Newbie here who has never actually had a memory foam mattress or knew what one was until last week. After “researching” for a couple days I decided to buy one from Amazon. To my surprise, sleeping, and even sitting, on this mattress makes me dizzy in a relatively short order. I am just about positive the dizziness is due to motion sickness rather than any type of odor emitting from the foam.The mattress is a full size 11" Thick Gel Memory foam mattress with 3.5 Inch of Gel Memory foam: Amazon.com.
I’ve read a couple reviews online the last couple days that say some people experience motion sickness on memory foam beds. Does anyone here have direct knowledge of people experiencing something like this. FWIW, I get motion sickness if I ride in a vehicle sitting facing backwards, so I’m rather susceptible to it.
These are all euro top or pillow top mattresses with pocketed springs or inner springs, plus some type of foam on top. My main concern is will any of these mattresses make me feel motion sickness like the memory foam mattress.
Secondly, is there a significant difference between pocketed springs or inner springs, and is there a difference between euro top and pillow top? Which do people claim are better?
Lastly, since I am very comfortable buying from Amazon, does anyone know about the brands of these four mattresses and their reputation? Three are “Sleep Master” mattresses and one is “Brentwood.”
I’m not familiar with this but it’s possible though that it’s some type of vertigo connected to the different type of response of a memory foam mattress. It’s a slow response foam which is less resilient and can take more “effort” to move or change position and it also compresses and recovers more slowly than other foam types and since your body may not be used to either of these more “unusual” responses it may somehow be creating “conflicting” sensory impressions which is somehow affecting you (motion sickness is the result of conflicting sensory input from different sensory systems). It could also be that you are sleeping in a different position than you are used to and perhaps your head or upper body is sinking in more or is lower than you are used to which could also be affecting you. It could be coming from your pillow which may somehow be affecting the position or movement of your head compared to what you are used to (see here for an example of someone who is affected by the resilience or “bounciness” of a thick latex pillow). Of course this is all pure speculation because I really don’t know what could be the underlying cause in your case.
These are all euro top or pillow top mattresses with pocketed springs or inner springs, plus some type of foam on top. My main concern is will any of these mattresses make me feel motion sickness like the memory foam mattress.[/quote]
I have no way of knowing this but if you are concerned it may be worthwhile only considering a mattress that you have tested in person or that has a no cost refund policy. All of these mattresses use polyfoam rather than memory foam so if the cause of your symptoms are somehow the slow response of memory foam itself then none of these have any memory foam inside them. I would be very cautious with all of these though because none of them list the quality of any of the polyfoam layers and are quite likely to use lower quality materials which will soften or impress relatively quickly. I would be very cautious in buying a mattress that has more than “about an inch or so” of either unknown or lower quality materials in the comfort layers because they will likely be the “weak link” of the mattress unless the mattress is for occasional or temporary use or unless budget considerations make choosing better quality materials impossible and even then knowing what is inside the mattress can help you choose the best quality possible in your budget range.
Pocketed springs are “different” from innersprings that use helical wire to join the springs together but one is not necessarily “better” than another. Which one is best for you would depend on all the other layers and components that are part of the mattress and which mattress “as a whole” is the best match for you in terms of PPP. There is more about the different types of innersprings in this article and in post #10 here.
A pillowtop and a eurotop are both just different methods of attaching layers of foam over the main body of the mattress. Like the difference between innersprings … the choice between them would depend on which one was the best match for you in terms of PPP. I would be very cautious though because pillowtops and eurotops both tend to use thicker layers of lower quality foam which will develop soft spots and impressions more quickly than mattresses that either use thinner layers of foam or that use higher quality foam. The only way to really assess whether a mattress has any “weak links” is to make sure you know the specifics and quality of all the layers and components inside the mattress.
Just in case you haven’t read it yet … the tutorial post here has all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choices but I would tend to avoid any mattress that has thicker layers of lower quality materials in the upper layers of the mattress whether it was a smooth top, a pillow top, or a eurotop style of construction.
The brand of a mattress is just a label and every manufacturer makes lower and higher quality mattresses. Outside of making sure a mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP … a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality of the materials inside it and comparing mattresses in terms of quality and durability is only possible if you know the specifics of all the layers and components inside each mattress … not by brand.
As you can see in mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here … If you can’t test a mattress in person then you would be relying on the knowledge and experience of the retailer in helping you “match” your body type and sleeping position to a mattress that has the highest odds of being a good match for you based on “averages” and in this case the return policy may also be an important part of your personal value equation in case you choose a mattress that is “less than ideal” and doesn’t work well for you.
Do you know of any local independent manufacturers in Honolulu/Oahu? The only mattress stores I’ve been able to find here are the type you suggested to avoid.
There is only one local manufacturer I’m aware of in Honolulu/Oahu Hawaii but they are not a “typical” manufacturer. Post #2 here and the links it includes has more information about some of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in the Hawaiian Islands and links to some feedback from other forum members there as well.
I got the Sleep Master 12-Inch Euro Box Top Pocketed Spring Mattress from Amazon and I really like it. I couldn’t imagine getting a better deal from anywhere around here so I didn’t even look…especially since I didn’t want to spend more than $300.
Now I want to buy a protector. I’ve read up on the omnipresent post #89 and I plan to buy something from Amazon again. If I notice an increase in heat from a thin, cotton terry/poly-membrane type of protector, is that something I can counter by using an extra 100% cotton sheet (or two) between myself and the protector?
I get a sense from all the complaints I’ve read about these type of protector’s increasing people’s sleeping temperature that people aren’t trying to do anything to counter their issue except for complaining online, which won’t help anything.
So–knowing that I’ve had issues with polyester sheets making me feel hotter in the past–will a couple extra 100% cotton sheets on top of the protector and under my body help resolve this problem? If so, will I just be working with fractions of improvement, or will I be able to overcome this issue completely by the more breathable layers I add?
[quote]Now I want to buy a protector. I’ve read up on the omnipresent post #89 and I plan to buy something from Amazon again. If I notice an increase in heat from a thin, cotton terry/poly-membrane type of protector, is that something I can counter by using an extra 100% cotton sheet (or two) between myself and the protector?
I get a sense from all the complaints I’ve read about these type of protector’s increasing people’s sleeping temperature that people aren’t trying to do anything to counter their issue except for complaining online, which won’t help anything.
So–knowing that I’ve had issues with polyester sheets making me feel hotter in the past–will a couple extra 100% cotton sheets on top of the protector and under my body help resolve this problem? If so, will I just be working with fractions of improvement, or will I be able to overcome this issue completely by the more breathable layers I add?[/quote]
It would help yes but there’s really no way to know if it will help “enough” for any particular person because of all the variables involved with sleeping temperature (see post #2 here).
If you are choosing a membrane type protector then I would choose one with either cotton or rayon/viscose fabric (such as bamboo, tencel, etc) bonded to the membrane which are both more breathable and can wick moisture better than synthetic fabrics. For most people in combination with cotton or other cooler types of sheets the odds are better that it will be “enough” but there will still be individual exceptions.
Hello magic,
I have the same issue. I get dizzy and nauseated when sitting on or lying down on tempur pedic. I agree it seems to be motion sickness rather than chemicals or odors. I switched to a sealy, but i didn’t realize it has a gel topper, so I have the same issue. I wonder if it’s my mind trying to make sense of my body slowly sinking into the gel. I got one free mattress exchange, and I think I am out of options. I am interested in how things worked out for you.