How to look for and find the best mattress ... for YOU! ***READ FIRST***

Sorry Phoenix I just noticed that you have already provided options available in Erie, PA area.

Thanks! a bunch.

WOW! There is a lot of stuff to read and digest! Of course, I found this site 18 months too late, after I had already purchased the ā€œlast mattress I will ever buy.ā€ I thought I had shopped around smartly, and ended up with a Serta foam/conventional mattress that was very expensive. I have been in several accidents, and have chronic back pain, and, since one of the accidents, have had shoulder pain, as well. The doctors tell me itā€™s arthritis. Anyway, what I have noted is that my shoulders seem to like a softer mattress, so that there isnā€™t so-much pressure, but my mid section needs firm support. (Iā€™m a side sleeper due to the back problem.) Is there such a mattress, with different firmness zones? I have been, and still am, on a mission to shore up the bed and mattress. Started with plywood on top of the metal frame. It sagged, so I bought a new foundation. (They used to call them box springs, but my Serta has box springs built-in. Itā€™s about 14" thick, which is twice the size of my old mattress.) Still sags. Today, I found out my frame lacks a middle rail, which I ordered. I have been considering bed boards, to put between the mattress and the foundation. (We used to use them back in the day.) But all the ones I find are not large enough to cover the entire foundation. You need 2 or 3 of them. Well, if they arenā€™t one piece, it seems to me they will still have a weak point at the place where they meet, which could cause them to sag. Maybe I need another piece of plywood, but I donā€™t have a truck to get it home. I have also discovered that most mattresses and box springs now-a-days are made to be flexible, so they can be used on adjustable bed frames, like the ones they used to use only in hospitals. I can certainly understand why people would want them for their homes. I suspect Iā€™ll probably end up with one some day, but they are expensive. As a result, mattresses tend to flex and give more then they used to. If I had known this when I bought the thing, I would have asked for one with a rigid wood frame around it, like mattresses used to have.

When shopping for the mattress, of course, I laid on nearly every item in the stores I visited. The one I bought seemed to me to be the most comfortable. It is plush with a euro top, whatever all that means. The problem is, there is a big difference between lying on a mattress for 10 minutes, and sleeping on one for 8 hours. But, for the first 6 weeks or so, I was so in love with this mattress. My pains were greatly reduced. I even stopped in the store to tell the salesperson what a great product it was. But then the sagging started, and now, I wake up with great pain, and itā€™s not just my lower back anymore, but, for the past couple of weeks, my left hip and down into the leg. And my next chiropractor visit isnā€™t until Nov. 11. So Iā€™ve been working out and trying to live up to my name by spending lots of time in the hot tub.

It is impossible for you to tell anyone what is right for that person, because there are simply too-many variables. I understand that. At one point 15 years ago, a chiropractor prescribed a Sleep-Number bed, and got the insurance company to pay for it. I thought that was the answer for awhile, but gradually, I found I was lowering the number over time, and then the bed started to sag in the middle, as my body pushed all the air to the outside. Select Comfortā€™s answer was to let out all the air, then fill it all the way up, and then lower it to my setting. That would work for a week or 2, but I got tired of that noise, so I sold the thing to someone else, and bought the current Serta.

It seems, no matter what I do, I canā€™t get away from sagging. Maybe you have some words of wisdom. And maybe I need a firm mattress, even though I find a soft one more comfortable. The doctors and chiropractors arenā€™t much help. They say ā€œBuy the one that you find to be the most comfortable for you.ā€ Well, thatā€™s what Iā€™ve been doing! DUH! I mean, does anyone really go into a store and say ā€œI want an uncomfortable mattress?ā€ Every time I laid on a Tempur, I found it to be too hard, but now Iā€™m wonering if that isnā€™t what I should have gotten. This journey is just too frustrating for this old man.

Hi Hottubjoe,

I switched your post to a new topic of itā€™s own because the topic you posted in is a more general topic.

Yes ā€¦ there are many zoned mattresses of all types (most commonly in latex and innersprings) that have different firmness levels under different parts of the body in either the comfort or support layers. There is more information about zoning in this article and in post #11 here and post #2 here but the best way to know whether any specific zoning configuration is suitable for you would be based on your own personal testing or experience.

The difference between a foundation and a box spring is that box springs have actual springs that flex and foundations have a more rigid non flexing support surface. Most mattresses sold today have a foundation that donā€™t have springs inside them. Any springs inside your mattress are part of the mattress itself and arenā€™t a foundation or a box spring.

