Latex mattress thickness for lightweight side-sleepers

My wife and I are in our mid-seventies. I am at about 138 pounds, my wife at 128 pounds. We are looking to replace our present mattress because it is causing us pressure point pain and back pain. I have read through most of the tutorial material and visited some mattressunderground member sites that will ship to Canada. My current preference is for a latex comfort layer over a latex core.

My question is, can you help me narrow my search by suggesting minimum and maximum total mattress thicknesses. Given our weights, there must be a thickness beyond which we would be wasting our money. I saw some posts that suggested that even 5" might be enough for us.

Hi mfseeker,

Unfortunately 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 to be able to predict with any certainty which combination of layers or components will be the best match for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance”. When you can’t test a mattress in person then the most reliable source of guidance is always a more detailed conversation with a knowledgeable and experienced retailer or manufacturer who can help “talk you through” the specific options they have available based on the information you provide them, any local testing you have done (assuming you know the firmness of all the layers in the mattresses you have tested which may not always be possible to find out), and the “averages” of other customers that are similar to you (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here). They will know more about “matching” their specific mattress designs to different body types, sleeping positions, and preferences than anyone else.

The thickness of a mattress or the individual layers inside it is only one of many variables that can make a significant difference in which mattress is the best “match” for you and different mattresses that have the same total thickness can be very different from each other but there is more about the effect of thickness in post #14 here.

There is also more about the different ways to choose a mattress that is the best “match” for you that can help you lower the risk involved in each of them in post #2 here.

For some people that are in lower weight ranges and/or that tend to sleep more on their back or stomach then 5" may be enough if they tend to prefer a firmer mattress (there isn’t as much “room” with only 5" to add thicker/softer comfort layers and thinner mattresses will tend to feel firmer than similar mattresses that are thicker) while for others that are in a similar weight range or even have similar sleep positions then the same mattress design may not be suitable for them to sleep on.

Phoenix