitful nights of changing position every few minutes in order to escape my back pain and get some sleep.
Thank goodness I found this board! Here’s what I did. Because getting to my local IKEA is kind of a pain, I went to Home Depot instead. They had a large assortment of recycled rubber door mats. The one thing that concerned me about the Lynas was that it was so lightweight it had to be strapped in to place. I decided to get a heavier mat so that it would be more likely to stay in place and also would provide a thicker barrier against the summer heat that builds up in memory foam.
The one I bought worked! It’s 23 x 35" and cost $19.97. It’s heavy, but I hauled it upstairs to my bedroom. Yes, there were cheaper mats, but they were lighter weight and would have shifted around too easily on my bed. This one does not move at all. (I’m a female, 5’9" and 150 lbs.)
Very very very very happy with this purchase! Thank you, everyone.
Kait!!! Yayyyy! So glad you found this site and it was a successful fix for you. Smart about getting the heavier mat. Ours does shift over time and has to be “readjusted” on occasion. So thanks for sharing your story and the improvement. It is amazing how such a cheap fix can solve a problem on these expensive mattresses.
Hi Kait,
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience and suggestion to the topic as well … I appreciate it 
It’s great to hear that you are sleeping better!
Phoenix
That’s great Kait and thanks everyone for the advice but i’m sad to say that i’m still struggling with back pains each and every morning from my 12" memory foam mattress. I actually went to IKEA and got the exact Lynas door mat that was mentioned earlier. I followed the exact directions on where to place it and how to tie it up. However, it hasn’t helped me a bit… Is your door mat from Home Depot much thicker than IKEA’s? Maybe that’s what I have to try next. When I lay flat on my back is when it hurts the most. BTW…I have this mattress Signature-Sleep-Memoir-12-Memory-Foam-Mattress
Hi iceman157,
I’m sorry to hear that the floor mat suggestion didn’t work for you as well as it has for some of the other members in this topic.
I don’t know which specific door mat that Kait used and hopefully she will see your post and let you know but a rubber door mat would probably be thicker and less flexible than the Ikea floor runner that 10sChick used.
The only rubber mats that they show on their website that are 23" x 35" and are close to the $19.97 price she mentioned (they are listed at $20.97) are listed on the first page here.
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“Fixing” a mattress that is too soft can be very difficult and a solution that works for some people may not work for others so the only way to really know whether the rubber mat will work for you on your mattress will be to try it.
There are also some suggestions in post #4 here that may also be helpful if the rubber mat also doesn’t work for you.
I don’t know how long you have owned your mattress or where you purchased it but if you purchased it from WalMart (or if you purchased it somewhere else and you are still inside a trial period) you may be able to return it and purchase a mattress that is a better “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) which may be an even better solution than trying to “fix” your mattress.
Phoenix
Once you put that mat on, what type of cover did you buy? I have a 14 year old mattress and i twisted my sacrum recently and have been sleeping on the couch for 2.5 months because I can’t sleep on my Tempur Pedic. I really can’t afford to get a new mattress right now, so I would love a solution to sleep on the one I have just a little bit longer.
Thanks, Sarah
Hi BluTopaz,
You can see the specifics of how 10sChick used the floor runner in post #5 here and a search on her posts (you can just click the link) will bring up some of her additional comments as well. Basically she used the floor mat under a topper and then used a sheet on top of the topper.
I’m guessing that you are asking about a mattress protector that is used over a mattress or a mattress/topper combination (vs a mattress cover which is part of the mattress itself). If this is the case then post #89 here and the posts it links to has more information about the pros and cons of different types of mattress protectors and some good sources for each of them that should be helpful.
Phoenix