Hi chewiebachalot,
There are several issues with using sleep monitors that rely primarily on actigraphic measurements to determine sleep quality and your sleep stages over the course of the night. The biggest issue is that they don’t track the stages of your sleep very accurately compared to the polysomnographic measurements that are used in a sleep lab (see this article). Of course tracking other variables such as heart rate or breathing may improve their accuracy but they still aren’t particularly reliable in terms of tracking all your sleep stages.
Even if they did measure the quality and stages of your sleep though they still don’t identify the reasons why you may be sleeping poorly or which type of mattress or mattress design or even which firmness level may help you sleep better so while they may be of some interest based on curiosity you can only know how different mattress choices affect the variables that they are tracking after the fact so you are still limited to a trial and error process.
According to studies (see this topic) … for most people that don’t have any specific health conditions that could affect how they sleep … the most important factor that affects the quality and depth of your sleep is your spinal alignment so finding a mattress that keeps your spine and joints in neutral alignment would always be the most important part of choosing a mattress that you sleep well on.
Other factors that can affect the quality of your sleep include pressure relief, sleeping temperature, and freedom of movement on the mattress (see post #4 here).
While it’s not possible to “diagnose” mattress comfort issues on a forum with any certainty because they can be very complex and there are too many unique unknowns, variables, and complexities involved that can affect how each person sleeps on a mattress in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own 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.
While I can certainly help with “how” to choose … It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials or components because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, or PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your own Personal preferences) or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress), sleeping positions, health conditions, or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more reliable than your own careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
The only thing that I can really say is that in some way your mattress with the air mattress on top of it is likely a better “match” for you in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP than the mattress by itself.
This could certainly affect the quality of your sleep as well. A suitable pillow is an essential part of good alignment for the head and neck and upper body because the gap between the head and the mattress and the curve of the cervical spine needs to be supported just like all other parts of the spine. Like mattresses … there are certain “needs” that depend on body type and sleeping positions but with pillows, personal preferences play a more important role because the face is much more sensitive to textures, temperature, smells, and other more subjective “feel” based properties of a pillow. There is more about choosing pillows in the pillow thread here and the other topics and sources of information that it links to that may be helpful.
I’m not sure what you’ve read since you found the site but just in case you haven’t read it yet … if you are looking for a new mattress then the first place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.
Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” and PPP that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
Phoenix