I’m 170lb male. Previously a side sleeper but due to TMJ and scapular dyskensia I am now a back sleeper.
I had a 16 year old mattress and was getting pain sleeping. I just got a hybrid mattress with a 3in medium dunlop layer from Mattress Makers. Woke up this morning with more pains than I’ve ever had from sleeping. Lower back, shoulders and knees hurting.
I’ve heard about ‘break-in’ periods, and I’m personally always wary of a new product I own, but this seems like too much of a difference. I’ve never had issues sleeping on a bed at an airbnb for example, and I assume most are less firm, which makes me think this is too firm.
I’m thinking of asking to get a Talalay medium replacement for the dunlop.
But I’m really not sure if this bed is too firm or if I need more time.
I tried the ‘hand test’ which I just learned about where I tried to slide my hand under my lumbar, and there’s no resistance at all.
Hi Beppo and welcome to the forums! Back pain can be attributed to your body’s adjustment period, but it’s pretty rare that shoulder pain and hip pain would be caused from your body adjusting to a new mattress. If they’re anything like us, they ship their covers out to be a bit tight at first, with the expectation that the fabric and stitching will break in and loosen up over the first month or two. Once that happens, the cover will be the “right size” and you’ll sink into the mattress a bit more, and that might lessen the pressure point issues, but they might not go away completely.
Based on your weight, we would normally recommend 3" of soft Talalay for your top layer, which should alleviate any pressure point issues, and will probably be better for “secondary back support” where the soft Talalay layer can properly contour to and fill in the gaps between your body and the mattress.
So I picked up a base layer of coils with a zipper top where I put the 3in layer of Dunlop. Is that what you said will stretch out?
Is there anything I can do to be sure the Talalay will work for me? The drive to Mattress Makers is a few hours and they will probably take a while to get the talalay layer delivered. Plus the Talalay is a $200 switch charge.
Yes, the cover that holds everything together will break in and loosen up over time, for sure. If you want to see what the cover will feel like after it breaks in, you should be able to just unzip the zipper (while leaving everything in it’s place). If you unzip the cover and the mattress is perfect, then you know you just need to wait a month or two for the cover to break in. If you unzip the zipper and you’re still having comfort issues, then you know you need to change the top layer.
There’s no way of saying in advance whether the soft Talalay, medium Talalay, or soft Dunlop will work best for you. The only way to know for sure is to get it in your home and sleep on it.