There is more information in post #4 here that may be helpful if your mattress is either too soft or is sagging but ā€œfixingā€ a mattress that is sagging or a mattress that is was too soft in the first place is much more difficult than softening a mattress that is too firm because you may need to replace the top layers that are sagging rather than adding something over them or changing the support system underneath them. If your original support system already had little to no flex then itā€™s unlikely that changing the foundation or using plywood over a foundation that already has very little flex would make much difference and if the plywood didnā€™t work then other foundations with a solid non flexing surface such as a bunkie board/bed board would be unlikely to work either. There is also more information about the different types of support systems that are generally suitable for different types of mattresses in post #1 here and the two posts it links to in the second paragraph.

If your bedframe is a queen size or larger and lacks a center support rail then there are some suggestions in post #5 here that may be helpful as well.

This would depend on the type of mattress you are considering because there is a difference between a mattress that flexes under the person sleeping on it and a mattress that can bend under an adjustable bed. Most foam mattresses and many innerspring mattresses (pocket coils especially) are flexible enough to be used on an adjustable bed but there are also many innerspring mattresses that can be damaged if they are used on an adjustable bed and bend too much so it would depend on the specifics of the mattress you are looking at.

While itā€™s certainly true that testing a mattress for 10 minutes can be different from sleeping on it ā€¦ if you do some careful and objective testing for PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post rather than just testing for a subjective sense of ā€œcomfortā€ or the ā€œshowroom feelā€ of a mattress then the odds are much higher that your testing will usually be an effective way to predict your sleeping experience (see post #4 here.

There is always a break in and adjustment period for any new mattress (see post #3 here) but it sounds like your mattress was already ā€œon the edgeā€ of being too soft for you and that the initial break in and adjustment period probably took you ā€œover the edgeā€ of the firmness range that was suitable for you (see post #2 here).

You can see my comments about airbeds in this article and I agree with you that for most people they wouldnā€™t be the ideal choice.

You may need both a firmer mattress in the support layers for better support/alignment and a little firmer or thinner comfort layers that are also more inside the range that is suitable for you. There is more about primary and secondary support and their relationship to pressure relief in Post #2 here and post #4 here that may be helpful in understanding what ā€œgood supportā€ really means. As I mentioned in the previous links ā€¦ testing for ā€œsubjective comfortā€ in the managed environment of most mainstream mattress showrooms can have lower odds of success than random chance alone but with more careful testing your odds of finding a mattress that is a much better match for you in terms of PPP is much higher.

I didnā€™t see any specific questions in your post so hopefully some of the information here has been helpful but if you do have any more specific questions that I can help with Iā€™d be happy to do so to the best of my ability.

Phoenix

:slight_smile:

Thanks for this great guide! Iā€™m trying to find a healthy and affordable twin for my toddler. Looking at spindle for a natural latex or cotton from maine bunk beds. There is so much info out there and many fakersā€¦ itā€™s very over whelming.

Hi SukiSimpson,

Welcome ā€¦ and Iā€™m glad you found us :slight_smile:

Post #2 here includes links to most of the better topics and forum posts about mattresses and children and include more information about many good options for children (including Spindle which would certainly make a good choice).

Phoenix

Hi, Phoenix,

You site is so great that I believe that many many people had been and would be helped by you, thatā€™s your honor.

I come from China, and I have a site too that offer the best silk comforters or silk quilts online.

It just begin, there are a lot of work to do, but I hope people will like it.

By the way, I am not very good at English, especially at writing English, I am studying it hard. There must be many mistakes, help me please.

good day

Hi ramber,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum!.

I removed your link because the rules of the forum donā€™t allow any advertising or self promotional links to your own site.

Phoenix

Hi, Phoenix, it doesnā€™t matter, :wink:

First off, love the site. Very informative. I had been emailing Jeff Scheuer from the Beducation YouTube videos and he steered me to this site. Very honest and knowledgeable guy by the way. Buy anyhow, I live in the Louisville Ky area and was wondering if you know of any good retailers or manufacturers in my area. I know about Bowles and Bragada. Have never laid on either. I have looked at the main brands (sealy, serta, tempurpedic etc) and some other brands such as Ashley and Denver mattress (furniture row). Any help you can give would be great. Not real high on the all foam beds. have found they are usually too firm or too soft. Have found that i tend to lean towards the so-called hybrid mattresses. Have found them to be the most comfortable to myself as well as my wife. Also plan on purchasing an adjustable base. Any help there would also be appreciated. One more note, have you had any experience with the site mattressquote.com?

Hi WILDCATSWON1,

As you may know I think very highly of Mattress-to-go and Jeff and he is one of the most knowledgeable retailers in the industry (see the first part of post #4 here).

The better options or possibilities Iā€™m aware of in and around the Louisville area (subject to the ā€œvalueā€ guidelines here) are listed in post #3 here.

