hello,
We are a couple, both overweight (~200) and with chronic pain, one with EDS (unstable joints prone to dislocating) and arthritis, and one with injuries to lower back/knees, looking for a latex mattress. our 2 y/o replacement Tempurpedic has dips in it so we are done with memory foam this time around, can’t afford it and warps easily for us.
it will be so nice to be able to use a heating pad too
We need a mattress that can work with our adjustable frame from tempur, we spend some time sitting in bed and need the back support.
The 2 options I’ve come to so far are SleepOnLatex and SleepEZ. does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations? we can both fall asleep on latex.
Sleep On Latex and Sleep EZ are great choices for latex mattresses and are Trusted Members of TMU. They’re well known for having excellent quality products along with very responsive customer support. They both offer pre-configured latex mattresses, while Sleep EZ also has some customizable mattress options which can be configured specifically to meet your needs. Especially with your chronic pain issues and other medical conditions I’d advise that you consult directly with them to determine what would be best suited for you both. Their latex mattresses are fully compatible with adjustable bases so that is not a problem. Good luck and I hope you’re able to find a great mattress, please let us know what you end up deciding on and ultimately how it works out.
@questionasker - Congrats on your purchase of a Sleep EZ organic mattress! Glad I was able to provide some guidance in your decision. Please let us know how it goes once you receive the mattress and have had some time to settle in with it. Hope everything works out well and it provides you with many years of good sleep.
Not sure if this is the right place for this question/comment. I am searching for experience and guidance specifically on overweight/heavy sleepers, but that is not a uniform label, as people tend to just give stats or use euphemisms. In any case, I am 5’7" and 240 lbs, husband is 6’3" and 330 lbs. We are both side sleepers, he will move to back, I will move to stomach. I have found a local latex mattress retailer from another topic thread on your site (thank you!), Sleep Essentials in Raleigh NC. However, they use subjective measurements like “firm, medium, soft” etc. Is there a lbs/cu ft that I should require at minimum for us to have a relatively durable but still comfortable mattress? Even with firm latex should we add inches? They typically sell a 9" mattress, is 3" of comfort enough to help me feel the softness but keep 6" of firmness below for support? I understand I need a firmer support, I personally like a softer comfort layer. Should I not go softer than a certain level? The commentary I have found thus far on the site is also fairly subjective. Thank you, anyone for your assistance!
Welcome to The Mattress Underground ! Thanks for joining in and for your question.
Yes greatqueen, you have come to the right place . You are quite right when you say that stats are “not a uniform label”, but they do give a starting point for assessing what materials and constructions may be better suited for an individual. While height and weight provide useful BMI details, your body profile and body type are important to know for understanding how your weight is distributed across the mattress’s surface. In addition to BMI, sleep position(s) also determine what comfort and support needs an individual has. Thanks for providing yours and your husbands sleep stats for working through your question.
A quick review of Phoenix’s article, “Your Sleeping Style” addresses the role body weight and shape play in pressure relief and support. Higher BMI individuals generally need firmer and thicker comfort layers, as well as firmer support layers to prevent their heavier parts from sinking down too far into the mattress. While starting your mattress shopping journey, you may find these articles useful too: “The Basic Functions of a Mattress” explains the selection process of Comfort and Support materials; “Different Types and Categories of Mattresses” discusses the common types of mattresses available; and “How Long Will a Mattress Last?” describes mattress durability potential.
That’s great to hear you found a local resource through one of the other threads! Let’s first review some background regarding the functions of a mattress before getting to your question. To better understand the roles of comfort and support, it is important to know the difference in their functions. The upper comfort materials provide pressure relief for you body and conform to your body shape, forming a “cradle” that is deep enough to spread your weight across the mattress’s surface, also known as “sinking in”. The lower support core controls how far different parts of your body “sink down” into the mattress and provide support for correct spinal alignment. Middle layers, also known as transition layers, may also be involved. They can help in differing degrees with both sinking-in (for pressure relief and comfort) and sinking-down (for spinal alignment and support), depending on the construction of the mattress.
Regarding foams’ comfort and support feel, softness is what you feel in the comfort/ upper layers in the construction and firmness is the support that is provided in the deeper layers of the mattress. All mattresses consist of different layers with varying degrees of both softness and firmness which are measured in terms of ILD (sometimes referred to as IFD) or density. Here is a general scale that Phoenix developed to help illustrate the versions of softness:
Always ask the manufacturer to provide thespec details of any mattress that you’re considering, including ILD and density details. You don’t say what type latex is in the mattress you’re considering, but Natural latex/ Dunlop process and other polyfoams are generally measured in density/ lbs. per cu. ft., while Talalay latex is measured in ILD, a compression-response number. In terms of evaluating durability potential for higher BMI adults, consider higher density/ firmer materials for prolonging compression rates, as well as purchasing as high a quality materials that your budget will allow. Before addressing your specific comfort and support questions, here are some points that need response from you. What mattress are you currently using and how old is it? What size mattress are you considering for purchase and what is your budget? If you are considering a latex mattress, is it a hybrid or all-latex? Depending on what you’re using currently, you may need to update your foundation as well for an all-latex model.
My apologies for the delayed reply but hopefully you will find some of these thoughts helpful . Looking forward to your updates and good luck with your research.
. Looking forward to your updates and good luck with your research.