Hi Neko,
[quote]I always slept on a box spring because it was cheap. I’m older now, and I’m tired of waking up in pain, and would like to invest in a good mattress, but I’m not sure how to narrow the search. I’ve looked through the forums but body sizes and sleep positions quite a bit so I thought I’d ask directly.
It sounds from the guides that foam is the best for pressure point relief, but which type of foam? Memory foam? And is a softer or firmer foam/mattress material better?[/quote]
Softer and or thicker materials in your comfort layers will tend to be more pressure relieving than thinner or firmer materials. Both memory foam and latex in a mattress design that is suitable for you can do a great job in providing pressure relief so the choice between them (or even other types of material combinations as well that can also provide good pressure relief) would be more of a preference choice than a “better worse” choice. There is more about the pros and cons of memory foam vs latex in post #2 here.
Outside of very generic comments such as these … there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved for anyone to know which specific mattress or material will be most suitable for you based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” and your own careful testing on different mattresses will be the most reliable way to know which specific mattress is the best match for you in terms of PPP and which materials you tend to prefer (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).
The type of support system that would be most suitable for a mattress will also depend on the type of mattress and the materials and components inside it but most foam mattresses (regardless of whether they are polyfoam, memory foam, or latex foam) will tend to do best on a firm, non flexing, and evenly supportive foundation or platform bed. Box springs (that have springs inside them that flex under pressure) are generally more suitable for innerspring mattresses. There is more about the different types of support systems that would generally be most suitable for different types of mattresses in post #1 here.
Phoenix