I’m a male back and side sleeper. I’m 47 years old, 5’9, 175ish pounds. I sleep alone in my King Size bed. No partner. I recently bought a Helix Midnight Elite. Been sleeping on it for about about 19 nights now. It’s turning out to be a bit too firm for my back and sides. It’s also sleeping warm. I added a GlacioTex mattress protector and it’s still too warm. When lying on my back, I’m also feeling pressure under my arms. It has the GlacioTex cooling cover. It does NOT have the CoolForce layer installed. Rather than swap it out with a softer Sunset or Moonlight comfort layer, I’m considering exchanging it for something new at Sleep Loft (which is where I got it). I’m very sensitive to pressure and def need something plush, but also something supportive for my lower back. I also need something that sleeps cool. I liked the Casper Snow Max, but think it might be too soft eventually. The Nolah Evolution plush and the Puffy Monarch have been suggested to me. Or maybe something else will be good. If I decide to return and purchase elsewhere, I’ve heard good things about the Amerisleep AS5. I was previously sleeping on an old Beautyrest version. It was too firm for me. I added a 3 inch SOFT Brooklyn bedding talalay latex topper and, despite being an improvement, was sinking too much and not giving enough support. I know the Sleep Number Comfort Next or something can adjust firmnesses automatically between back and side, but not sure if I want to deal with all of that.
Any suggestions for possible good new mattresses for me and any feedback will be appreciated. I do have a cooling memory foam mattress pad I could add to my Helix, but I spent $3,600ish on it. I don’t want to have to add comfort layers post purchase to a new mattress (especially one so expensive). I want it to get the job done as is.
Suggestions that might work for me and any advice are welcome and will be MUCH appreciated. Thank you!
-Greg
Before making a final exchange through Sleep Loft, it is worth asking: have you reached out to Helix customer support directly yet?
Helix frequently offers custom comfort adjustments for their Elite series. They can often ship out an alternative top comfort layer insert (like swapping to their softer Sunset/Moonlight specs or sending a specialized cooling comfort pad) designed to drop right into the zippered top.
If you haven’t contacted them yet, it might be worth a quick message to see if they can send a softer, cooler comfort layer to try before going through the hassle of a full mattress swap at the store.
If that’s off the table, let me know. Happy to dive into the world of options with you!
Hi NikkiTMU,
Thank you for the response. I am aware of the possible comfort exchanges. I am not sure if I want to take the risk of one of them still not working and wasting more time. I think microcoils might be a bit too much inherent pushback for my body. Or, maybe one of the comfort exchanges would be good. Not sure. The GlacioTech pillow top could just be too hard for my arms why lying on my sides too. I know the Moonlight and Sunset comfort layers can be delivered and put into my zip top (exchanging it for my current Midnight layer) . In regards to the cooling comfort pad, is that something that Helix would have me put on top of my mattress or would I zip open my current configiruatoin and put it in there?
Any suggestions for new mattresses are welcome. Thank you.
Really all you would be getting with those different mattresses would be different comfort layers. When I laid on the sunset elite I was astounded at how soft it was. The midnight elite also felt kind of soft for me but I’m 210 pounds.
What you’re dealing with is of course the balance between too soft and too firm. If you go too soft for too deep you will be out of alignment like with the latex topper.
The thing I would try is to maybe return the topper and either go down to 2" soft or try a thick wool topper because the wool topper is so soft that it’s purely for pressure points. It doesn’t try to hold up your body at all so you would still get the support of the bed underneath.
If you are using natural cotton percale, lyocell, or rayon sheets then I’m just going to say you probably need a stronger air conditioner or to set it lower. I’ve got a Brooklyn bedding thermobalance which is about the coolest mattress you can get and if I don’t set my thermostat low enough I’ll still be uncomfortable.