Hello, I would love your opinion on whether I’ve found the correct mattress.
I went looking at latex mattresses from an all-natural brand that makes organic latex mattresses with wool and natural fibre covers.
I tried their three models in the store and preferred the latex over pocket coils one over the all-latex one.
We got one with 4in of 100kg/m3 (6.2lb/ft3) density Dunlop latex over 1000 pocket coils.
I woke up with spine pain every morning and could not get comfortable, so I phoned and the store said I should try a 80/kg/m3 (5lb/ft3) one. I’ve now tried that and it feels a lot better, but I’m just paranoid I’ve gone too soft, for no particular reason!
Does this configuration sound about right for a 80kg/176lb person who only sleeps on their side?
While general recommendations can be made what is most important is how a given setup works specifically for you. Since you experienced spinal pain and could not get comfortable with the original setup you made a change. Now despite finding it to feel a lot better you’re questioning if you’ve gone too soft for no particular reason. The reason was that you were experiencing pain and discomfort with the previous setup, since it’s so much better now I don’t think you should be questioning the decision. Enjoy your new arrangement and rest well knowing you made a change which works best for you.
Thank you! After waking up again with back pain, I decided to check the alignment and I noticed that the lumbar area drops down to the mattress, resulting in a slight V shape of the spine between the shoulder area and the hip area. Kind of like the attached image.
Is this still not soft enough? Or is it something else? The mattress doesn’t feel particularly firm anymore, so if it still needs to be softer I would be surprised.
Based on the red line in your image and your description of the issue it appears that your mattress in the current configuration is too soft. It’s lacking sufficient support to maintain your spinal alignment and is allowing you to hammock in your midsection which is where we carry most of our weight. That’s also the most common source of mattress related lower/mid back pain. The problem is that there are almost always tradeoffs, and going firmer can address the alignment issue but may cause pressure point pain in your shoulder or hip areas. I’d suggest discussing your situation further with the seller. it could be that besides reconsidering the firmness of your latex layer you may need a different thickness. Sorry I can’t give you a more definitive recommendation.
Anything’s possible and our experiences are all unique so it can be difficult to assess from afar. Since you said it doesn’t feel particularly firm I think it may be lacking in support as I previously explained.