Looking for Advice - Latex Mattress or Topper

[phoenix]

Hi Clawdia,

I added a featherbed topper - the wrong one, I suspect, since it’s 50% down and not as supportive as I apparently need. Over the last year, more and more the contents shift to the edges in spite of it being baffled, and it’s to the point that I have to unmake and then, hours later, remake the bed every day to give the contents time to re-loft. In the mornings, my bed looks as though I’ve been in a night-long battle and my body feels the same, even though when I first get into the freshly re-made bed I feel comfortable. When I wake, most of the time one or both arms exhibit numbness/tingling - I sleep alone in a queen size bed and feel like I spent too much of the night looking for a comfortable spot in the bed.

A featherbed or down topper is not a “supportive” material and has little resistance or resilience so it’s best use is to help relieve local pressure points such as hips or shoulders or to create a “feel” that some people like of being “enveloped” in a very soft material (see post #6 here). In some cases it can even interfere with the ability of layers below it to adapt to the shape of the body and relieve pressure along the entire body surface. It is a material that would be more for “feel” than for “pressure relief” (see more about the different types of softness in post #15 here).

The most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in, other than my first hard-sided waterbed with a lot of motion, was my father’s old latex bed he bought at Sears back in the 1960s. I thought Talalay was the superior latex, only to learn that his was almost certainly 100% Dunlop latex. He let me “steal” his bed on occasion after I’d left home and was back for a visit, and sleeping in it was always a treat. I could sink down in it and hardly move all night long.

In the 60’s many of the thinner latex mattresses were Dunlop and then in the 70’s the blended Talalay became more common and both of them often lasted for decades. Both types of latex are very durable … especially in slightly firmer versions.

I don’t know whether something like a 3" Talalay topper would do the trick, or if I need an entirely new bed, and haven’t been able to figure out if I could use the waterbed foundation with a new latex mattress. I do know there’s nothing wrong with the foundation I have and it certainly supports a good amount of weight now.

In theory a 2" - 3" topper could work well to provide additional pressure relief. As with any topper though it would depend on the choice of topper and how it interacts with the specific materials and layers in your waterbed. Post #2 here has some guidelines for choosing a topper.

I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use your current waterbed foundation for a latex mattress and it would certainly hold the weight. The only other consideration I would have is that a solid surface wouldn’t be as breathable as a slatted surface but that’s not likely to be an issue unless there are other risk factors for the buildup of moisture and humidity (see post #10 here).

I prefer a soft bed, liking the sensation of sleeping “in” a bed rather than “on” a bed.

A softer latex topper (19 ILD or even lower) would probably provide more of the “feel” you are looking for than a firmer latex topper … especially with your weight. With a little thicker topper you will also sink in more however there is also an increased risk of alignment issues with thicker and softer layers on top of your sleeping system.

I moved away from the hard sided waterbed style because I wanted a bed I could use to prop up and read or watch movies/TV, and for that reason I’m not interested in going back to that style bed. I’m unsure if a latex mattress or topper would let me get in a comfortable position to read or watch video.

You would sink in a little more than you are now because of the extra softness on top but I really don’t know if it would be “too much” for you and your own experience is probably the only way to know for certain. If your back was supported and all your weight wasn’t concentrated in sitting without any other support and there was enough firmness in your mattress it would probably be OK.

I’m not opposed to online shopping (Amazon loves me, and so do lots of other online sellers), but I would like to go somewhere that has latex mattresses on display to check out, and hopefully someone informative with whom to talk. We live halfway between Greensboro NC and Roanoke VA, and I’d be happy to go in either direction. The only storefront with latex I’ve been able to find so far is The Bed Gallery in Greensboro, and their website contains precious little information about what they sell.

If you do decide to go in the direction of a new mattress instead of a new topper then I would start with post #1 here which has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices. Some of the online manufacturers may even agree to sell you the topper and then if you decide to switch to a complete mattress sell you the rest of the mattress minus the topper.

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Roanoke area are listed in post #5 here and in the Greensboro area are listed in post #2 here.

Phoenix