I donā€™t have any personal experience with them no but they appear to focused on finding ā€œbest priceā€ quotes for many of the major brands or mainstream mattresses which are carried in a large number of stores and which I would tend to avoid anyway (see the guidelines here). While this could work well for mainstream brands ā€¦ most of the better quality/value mattresses are only available locally or regionally and donā€™t have a large number of retailers that carry them that would be registered on the site. In the case of factory direct manufacturers they would only be available at a specific location or at company stores.

Phoenix

Hello Phoenix/All,

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all of the information that you have here. This coupled with sleeplikethedead.com has been a huge help in understanding what I want.

Iā€™ve needed a new mattress for about 2 years, and it has finally come time to get one. I think I have most of what I want figured out, but Iā€™d like to ask a few more questions before I pull the trigger.

Iā€™ve gotten as far as deciding that I think I want a memory foam mattress. I am only 26, but have multiple issues in my upper and lower back, to include a bulging disc in my lower back. I used to enjoy sleeping, but for the past probably about 5 years, I havenā€™t at all, and I have a feeling it is because I cannot get the alignment nor support that I need when I am sleeping. I can sleep for 10 hours and wake up feeling like I did before I went to sleep. I have laid on various memory foam mattresses (although havenā€™t slept a full night) and they immediately feel comfortable to me. Also, everyone I know who has one (aside from 1 friend who accidentally bought the incorrect firmness) absolutely loves them.

I already know as much to stay away from the ultra premium retailers, such as tempur pedic, which I am good with as I usually donā€™t agree with charging and exorbitant amount for items that can be made of the same quality for a lot less. My concern is that I feel like I am overwhelmed with information and there are so many different options, I donā€™t even know where to start with narrowing all of them down.

I know there is no way you can recommend one single brand or specific mattress, but I am wondering, with your expertise, if you could help me narrow it down some.

This is what I think I know so far;

  1. I am an extremely warm sleeper, and I hear memory foam is extremely warm. Whatever I get HAS to have some kind of heat dissipation assistance. From what I understand, they use some form of gel infusion? Iā€™ve noticed not all mem foam mattresses have that. This is probably one of the most important factors because I cannot sleep when I am hot. I can be in shorts under a light sheet, and my girlfriend has to be be bundled up under a blanket and 2 comforters, and I am still too warm sometimes. Is there any specific retailer that you have seen that excelā€™s in this area?

  2. I am a side sleeper 80-90% of the time, but would like to be able to sleep on my back as I know that is the most neutral position you can be. From what I gather from this, it seems I need a medium to medium-firm mattress, is that correct?

  3. Iā€™ve seen mem foam mattresses advertised as being able to alter the layers, or rather, switch them around. This seems like it would be an ineffective thing to have as I would assume that the central and lower layers would be quite a bit more firm, but I really donā€™t know. Is having a mattress that I can rearrange the layers something you suggest? I would rather be able to just set it up and forget about it. Iā€™m terrible about being able to decide what I want, and it will probably just drive me crazy.

  4. I donā€™t mind purchasing from an online retailer, and honestly may even prefer it due to the various ways I can pay for it. In the past when I looked, I had it down to bed in a box and Brooklyn bedding. Would you recommend one over the other, or would you have any otherā€™s you would recommend?

  5. In the past, I have read that a general rule of thumb is that the higher the density, the higher the qualityā€¦ so in theory, try to stay away from <3 lb. memory foam mattresses, so I planned on not going anything lower than 3.5-4. Is this kind of a standard rule to go by?

  6. My budget for this bed is about $2,000, and I am hoping that I can get the mattress, the base, a really good waterproof cover, and possibly a really good memory foam pillow. Based off of this, do you think I am in the ballpark that I can get something of decent quality? Would it make a huge difference if I lowered my expectations slightly and raised my budget to, say, $2,500? I know in the industry I work in, changing the purchase price by just a little can make a huge difference in what you can get in the end.

I know I will have more questions, but I hope I am not asking too much at this point. Thank you so much for your help!

Robert

Hi Taco Shop,

I switched your post to a topic of your own so your questions donā€™t get buried in a more general topic.

Hopefully youā€™ve had a chance to read the mattress shopping tutorial which is the first post in the topic you originally posted in and has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice ā€¦ and know how and why to avoid the worst ones. Your best chance of success is to follow the steps and the information there one step at a time.

Memory foam (or gel memory foam) in general will tend to be warmer than other types of mattresses but there there is more information in post #6 here about some of the ways that can help cool down memory foam a little that can give you some sense of what to look for.

