I don't get it, why is my foam cushion sofa more comfortable than my new Latex mattress? Help!

[gme109]

@Phoenix

Hi gme109,

I feel the uncomfortableness almost immediately, with the second combination, soft, medium, medium, extra firm, when lying on my side. It just feels like I’m sinking in too much, when on my side.

How far a mattress “feels like” you are sinking in can be very deceptive because this is so subjective and I would tend to go by the specific symptoms you feel on each combination (see post #22 here). In other words I would first focus on the “what” (your specific symptoms and how they change on each combination) before focusing on the “why” (the reason for that specific symptom).

The previous post I linked (post #2 here) has more about the different symptoms that people may experience on a mattress and some of the most likely reasons for them and Post #2 here and post #4 here also has more information about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to each other and to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress that may be helpful in clarifying the reasons for your symptoms as well.

If I understand you correctly on your first combination (S/M/F/XF) you experienced …

The first 5 minutes lying on my back feels fine, but then I start to feel uncomfortable pressure points on my shoulder blades and gluteus. If I try lying on my side, my shoulder starts to hurt, and my arm goes to sleep. When ordering my mattress, Sleep EZ recommended I go with split layers of: Extra firm, firm, medium, soft, based on my height and weight. I’m 5’ 8" and a muscular 165. What’s weird is, when I wakeup in the morning, I’m not feeling the pressure points. Also as noted in my subject line, I don’t feel any uncomfortable pressure points while lying on my foam cushion sofa.

So back to the first combination, soft, medium, firm, extra firm. It felt great for a few nights, just like the first time I got the mattress, then after a few nights I start feeling pressure points, It does however feel more supportive. My thoughts are, I need something in softness, that is in between the first and second combination.

This could be an indication that the mattress was too firm but the shoulder pain could also be a pillow issue as well and the pain in your gluteus could be an alignment issue that comes from sinking down too far and stretching the muscles (it’s not common for someone to feel a pressure issue when they are lying on their back).

When you tried the second combination (S/M/M/XF) you experienced …

One, waking up with a stiff back, two, after lying on a Temperpedic, and not feeling an uncomfortable pinch on my right side, when I’m lying on my left side. I feel the uncomfortableness almost immediately, with the second combination, soft, medium, medium, extra firm, when lying on my side. It just feels like I’m sinking in too much, when on my side.

Based on your feedback this seems to be too soft.

Since your couch is probably firmer than your mattress it may be worth trying a medium layer on top with a soft layer underneath it (or even a medium layer under it) and then F/F or F/XF under that to see how this compares to the other two combinations you have tried. It’s possible that you are mistaking “symptoms” that come from alignment issues with “symptoms” that come from pressure points.

My thoughts are, I need something in softness, that is in between the first and second combination. I think if I had one more layer of even 1" of extra soft, on top of the soft, medium, firm, extra firm, I might be there. My next thought is, I wonder how much the wool cover is taking away from the softness of the latex, and would the cotton cover provide a softer more pressure reliving feel?

There are several combinations that would be in between the two combinations you have tried although some people may not feel much difference between them since the top two layers are the same in both and changes in deeper layers are less noticeable for most people than changes to the top two layers.

S/M/F/F and S/M/F/M would likely feel slightly softer than the first combination and firmer than the second for those that would notice a difference between them but given that your couch is probably firmer than your mattress I would be tempted to at least try the firmer top layer to see how your symptoms and experience change.

My next thought is, I wonder how much the wool cover is taking away from the softness of the latex, and would the cotton cover provide a softer more pressure reliving feel?

You could test this to some degree by unzipping the cover and rolling it back so you would be sleeping more directly on the latex with just your sheet and mattress protector on top of it.

I would be cautious though about making too many changes too quickly because your experience over just a night or two may be an “anomaly” more than a “pattern” and if you make changes that are too big or too quickly (rather than slow incremental changes) your body may not have a chance to “catch up” to the changes you are making so I would always only make one change at a time so you can “learn” from the effects of a single change and how it affects your experience compared to the previous combination.

Phoenix

I’m definitely an extreme case when it comes to finding the right mattress. But this go around pales in comparison to the shear hell I went through 10 years ago, when I didn’t have a clue where to start. I went through probably 4 or 5 inter spring mattresses, the SAM air mattress, a Supplepedic memory foam mattress, and then finally ended up with a latex mattress. This was over the corse of 6 months. At least I feel like I’m on the right track this time, thanks to this site and your help.

So I’ve been following your suggestions, making slow changes, and I’ve made some progress, although short lived.
First I noticed that my Temperpedic pillow was like a flat pancake in the morning, so I bought a new one. Same thing though, completely flattened by morning. When I first got my mattress I tried the shredded latex pillows that came with it, and thought they were the next best thing to the Temperpedic contour pillows I’ve been using for years, so I started rotating them in once in a while.
I am now using the shredded latex pillows exclusively. It seems they just needed a little breaking in, and getting used to, but now I absolutely love them. Because they don’t flatten out, they’ve helped a little with pressure points on my shoulder, while lying on my side. They also work fine sleeping on my back, because they can easily be adjusted by shifting the latex around. So a little progress with pressure points while lying on my side, but I’m still waking up at times with a sore and stiff back, and experiencing pressure points while lying on my back. I should mention though that my job is physically demanding at times, which may explain why I’ll sleep just fine some nights, and not others. This is all with the soft, med., firm, extra firm combo.

Last night was one of those nights I found myself tossing and turning, so at 1 in the morning I decided to try removing the wool mattress cover, and remaking the bed. I immediately felt a difference for the better. No pressure points while on my back, and less while on my side. I still however woke up with a sore stiff back, which suggests I go firmer, but that’s going to wrong direction for reliving the pressure points on my shoulder, while lying on my side. Is zoning my only option?

One more question. Is there any way to objectively determine if my back is properly alined while lying on the mattress? Perhaps having someone obverse the straightness of my spine, maybe even with the use of a laser? There has to be a way to take some of the guess work out of this whole process.