Thanks to the guidance of the Mattress Underground I was finally able to make a sound decision on a new mattress.
I had been sleeping on a conventional mattress with a 3" poly foam topper and was concerned that it would be hard to adjust to a latex mattress.
Shawn suggested soft, medium, medium, firm.
After 2 weeks I decided that I would like a firmer feel and changed to medium, medium, soft ( just to put the soft somewhere) ,firm.
That has been fine for about 2 months.
Being a serious side sleeper I now notice that the mattress is sagging in the center.
My slats are 2" apart.
Pheonix, do you have any suggestions?
Gardner1
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Hi Gardner1,
There are really two possibilities here assuming that there is no sagging in your foundation or bedframe and that you have good center support to the floor.
The first is that there is visible sagging in one of your layers when there is no weight on the mattress which outside of some minimal initial compression of the wool or latex isn’t likely to be the case unless the latex is defective (which can happen on rare occasions in which case the layer that is sagging should be replaced). You can check this by putting the individual layers flat on the floor and measuring the depth of any unweighted visible impression with a straight edge or string across any impression.
The second possibility is much more likely which is that you have “virtual sagging” which is happening when you are on the mattress and the heavier parts of your body are sinking down into the mattress too far. This would likely be because you have a soft layer 3 levels down which is where you would normally need firmer support and not a softer layer to “stop” the heavier parts of the body (normally the pelvis) from sinking down too far after they sink in to the top layers. It can sometimes take some time for this to affect you. I normally wouldn’t use a softer layer lower than the second level down in a multi layer construction such as yours. If this is the case I would either change the layering so you have the soft layer underneath the top medium layer (assuming that works for you in terms of PPP) or if you are certain that you don’t need a softer layer anywhere in the mix at all then I would replace it with something firmer (either medium or firm).
It may also be worthwhile trying the soft layer on the very bottom which will “bring up” the firmer layer closer to your body to see if that makes a difference although even if it did I would still replace a soft layer that deep in a mattress with something firmer even if it helped.
The first step though would be to talk with SleepEZ to discuss your options and any “symptoms” when you sleep on the mattress in more detail and also make sure that you have slept on medium for the top two layers for long enough to know for certain that you are OK with them and/or giving up the soft layer completely in terms of pressure relief.
Phoenix
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Thank you for your advice.
When I had a concern about the latex matting after sitting on the edge of the bed daily Shawn said that it would not effect the integrity
of the foam and that the only layers that you are really using are the first two.
I am now wondering if that is true.
I think I will try medium, firm, medium, soft and see how that works.
The frame and center support could not be any more sound.
I also find it unlikely that the foam is defective.
One major thing I will say is, that from day one my SleepEZ mattress has been a real joy to sleep on…
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Hi Gardner,
Not surprisingly after making and selling latex mattresses for as long as he has … he’s right on both counts.
Latex is the most durable of all the foam materials and you certainly won’t have to worry about sitting on the edge of your mattress.
In a normal construction with progressively firm layers the top two layers are the ones that compress the most and contribute most of what you feel on the mattress but they still need firmer support layers underneath them to keep you in good alignment and “stop” the heavier parts of the body from sinking down too far. If you use latex that is softer than the comfort layers deeper in the mattress then these layers can compress more than they should and compromise alignment.
Phoenix
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Thank you,
Your input has sent me in a more knowledgable and confident direction.
I guess it is time to replace one or two of the lower layers.
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