There are also no standardized firmness ratings between manufacturers so a mattress that is rated as ā€œmedium firmā€ with one manufacturer may be rated as a ā€œmediumā€ or a ā€œfirmā€ by another manufacturer. Firmness is also very subjective and relative to each person so what feels too soft for one person can feel too firm for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping positions, and preferences and sensitivities. The only way to know how firm or soft a mattress feels for you would be based on your own personal testing or sleeping experience regardless of how anyone else or any manufacturer may rate it. Only you can feel what you feel on a mattress (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). I would avoid trying to predict which firmness level will work best for you based on ā€œtheoryā€ and use your own personal testing and what your body tells you to make the best possible choice.

There is more about the most reliable ways to choose a mattress that is the most suitable "match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) either locally or online in post #2 here that can help you make the best possible choice and help you identify and minimize the risks involved in making a choice that turns out not to be as suitable as you hoped for.

In general a component memory foam mattress would allow you to rearrange either the memory foam layers (if there is more than one) or the deeper support and transition layers (which are usually polyfoam) so you could adjust either the comfort or the support of the mattress. It normally wouldnā€™t be a good idea to use the memory foam in the deeper layers or the polyfoam in the upper layers. They can be a good option for those who need to do some fine tuning to their mattress but for some people the process of rearranging the layers would be more uncertain or time consuming than they would prefer. A choice between a component mattress (which is much less common with memory foam mattresses than it is with latex) is really a part of your own personal value equation and there isnā€™t any ā€œbetter or worseā€ choice between them although based on your comments it sounds like your preferences would be a ā€œfinishedā€ mattress.

While itā€™s not really necessary to know this ā€¦ if you are interested there is more about primary or ā€œdeepā€ support and secondary or ā€œsurfaceā€ support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the ā€œrolesā€ 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 ā€œsupportā€ and ā€œpressure reliefā€ and ā€œfeelā€.

Brooklyn Bedding is a member of this site which means that I think very highly of them and I believe they compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency.

I would be very cautious with Bedinabox or any mattress that uses more than ā€œabout an inch or soā€ of lower density 3 lb memory foam. There are more comments about Bedinabox in post #2 here.

The tutorial post includes a link to the better online memory foam options Iā€™m aware of (in the optional online step) and if you let me know your city or zip code Iā€™d be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities Iā€™m aware of in your area.

The density of memory foam is the single biggest factor in its durability and higher density memory foams are more durable than lower density memory foams. Density has less to do with the properties of a memory foam material though and there is more about the many different properties of different types of memory foam in post #9 here and post #8 here.

You can see the foam density guidelines I would suggest in post #4 here and in general I would tend to avoid anything more than about an inch or so of memory foam that was less than about 4 lb density (not less than 3 lb density).

A $2000 budget certainly sounds reasonable to me and there are many good quality memory foam mattresses that are available in this budget range (although you didnā€™t mention the size you were looking for which can have a significant effect on the price of a mattress). You may also need a good foundation if you donā€™t have one that is suitable already. If you find and test a mattress in a little higher budget range and it is a significantly better match for you in terms of PPP compared to all the lower budget mattresses that you tried then I would certainly consider it but only if you can identify a specific reason that itā€™s better that would be enough to justify the higher cost.

Phoenix

Hello Phoenix and all. Itā€™s been almost a year since I purchased my Pure Bliss Latex ā€˜Beautifulā€™ mattress with an adjustable frame and I must say I sleep as well now as I did the first night. It did take a couple months to, ā€˜break inā€™ to the point I recall in the store model, (as far as softness), but still provides the needed support for my ā€˜badā€™ back. When Iā€™ve tweeked my back or over done it, I head to the bed for the support I need and rest to allow my back to recover, (which it does by the next morning). It still amazes me that I spent years on ā€˜Discountā€™ mattresses and paid a chiropractor big bucks to realign my back, when all I needed was a quality mattress fitted to my PPP. (I havenā€™t needed the chiropractor since getting the ā€˜Beautifulā€™)

 Thanks again for the information I needed to find the right mattress for me. 

  AND... for all those out there starting or in the process of finding their 'dream bed', IT CAN BE DONE! Don't let the amount of information given here to overwhelm you, because it is all accurate and complete. Take your time to 'understand' the information, and have patience when testing the beds you've narrowed your choices down to. (Be wary of salesmen that push to purchase before you've completed your evaluation, or use the line, "if you don't like it, we'll take it back").  You will find your dream bed as I have.

Hi mcvicker,

Thanks for taking the time to return and share your comments and feedback after a year ā€¦ it always great to read some longer term feedback and I appreciate it :slight_smile:

I also appreciate your encouragement to others that are still going through what can sometimes be a difficult and frustrating process!

