For my next entry, I thought I’d explain exactly what my setup looked like when I first tried full-body inclined sleeping and what I experienced during those first few nights.
At the time, I had a queen-size gel memory foam mattress on a regular box spring. I’m primarily a side sleeper, and the main issues that had sent me looking for answers were the hip and shoulder discomfort I was experiencing at night.
I purchased the 6-inch high-density foam incline wedge. Just to clarify something I may have made confusing in some of my earlier posts: there is also a 4-inch version available, but I have only owned and slept with the 6-inch wedge.
The wedge goes under the mattress, rather than on top of it. I installed it myself, and my regular mattress remained the surface I actually slept on. I didn’t change my box spring, bedding, sheets or anything else about my setup.
My first reaction after putting everything together was actually, Wow, that looks like a pretty significant angle!
Looking at the bed from across the room, the 6-inch incline seemed much more noticeable than I had imagined it would be. I wondered whether I was going to feel like I was sleeping on a hill.
Interestingly, once I actually got into bed, that wasn’t my experience at all. I found the position very comfortable. I didn’t feel as though I was perched on something or bending at the waist because my entire mattress was on the incline. I was simply sleeping on the same gel memory foam mattress I was already accustomed to, only at a different angle.
I also wondered whether I would slide toward the foot of the bed during the night. I didn’t. I didn’t have to change my sheets, pillows or other bedding either.
The biggest surprise came the next morning.
After just that first night, I noticed a difference in the hip and shoulder pain I had been experiencing. That obviously represents my own experience with my own body and mattress setup, and I wouldn’t assume someone else would necessarily have the same result or experience it as quickly. But for me, the difference was noticeable enough after one night that I wanted to keep sleeping this way and learn more about what I had stumbled onto.
That first night is really what turned this from “Here’s an interesting thing I’ll try” into something I became genuinely curious about.
In my next update, I’ll talk more about what happened as I continued sleeping on the incline and whether those initial changes continued beyond the first few nights.