Hi there-
My husband and I are in the search for a new mattress. Let me give you a little history. I’m 30, he’s 34. We’re both stomach sleepers. I have always been a great sleeper, and for the first few years of our marriage we had a pretty inexpensive Sealy Posturpedic mattress. We slept great. Then about 7 years ago we were given a Tempurpedic mattress. We were so excited because we heard they were supposed to be the absolute best, etc etc. We didn’t even question it, and just assumed this was the ultimate bed no matter who you were.
Fast forward 7 years later, and I have been suffering from a chronic sleeping disorder. I have tried rx medication, done in hospital sleep studies, and everything to no avail. The in hospital sleep study found that there is something going on in my brain (although they can’t figure out what) that is waking me up out of REM sleep constantly through the night. I also feel like I’m “light sleeping” and never truly asleep… I feel alert throughout the night. It is NOT stress. I am not thinking of anything in particular, or worrying. I’m just awake. It is MISERABLE. Although prescription meds haven’t helped (or I can’t tolerate them) I have been taking an over the counter sleep aid called Doxylamine for about 4 years now. I take a double dose every night and it gets me by ok as long as Im taking this. But when I try to get off, or lower my dosage, I start having issues. So that’s issue #1.
Then, about a year ago, I started to realize that on top of the sleep issues, I am terribly stiff and achy in the mornings. I think I had just been chalking this up to my poor sleep, but then I started to realize that when I was away from home, I woke up less stiff and achy. So I started paying attention to how I slept and how my body felt. I’m a stomach sleeper, and I realized that my mid section/pelvic area was dipping in significantly on the tempurpedic mattress. I decided to experiment. We have an ikea 4 inch firm foam mattress for guests, and I put it on the floor and have been sleeping on it for several months now. It is much firmer and so much better support while on my stomach. My soreness and stiffness has significantly decreased, and I wake up feeling SO much better in the mornings. That is issue #2.
Issue #2 is what got me convinced that we need a new mattress. But then, as I started to trace back the start of my sleeping issues, I realized that it ALL began when we got the Tempurpedic Mattress. I started wondering, what if my sleeping disorder was caused from the chemical-full Tempurpedic mattress? What if the chemicals have altered my brain chemistry or whatever… what if the unexplainable, unsolvable sleeping disorder I’ve suffered with for 7 years, is because I’m sleeping on chemicals? Once I connected the dots, I started doing some research and have found that the chemicals in mattresses are real and could indeed be the cause of my sleeping issues. The fact that my issues started exactly when I got the tempurpedic and I had absolutely NO sleeping issues prior to that make me feel this is a very real possibility.
So if we are going to buy a new bed anyway, I figure we might as well go all natural, chemical free as well. I realize this will mean finding natural materials, as well as manufacturers who can leave out the fire retardant chemicals (with a doctor’s note).
We live in Birmingham AL. The thought of mattress shopping is COMPLETELY overwhelming to me. I have no idea where to start, and have been combing your site for information. My question is, can you direct me to some natural, chemical free mattress places here in Birmingham? We are also close to Atlanta, and would be totally open to going there as well. My biggest fear is spending several thousand dollars on a new mattress, and then it not be comfortable. I don’t want to sleep on the floor the rest of my life on an $80 ikea pad! I would greatly appreciate any insight! Thank you.