Phoenix

I saw this thread and had to pop in to take a look. I havenā€™t been to Mattress Mart, but I have been to OMF and I like their ā€œChipotle-styleā€ approach to doing businessā€“build up the pieces parts the way you like them. Their choices arenā€™t overwhelming and the division between products is clear, and their pricing seems fair.

Iā€™m going to take a much closer look at their latex mattress, but I guess based on your narrative Iā€™ll head to Mattress Mart as well. Thanks for the tips.

Phoenix, you said something very important:

OMF has their latex mattress on both a standard box spring as well as on an adjustable base, and youā€™re 100% correctā€“they feel different, even with a quick check in the store.

(Do you give actual degrees for the graduate education you provide here? :wink: )

If anything, this is what turns me off of places like Mattress Mart. I donā€™t want to go in facing a used car deal and a two hour dance. Show me an honest price, and letā€™s be done with it.

For the record, right now OMF has their latex mattress, twin XL, on an S-Cape base (with wireless and massage!), for $2000. So a king is $4000. All with no wheeling and dealing and fake prices brought down by ā€œremoving the two $129 pillowsā€ (I swear, the Mattress Firm guy at the home and garden show was so slimy I had to take a shower when I left him).

Hi adam1991,

I couldnā€™t agree with you more and I would love to see an industry where ā€œnegotiationā€ didnā€™t play a role in how much you pay (or in most cases how much you overpay) for a mattress. While there are still many smaller local or regional manufacturers across the country that donā€™t play these games and have good value at their regular prices every day of the year and if they do have a sale it is with a more reasonable discount and for legitimate reasons (and OMF is one of these) ā€¦ it would really be a breath fresh air if the whole industry worked that way. One of the tipoffs for a store that uses these types of tactics is a retailer or even a factory direct manufacturer that carries many mainstream mattresses on their floor (Sealy, Simmons, Serta et al).

Thanks for taking the time to share your comments as well.

Maybe I should make a certificate that can be downloaded at the end of the tutorial that the members here can take into a ā€œsuspectā€ store that says ā€œdonā€™t mess with me ā€¦ I am a graduate of The Mattress Underground and I may know more about mattresses than you doā€ :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Hello,

I have read your posts and I was hoping you could help me. I am having a lot of trouble deciding what mattress is good for me. I had been sleeping on a medium firm IKEA mattress for a few years and was having discomfort in my hip area which was causing me to wake up early so i decided to purchase a new mattress. Recently I purchased a Simmons Beautyrest Worldclass Imperial Estate mattress from sleep country. This was a really soft mattress. However, I started having neck pain and would wake up early in the morning. I found this mattress felt better for my hip though than the firmer IKEA mattress I had. I was still waking up early in the morning because the mattress would get too hot at night because of me sinking in the softness. So I exchanged my mattress and got Sealy Optimum Radiance Gold mattress and have been sleeping on it for about a month. This is a demo model. In the beginning I was able to sleep well for about a week. However for the past few weeks I have been waking up at 5 or 6am with pain in the middle of my back or lower back iā€™m not sure. I try sleeping in different position and putting pillows in between my knees but it doesnt help. Do you think this could be caused by the mattress? The pain goes away slowly after i get up and walk around for a while. I called sleep country and they are going to let me exchange my mattress but I just donā€™t know what to get any more. Do you think a soft mattress would be better or a firm one? From my observation a soft mattress would feel better for my hip. The store salesperson said if i want a soft mattress the only options they have are the Sealy Optimum Elation Gold, iComfort Epic and Kingsdown Kennedy. Please help me. I really need help deciding what mattress to purchase. Thank you.

Hi girl_toronto,

I switched your post to your own topic so it wouldnā€™t get mixed in with a more general topic.

Itā€™s certainly possible that your mattress is too soft which would be a common cause of lower back pain that goes away after you get up but of course I canā€™t know for certain.

Only you can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to be able to suggest a specific mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), health conditions, individual circumstances, or ā€œtheory at a distanceā€ (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). Your best chance of success in choosing the most suitable mattress will be to use the testing guidelines in step 4 of the mattress shopping tutorial.

Unfortunately, and like many of the members here that have been in a similar situation, you are in a somewhat difficult position where you need to exchange a mattress at a store that I would normally suggest avoiding and where there may not be any particularly good quality/value options available to you.

There are some suggestions and ideas in post #2 here about the two main strategies that you can use that can help you make the best of a difficult situation. There is also more in post #13 here about the most important parts of the ā€œvalueā€ of a mattress purchase or exchange that may be helpful as well.

Phoenix