Phoenix:
Hello and thank you for providing such an invaluable resource. I’ve been telling several friends about your site and sharing the URL with them as they, like most of us, don’t have much knowledge of the industry or how to properly shop for such an important purchase.
I’ve recently had some surgery which is keeping me from the “go out and try” step of your recommended shopping process as I can’t comfortably lay in a bed let alone get in and out of multiple options but I have a few questions for you regardless.
I live in the Detroit suburbs and I’ve been looking at latex mattresses from SleepEZ (10000 and 13000), Down To Earth Home (10" Green Dreams), and Jonathan Stevens Mattress Co (Sunrest Latex) and wondered if you had a preference or recommendation of the three merchants.
I’m a stomach sleeper though I’d really like to start sleeping on my back as I believe it’s better for the body. I also sleep hot. Do you have any suggestions for a mattress that would accommodate both sleeping positions and alleviate the heat?
Lastly, with SleepEZ’s return/refund policy is there any reason for me not to discuss my needs with Shawn or Chris at SleepEZ, order one and give it a try?
From the point of view of the merchants (without looking at or taking into account anything about the mattresses) I am more familiar with SleepEz and consider them to be among the best in the country in terms of their knowledge, value and service but in my more limited dealings with the other two they are also in the “good” group as well and I don’t think I would have any trouble doing business with any of them.
Once you take the mattresses into account though (bearing in mind that I don’t know the specifics of the mattress you are looking at at Jonathan Stevens) … you are in the place where you are comparing good to good and from this point it is a matter of personal preferences and your own personal “value equation”. A comparison would have as much to do with which mattress was best for you in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences), which had better value in terms of components, and which of the services and options offered by each was most important to you. Some of the many things I would take into account in choosing which was “best” for you are in post #2 here. Part of the comparison of course would be the relative “risk” of an online purchase vs the relative “safety” of buying a mattress that you had tested locally.
Once someone reaches the point of eliminating the worse choices, is comparing good to good, and there are no warning signs or obvious “better/worse” choices … my goal is to get out of the way so that each person can determine for themselves which is most valuable to them. At this point nobody else can say which is better for each person.
You are right that stomach sleeping is the most risky sleeping position and if you are able to make the transition it would a good idea.
The mattresses section of the site has a lot of information about layering combinations, construction types, and suggestions that would apply to different sleeping positions and body types. Beyond these though … more specific recommendations should always come from the manufacturer or retailer who is much more familiar with every component in the specific mattresses they sell, how they interact together, and have a customer base that they can use as a reference point (for online sales) or actually work with you in real time (if they are local) to help you make your best choices. These more “mattress specific” recommendations are much more accurate than what I call “theory at a distance” that doesn’t take into account all the details or components of specific mattresses.
In general … more breathable foams (such as latex) and more natural fibers in the quilting and ticking would be cooler than less breathable foams and synthetic fibers or fabrics. The mattress protector and bedding that you use will also make a real difference in temperature regulation and again more natural and breathable fibers are generally best here for temperature regulation. There is more about sleeping temperature and many or the factors involved in post #2 here.
With multiple sleeping positions … pressure relieving layers that are “just enough” in terms of thickness and softness for your more pressure prone positions (such as side sleeping) are generally best for alignment for the “flatter” sleeping positions (such as the back and especially the stomach). In other words … stomach sleepers generally do best with the thinnest firmest comfort layers that provide good pressure relief for the other sleeping positions to reduce the risk of sleeping in a swayback position and the lower back or neck issues that can go with this position.
None that I can think of but again this is all about your personal preferences, your risk tolerance, and your personal value equation. I believe that a local purchase is generally less risky because you can test it in person but with the options and exchange policy that they offer, their knowledge and service, and their value … they have greatly reduced the risk of an online purchase and if an “apples to apples” comparison indicates that they have the best value for you (and offer the things that are most important to you) … then there is nothing that says this couldn’t be the “best” direction for you.
You have reached the stage of final choices where all your options are good ones and your personal preferences both in terms of the mattresses and the merchant are a much more important part of your final decisions than any “better/worse” suggestions I may have.
You are also way ahead of 90% (or more) of consumers who are purchasing a new mattress and it would be difficult to make a “bad” decision with any of your choices
